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

How is fertility affected by previous ectopic pregnancies? If at all?

After 3 failed fresh rounds of IVF, I've been told I have poor embryo quality and to use donor eggs. I'm 31, non smoker, healthy weight.

What causes bad egg quality in someone of my age? Is there any way to improve it?

I've just had my second period after having my coil removed as I'm thinking of trying to conceive through a sperm donor so 2 questions really the first period was heavy but normal flow but my second period started ok for the first 2 days but now as stopped im just getting blood clots when wiping i wanted to know if this is normal and if it will effect my chances of getting pregnant and how likely is it to get pregnant by a sperm donor. Im 38 and had 2 children when i was in my 20's.

My question is about inheritance of fertility problems.
If you have required assistance to get pregnant via IVF or other methods, is it more likely your child will also have fertility difficulties? Or is there not enough long-term data yet to know?

Are you more likely to conceive over 35 years of age if you have had a previous pregnancy?

My partner has good sperm count and motility, but his morphology ranges between 2-4%. What might cause such fluctuations and is there anything we can do to improve morphology?

Would you recommend trying alternative treatments such as reflexology?

I've been trying to conceive for 19 years now. I've had 4 ivf attempts and now waiting for a donor egg for our 5th and final attempt at ivf. I also have immune issues so take the drugs to combat this along with intralipids.

I'm stressed to the limit and as each year passes it gets harder and harder and the disappointment hurts more each time.
I'm nervous about our upcoming final attempt and feel like the stress could make things worse for me.

Do you think this is a factor?

Does luteal phase length really matter when trying to conceive? I'm concerned as I believe the time between when I ovulate and the first day of my period is sometimes only about 9 days. My calculations are based on ovulation predictor kits (presuming it's at least 24 hours between a positive OPK and ovulation). Does having a short luteal phase mean I'm infertile or have other implications? I'm worried as I'm already 35 years old too.

Prior to the birth of my daughter in 2016 I'd had three miscarriages (over a period of three years) and had been in alot of abdominal pain on and off for several months.

After a couple of trips to a and e with excruciating pain it was discovered that I have endometriosis and polysistic ovaries. During a meeting with a specialist we were basically told I would struggle to have children and that, realistically, this may never happen for us.

A couple of months later I was (happily and thankfully pregnant with my daughter, my wonderful rainbow baby).

My question is: in light if the circumstances and the small miracle that my daughter turned out to be a successful pregnancy, how likely is it that I or anybody else in my situation, would be able to have another successful pregnancy and within what time frame?

Could my rhesus negative blood be an issue in staying pregnant? Three consecutive miscarriages following dd1.

Does having an ovarian cyst affect fertility?

I’ve had recurring early miscarriages but also carried 2 pregnancies to term. Is it possible that my body attacks make embryos? (I have 3 DDs)

What are the best over the counter products to aid conception ? There's so many different lubricants, vitamins etc and they're all fairly expensive, would love to know that I'm not throwing my money down the drain!

What are the best natural things to do to aid conception before resorting to medication? I'm currently waiting to be seen on the NHS, the wait is 6 months and I don't want to get to the appointment to be told to try different things, I'd rather do all that now to speed things along.

Thanks :)

How long should you wait before consulting your GP if you are unsuccessful TTC?
Would you recommend seeing them sooner if you are past a certain age?

By what percentage does your fertility drop by in your 40’s?

What’s the best treatment for male infertility- to improve it not ivf/icsi

Would weight training have an influence on secondary infertility?

Do certain medications stop you ovulating/affect your fertility?

DS1 was conceived on the second cycle of trying and DS2 on the 7th cycle of trying (both just happened without any plan, opks, tracking bbt etc the only plan was to DTD a few times around ovulation)

A year ago I started lifting weights to help with my back problems and am still lifting heavy weights once a week (whilst being active and doing the odd home weight workout with dumbells/kettlebells the rest of the week).
Also last May I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia (quite mild in my opinion) and put on 10mg of Amitriptyline.

Currently we are on our 6th cycle of trying. All cycles we've been DTD every other day from about day 8-18 of a 24-26 day cycle. Last cycle I also tested once a day with opks (no sign of ovulating) and now this cycle I'm testing twice a day with opks and tracking bbt.

DS1 born when I was 35, DS2 when I was 37, I turned 40 last September.

Hey,

I was diagnosed with PCOS in September 2017 and have since lost 3 stone and have started taking vitamins etc to try and get my cycle back on track.

Recently, my periods have started to even out and have now reached a 35-36 day regular cycle which is a vast improvement but this is the first month I have started taking Pre-natal vitamins and I feel very sick and dizzy. I am 5 days off of my period and wasn't able to pinpoint ovulation this month so I'm fairly sure it won't be pregnancy. Could it be the vitamins?

Thank you

How long on average should you wait between ttc between children? Is there a best time?

What are the chances of becoming pregnant from an embryo frozen on day one?

Do frozen eggs have a lower success rate?

My husband is infertile following treatment for undescended testicles in the 80's which was left much too late.

Are there any treatment options which don't require me to go through invasive procedures and the poor chances of results with ICSI?

I find it so hard to come to terms with this, as there's nothing wrong with me, yet I'm the one who will have to go through it all!

Does spotting throughout your luteal phase mean your progesterone levels are too low to sustain a pregnancy?

I have heard that donating eggs can help advance research into fertility treatments.
Would they need to harvest eggs from ladies already finding it difficult to conceive? Or will eggs from people not finding conceiving difficult be better for the research?