Got any questions about fertility? Ask CARE Fertility’s experts - Chance to win £150 voucher NOW CLOSED

[EllieMumsnet]

Whether you’ve had any problems with getting pregnant or not, fertility can be quite confusing. Therefore CARE Fertility would love you to ask your fertility questions to their experts: Professor Arri Coomarasamy, Dr Sue Montgomery and Judith Byrne.

Here’s what CARE Fertility have to say: “It’s time to talk about fertility. 1 in every 6 people trying for a baby will experience challenges getting pregnant. CARE Fertility are the UK’s leading fertility clinic with over 28,000 CARE babies born to date. At CARE we will do everything we can for every person who needs our help, to give everyone the very best chance of having a baby of their own.
CARE Fertility have clinics all over the UK, from London to Sheffield and Manchester, Nottingham, Northampton, Tunbridge Wells and Birmingham, and more. Our experts for this Q&A include expertise from three of our Clinics.”

Do you have a question about conceiving? Maybe you’d like to know more about freezing your eggs? Or perhaps you’d like some more information on IVF? Whatever fertility questions you’d like to know the answer to, CARE Fertility’s experts are here to help.

Please post your questions on the thread below and we’ll choose 15 for Professor Arri Coomarasamy, Dr Sue Montgomery and Judith Byrne to answer and then post a link to the responses as soon as possible. Everyone who posts their questions will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £150 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Here is some information about the experts:
Professor Arri Coomarasamy is Medical Director at our Birmingham clinic. He's well known for his research at the University of Birmingham into early pregnancy care, reproductive medicine and global women's health, and is also the Director of Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriage Care and Research.

Dr Sue Montgomery is the Laboratory Manager at CARE Manchester. Sue has over 20 years of clinical embryology experience.

Judith Byrne, Clinic Director at our Northampton clinic and one of our most experienced team members with over 30 years fertility nursing experience.

Thanks and good luck

Ellie
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

I'm 36, my husband is 49, no health issues, non-smokers. It took us nearly two years to get pregnant (neither of us have children), but I had a miscarriage at 7 weeks. What are my chances of getting pregnant again naturally and carrying the baby to full term? I'm terrified it'll take so long to get pregnant again and, even if I do, I will miscarry again. Should I give up now?

Does having a lower that average basal body temp affect your chances of conceiving? I’ve read conflicting things and some of it seems linked to Chinese medicine about keeping the womb warm etc. Is there any science to back this up?

I dont have a question but just came onto say that Care are amazing ... we have a a beautiful daughter and a beautiful son through their help ( 3 IVF ICSI cycles ).

@sophherts see the work of Dr George Ndukwe who used to work for Care , and specialises in exactly your question - his rates of success are extremely high using the types of methods you ask . He has been in the national news , BBC etc re this . He is for us an earth treading angel as he looked after me so well through IVF and we have 2 beautiful children .

How much does both of us being over weight affect fertility? Will my husband diagnosis of type 2 diagnosis affect fertility?

Does having long cycles (over 40 days) strongly imply that you aren't ovulating? My GP told me so but I've read lots of conflicting information.

Oh and - is there any evidence that years of hormonal contraceptive use negatively affects your fertility in the long term (i.e. even after your cycles have returned)?

No questions for Care but a massive thanks for looking after me and my husband for so many years! Dr Shaker, your nurses and your lovely embryologists at Care Sheffield are gods to me and we owe you everything.

Is it true that embryos survive thawing better than eggs? If so, realistically, how useful is it for women to freeze eggs as a 'just in case'?

HOw much does male infertility account for fertility problems?

And what can be done to prevent male infertility

Is having a high fsh the same as having a low ovarian egg reserve? Also why does it not follow that you may not enter into early menopause? Thanks

If you are over 40 and looking to improve egg quality, does losing weight help?

Does having a retroverted uterus cause problems conceiving? Mine has always been that way but seems to have gotten a lot worse after 2 pregnancies and I worry it may affect my chances of having a third.

I know a few people who have got pregnant easily and naturally second time round after having successful IVF treatment for their first child. Is this just a coincidence ?

How much impact can a hydrosalpinx have on fertility, conception, and successful pregnancy? What's involved in the removal of a hydro and/or fallopian tube? How would tube removal impact the chances of conception, generally speaking?

Is fertility treatment more likely to succeed once there has been a successful pregnancy? And is this due to the pregnancy or just that those undergoing fertility treatment after a pregnancy are a self selecting group?

In cases of unexplained infertility, is it better to pursue further investigations (eg laparoscopy or hysteroscopy) or go straight to trying IVF - particularly if NHS funding is available for IVF but not further investigations

I was lucky enough to fall pregnant on our first round if ivf. We have one frozen embryo. My dd is now 10 months and we'd like another. My dd is breastfed and ideally I'd like to continue until she self weans - however I've heard I cannot have fertility treatment whilst breastfeeding. Can you explain why, and if it is also the case for a frozen transfer?
The decision to wean and have treatment vs not weaning and accepting having a single child is weighing on me at the moment. Waiting for her to wean naturally isn't an option as I'm 41 next month.

If you were to freeze eggs when you were in your 20's, is there a cut off date for these to be used or a cut off due to mothers age?

What will my period be like after my pregnancy?

Do specific lubricants for conception work? I used this stuff 'conceive plus' when we were struggling, but I wasn't sure if it was just a con..

After one successful fresh round of IVF, we have since had 3 early miscarriages (again after IVF). Apart from healthy lifestyle, is there anything we can do to try to prevent the miscarriages or was the embryo 'never meant to be'? We've heard different ideas from different people: no swimming, no lifting etc.

We've had tests for ATA, thrombosis, NK cell test etc and all came back fine.

If you wanted to donate your eggs, what are the eligibility criteria for this? If you have family history of a heart problem for instance, would you be eligible? E.g would Care support an egg donor to get say a chest X-ray which could prove the donor doesn't have the family heart problem - and then would you be eligible?

I'l like to ask please what feedback the medics are getting 20 - 25 years after treatment. Are any particular symptoms being presented by women who have previously had infertility treatment, are there any patterns emerging? Thank you

I'd like to know more about egg donation too. What's the upper age limit?