Becky’s Blog

Who Needs An HSG (Hysterosalpingogram) HSG or hysterosalpingogram? Let’s call it an HSG. After all, hysterosalpingogram may qualify as the most unpronounceable word you'll meet on your fertility journey. We still can’t say it either – and we tried three times. Anyway, the abbreviation is not important but the procedure is.

Embryo transfer day: a key hurdle for every IVF patient. It’s that moment when your fertility treatment and hopes converge. And the fact that it’s happening at all needs celebrating, since some fertility cycles don’t make it this far. The medication worked. You’ve got one or more viable embryos ready to transfer. Here we go.

  Illustration depicting a sign with an infertility concept. Fertility problems affect around 1 in 6 UK couples of reproductive age. Many will be offered limited treatment at NHS fertility clinics. Or, more likely, no treatment at all: read all about the NHS postcode lottery here. Instead of getting help in their hour of need, desperate fertility patients face crippling costs at private UK clinics. But there’s no need to get nobbled. Just show these clinics the door.

  What Is FSH, Follicle Stimulating Hormone FSH, or follicle stimulating hormone, is the engine room of your reproductive system. It’s also the hormone that couples trying to conceive worry about the most. Fertility patients routinely approach the FSH test with trepidation. Fuelled by horror stories and misinformation online, many of us have been led to believe that our future pregnancy chances hinge exclusively on the numbers that come back from the lab. Will they fall within the ‘right’ range? Is it game over? Interpreting FSH numbers can be tricky and there’s room for misunderstanding and confusion. Stories abound of inadequate advice.

What Is TSH, Thyroid Stimulating Hormone TSH, short for thyroid stimulating hormone, is vital for regulating your metabolism. That's the process of changing the food you eat into well-managed energy distribution. TSH also plays a significant role in reproduction and pregnancy health: there may be a higher risk of miscarriage and other pregnancy problems when levels of the hormone are off-the-scale. Women planning IVF treatment should be routinely tested for TSH. As should women struggling to conceive naturally.

What Is LH, Lutenising Hormone LH, or luteinising hormone, plays an important role in reproductive health. For couples finding it hard to conceive or maintain a pregnancy, the amount of LH in the blood is relevant. If you’re considering IVF, an LH test is a must.

IVF Family Thank you, Reprofit! We’re delighted to introduce our beautiful new baby, Ida. She was born on 15 July 2013 at the Queens’s Medical Centre in Nottingham. After our long and painful battle with infertility in the UK, it was the Reprofit clinic in the Czech Republic that helped us conceive our precious daughter.