Experiences of Nurture Fertility, Nottingham

[YorkshireTeaDrinker]

We have been TTC #2 for 4 years. Had a miscarriage 2 years ago, nothing since then. Just had repeat tests in preparation for potentially starting IUI. Found out our infertility has shifted from unexplained to male factor and IVF is our only viable option.

We are likely to be referred to Nurture. Has anyone any experience of IVF at Nurture? Would you recommend it?

Hi,
Sorry no experience of that clinic.
Do you know what the male factor issues are? Have you seen a urologist?
I say this because I went through ivf for #2 because we had unexplained fertility. Responded well. Put one fresh embryo put back which didn't work, then I put back a frozen which didn't work either. Then I had a natural chemical pregnancy the month after.
Anyway, the clinic said ivf was just a game of luck effectively. I didn't like that response and the unexplained fertility has really bothered me from the start.
Anyway, despite good sperm results for dh, we've just spent a huge amount of money on male testing (he had high sperm defrag). Waiting for results and seeing a urologist privately, but it's been a real eye opener about how flawed the whole ivf process is. IVF is only really for female issues and apart from icsi/imsi which obviously chose the better looking sperm, it doesn't go deep enough into the male factor issues.

Sorry, this post probably not hugely helpful, but if you are self funded I wouldn't fly into ivf without really understanding the male factor issues. IVF clinics do not employ urologists because if they did they would go out of business.

Thanks for your response, all helpful stuff at this early stage.

DH has had his SA done via the urology dept at our local hospital. We are under the fertility unit at the local NHS Trust currently and the fertility nurse has ordered a retest to confirm that it's not just a one off (test results from two years ago were normal, now count and motility are significantly below the lower reference limit).

Our initial diagnosis was unexplained, which pissed me off, as I felt we were being pushed towards treatment without understanding what the problem was. However we didn't start treatment as I git pregnant naturally, but MC at 9 weeks. Since then we have dithered a bit, thinking that I can obviously get pregnant, cos it's happened twice. In the interim I have had a laparoscopy, which was ok, and we have redone all our initial tests. I am ok, DH's SA has deteriorated considerably.

It feels, conversely, better to know there is an identifiable problem. Just shagging isn't going to work, IUI would be a waste of money and time, so it's straight to IVF. For which I want to arm myself with as much info as possible, so I know what to expect and understand the decisions we will need to take.

Hi,

Just wanted to post to you to let you know that I've just had my first cycle of IVF at Nuture Nottingham and would highly recommend them. It was my one and only NHS funded cycle (3xfailed IUI at QMC). We were delighted that it worked but I sadly miscarried at 5 weeks. We have our review appointment this week with the hope of starting round 2 in the new year.

The admin, nurses, doctors and embryologists were all friendly yet professional and would deal with any queries I had from the start. Feel free to PM me and best of luck with your treatment.

Hi there,

I have been with Nurture for about a year now and am thinking about switching to another clinic.

They were very good until March this year. Since then it has been nearly impossible to speak to a doctor or a nurse. All calls are directed to the receptionist who takes messages saying they will be passed on and a nurse will call you back. It sometimes takes days or they don't call back at all.

I saw a doctor once when I had an initial consultation. For each treatment cycle you get a letter in the post saying what your treatment protocol is and that's it. Nobody talks to you and if you have any questions... yes, you've guessed it - back to reception again! You leave a message and wait for a callback if it happens.

All in all I would say their communcation is poor and the organisation is not managed well. The doctors and nurses have been fine but I wouldn't recommended this clinic to a friend.

Sorry to hear that you have had a bad experience bgd7, I have had 2 rounds of ICSI with them, most recently in February this year followed by 3 early scans, the last scan being 5 weeks ago, and I have always found them to be brilliant. I couldn't recommend them highly enough and I haven't even got a baby!! (miscarriages) But the 3 other friends I know who have used them all have lovely children as a result.