The JelliePod

Welcome to our second all-girls episode of The JelliePod, featuring your host, Ellie Thompson, and guests Helena, Catherine and Anya. We've got together for a special Christmas ep to discuss infertility at Christmas, and to offer support to those going through it.     We tackle a variety of issues surrounding struggling to conceive and fertility at this time of year, sharing our own experiences of infertility at Christmas. We ask why it's such a painful time of year, and discuss how to prepare for those inevitable questions from family  'Is 2022 the year you'll start your family?!'. We check out what Google has to say when it comes to offering up tactics and distractions for dealing with infertility at Christmas, and share advice on how to deal with grief, and most importantly, how to say 'no'.    Come and join us, and if you need extra support, please join our Facebook support group: IVF/TTC: A Place To Talk.    You can follow Anya's journey here: @i_m_calm_just_infertile   If you found the episode helpful, please do give us a 5 stars thumbs-up, it really helps to spread the word in order to help more couples going through this, especially at this time of year.

On this episode of The JelliePod we’re joined by Charlotte Gentry, Founder of The IVF Network, the UK’s first-ever IVF broadcast membership community. After prioritising her career throughout her 20s and 30s, by the time Charlotte found love and married her husband, Adam, in 2017 she was 42 years old - an age when falling pregnant naturally can be difficult.

After six emotional and challenging years of treatment, and 6 rounds of IVF (in both the UK and the US) Charlotte fell pregnant with her son and gave birth to him on 17th April 2020. However, the journey to pregnancy demanded a lot of Charlotte’s time and energy – and came with a heavy price tag. 

Charlotte hopes that through The IVF Network, she can provide a ‘one stop shop’ for all the info you could need when making decisions around IVF – because she never wants others to experience what she personally went through.

The IVF Network has only recently launched, and is aimed at men, women and couples undergoing fertility treatment. It offers exclusive access to the country’s top industry specialists through live and interactive studio broadcast events, online content with bespoke advice and support, as well as an inclusive patient-led community.

Show notes

For free access to the The IVF Network until 15th January, click this link: https://theivfnetwork.memberspace.com/member/plans/19b3272f6p

Follow The Jellie Diary on Facebook and Instagram, and join their private and friendly online support group here.

NEW PODCAST EPISODE! In this episode, we're joined by Professor Luciano Nardo, @mrlucianonardo founder of the next generation IVF service Now Fertility, @nowfertilitycare due to launch next Spring 2022.    Luciano joins the show today to talk about what happens when IVF goes wrong. We quiz Luciano on the reasons for IVF failure, including female age, ovarian reserve, sperm quality, embryo quality and implantation issues. We ask why IVF might keep on failing, and when is the right time to change clinics.    Luciano is board-certified in obstetrics and gynaecology and in reproductive medicine and surgery. He has 20 years’ clinical practice and academic focus in assisted conception, female and male infertility, reproductive endocrinology, miscarriage and all aspects of benign gynaecology.    #ivffail #ivffailure #icsifail #ttcfail #ivfuk #ivfsupport #ivf #ttccommunity #ttcsupport 

 

Ellie and Jamie reflect on their recent failed frozen cycle: what went wrong and what's next?   They also share the answer to the burning question of "Why didn't you use ultrasound to transfer the embryo?".   They discuss whether the counselling was helpful, the possibility of future fertility testing and whether they can face TTC naturally. Argh, the joys of scheduled sex.   Could this be the end of an era? A mere sleigh ride into the menopause? And Wednesday night Proseccos are back.    Follow The Jellie Diary on Insta and Facebook.

We welcome 37-year-old Liz from West Wales to the show, who went through a TTC journey of seven years.

Liz suffers from PCOS and fertility tests revealed her husband had a low sperm count. Their first round of IVF led to an early miscarriage and their second-round failed, without any fertilisation. 

After giving up hope, they ended up with three children with a four on the way. A must-listen inspirational story with highs and lows, proving everybody's journey is just so different, and you never quite know what's around the corner. 

Follow Jellie Diary on Facebook and Instagram. Join our support group IVF/TTC: A Place To Talk. 

 

Today we welcome Medical Director at TFP Nurture Fertility James Hopkisson to the show to talk about how best to prepare for egg collection and embryo transfer.    James Hopkisson is a Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Subspecialist in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery and has been involved with IVF and fertility management since 1993.   We quiz James on everything surrounding the prep we can be doing for egg collection and embryo transfer, covering everything from diet, supplements and the benefits (or not!) of acupuncture, to what exactly what you can expect to happen on the day, and the days following each procedure. Weask his expert opinion on what we should be doing after embryo transfer, and how best to get through the 2ww. Lastly, we talk about the downsides of testing too early.      Follow The Jellie Dairy on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Embryologist Emma Whitney joins The JelliePod to answer our questions on eggs, sperm and embryos. 

After 13 years at The Lister Fertility Clinic, Emma is now Laboratory Manager at The Evewell Fertility Clinic in London. With nearly 20 years of practical IVF lab experience, Emma specialises in pre-implantation genetic testing of embryos with a passion to prevent the transmission of inherited genetic disease and to enhance the capabilities of embryo testing. 

We quiz Emma on exactly what goes on behind the scenes; how to choose sperm for ICSI, what makes a good egg, what it's like to give daily updates to patients, and whether they ever get a gut feel on how things are going to pan out. Emma explains embryo grading and the process of freezing and thawing embryos. We discuss genetic testing, and exactly what can be done in terms of screening for abnormalities and why. 

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What happens when IVF doesn't work, and you've reached the end of the road?    We welcome one of the bravest women we've ever met, 37-year-old Anya to the show to talk about her journey, which she describes as 'every infertile girl's nightmare'.    After a long journey trying to conceive with a diagnosis of a uterine fibroid and autoimmune disease Hashitmoto's and adenomyosis, Anya and her partner underwent two unsuccessful rounds of IVF. At 37, Anya got pregnant naturally, but her dreams were crushed when she discovered it was ectopic. She went on to have a hysterectomy as her uterus was left with no muscle tissue having been fully infected by adenomyosis.    Five years after they started trying for a baby, in December 2020 they had to suddenly and cruelly come to terms with the fact that their journey to become biological parents was over. Anya is still processing what's happened but is learning to accept herself and her body. She's determined to turn her experience into a positive thing, to be a voice of support for others, please give her a follow, @i-m-calm-just-infertile   Follow Jellie Diary on Facebook and Instagram.    Join Jellie's online support group: IVF/TTC: A Place To Talk   Show notes   Follow Anya on Instagram

The JelliePod's first all-girl line-up come together for their first episode of The Girls. Jellie's Ellie is joined by Helena, Lucy and Janine, her pals from NCT - all of whom went through individual fertility issues and IVF journeys. They chat about their experiences of fertility treatment and the stigma attached to infertility.    Follow Jellie:    Facebook: www.facebook.com/jelliediary Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jelliediary/   Join the IVF/TTC: A Place To Talk support group on Facebook.

Mr James Nicopoullos is a Consultant Gynaecologist, sub-specialist in reproductive medicine and Clinical Director of The Lister Fertility Clinic and he joins this latest expert episode of The Jelliepod to debunk a few IVF myths, as well as discussing embryo grading, day 5, 6 and 7 embryos as well as what to do with the ones leftover.    A really great episode for everybody going through fertility treatment, especially those who are just getting started. A huge thanks to The Lister Fertility Clinic and James for starring on the pod.    Show notes   The Lister Fertility Clinic Tel: 02031315257   Follow Jellie  Instagram Facebook