Becky’s Blog

Safe text on hand design concept Legal protection for IVF patients in Europe is impressive. It's in a different league, for example, to cosmetic surgery, which still attracts some cowboy operators. Not so for IVF. Strict EU laws on fertility treatment, plus well-regulated industry practice, have been evolving for 30 years. If you choose to have an IVF cycle at a licensed fertility clinic in Europe, you'll get fair and safe treatment.

  PGD (now known as PGT-M) is a godsend for couples with known medical conditions that could be passed on to their offspring. And it's getting better all the time. 1 in 100 babies inherit a serious parental disorder, but PGD/PGT-M is playing its part in tackling this. And in a new study of IVF embryonic DNA a way has been found to extract genetic material from a developing embryo without the need for a cell biopsy.

  Vitamin D, Good Or Bad For Pregnant Women Recent studies on vitamin-D levels in pregnancy appear to contradict each other. One, from the University of Bristol, said maternal vitamin-D levels don’t affect the child’s bone health. A second, from the University of Calgary, said low levels cause pregnancy complications. A third study, from 2018, looked at vitamin D and IVF treatment. It found better live-birth rates when patients had enough vitamin D in their systems after IVF cycles. So should pregnant women monitor their vitamin-D levels? Read on.

Donated embryos, or embryo adoption, is on the rise. More liberal approaches to alternative parenting in recent years have made it a real option for many couples (and singles). With good success rates, donor-embryo treatment is no longer taboo or the 'forgotten' fertility treatment. Read our top 5 reasons to consider it – and why going abroad is your best bet.