The Fertility Alliance

We're delighted to announce that our next book club author is the brilliant Yvonne Hector-John who will be joining us to discuss her book 'Dreaming of a Life Unlived: Intimate Stories and Portraits of Women Without Children’. Yvonne is a passionate activist and public speaker, and has shared her journey of navigating the grief of involuntary childlessness widely in the media. Yvonne is a trained facilitator for the Gateway Women Reignite Weekend Workshops and an ambassador for World Childless Week. She is committed to creating inclusive spaces for Black women and Women of Colour to openly share their childless journeys. As a leading voice on the intersection of infertility and race, she continues to amplify these stories through her blog, Finding My Plan B which you can find at www.findingmyplanb.com. Watch this space for upcoming details about time and date!

We know how lonely fertility problems can make you feel, but you don’t have to go through it alone. ?? Come and meet your fertility friends at our online group on 26th March at 8pm. ? Share experiences in a friendly, safe space ? Feel empowered and supported by a caring community ?? Email us for details at [email protected] - we’d love to have you there! ??

We spoke to the wonderful author Sophie Martin at our Book Club earlier this week, and she explained how her fertility problems completely consumed her life. As a midwife, Sophie always had a focus on evidence-based medicine, but when it came to her own fertility, she admits she was willing to try absolutely anything that might make a difference. You can find the Book Club session with Sophie talking about her book, The Infertile Midwife, and her experiences of fertility issues, treatment and loss on our YouTube channel - https://lnkd.in/dXZ4fbBU

We know that trying to conceive while working in some areas of healthcare, especially in midwifery, fertility clinics or maternity care, can be uniquely challenging. When you're working with those who are pregnant or newborns every day, it can be hard to cope and it's not easy to find the right support. ?? That’s why we’re launching a brand-new group specifically for healthcare professionals who are experiencing fertility issues.?Whatever stage of tests or treatment you are at,?we’re here to help. Last night, we were joined by Sophie Martin at our Book Club. Sophie worked as a midwife while trying to conceive, and her fantastic book, The Infertile Midwife, was part of the inspiration behind this our important new initiative. We know many of you spend your days caring for others, so now it's time for us to support you. ?? Do get in touch if you'd like to find out more - email us at [email protected]

We know how lonely it can feel when you're going through fertility tests and treatment. It can seem as if you're the only person going through all this, but right now, at least 3.5 million people in the UK are facing fertility issues, so you really aren't alone. We are here for you at The Fertility Alliance. We offer: ?? One to one support sessions? ?? Regular groups where you can meet others and share experiences. We know how much talking can help - so don't hesitate to get in touch with us at [email protected]

It's not too late to book to join our online discussion with Sophie Martin at 7.30pm tomorrow night. Sophie will be talking about her book, The Infertile Midwife, which details her experiences of fertility problems, treatments and loss - all while working as an NHS midwife. If you'd like to hear Sophie talking about the book - and have a chance to ask her questions - email us at [email protected] to reserve your place.

Fabulous news from our Advisory Board member Francesca Steyn RN - congratulations!

Great to see our Patron, Prof Allan Pacey, featured in The Guardian!

It's World Book Day and we wanted to take the opportunity to celebrate the great books about fertility we've featured at our Fertility Alliance Book Club. Next week, we'll be talking to Sophie Martin about her moving memoir, "The Infertile Midwife", which tells her story of fertility issues, treatment and loss. We've already featured two fabulous books - Kat Brown's collection of essays about what she refers to as almost parenthood, "No One Talks about This Stuff" and Jessica Hepburn's story about her experiences of IVF, "The Pursuit of Motherhood". If you want to hear Sophie talk about her book on March 11, do email us at [email protected] You can find the recordings of our previous author discussions on our YouTube channel (https://lnkd.in/dXZ4fbBU) We're already planning upcoming books, but if you have a favourite - let us know!

Endometriosis is a very common condition which can affect fertility, yet so many are still unaware of its impact.? March is Endometriosis Action Month, with a theme of 'Endometriosis Explained', exploring how endometriosis must be better understood by the general public and better explained to patients by healthcare practitioners. Here, our Trustee, Raj Mathur, explains the best method for diagnosing endometriosis - you can find our full interview with Raj on this topic on our YouTube channel https://lnkd.in/e9P8GXD5