Twittering

Do you get it ? Twittering, I mean. I'm not entirely sure I do, but I was at a gathering of authors the other night where I felt hopelessly out of date as everyone discussed their twittering and podcasts. So, since podcasting sounds far too technical I decided to have a go at Twitter instead. I don't quite get it yet, but I must admit that it took me about a year to understand Facebook. Maybe by summer 2010, I'll be merrily twittering away. You can find me here http://twitter.com/katebrian

Early menopause support

The Daisy Network - which offers advice and support to anyone affected by early menopause - is organising a one-day conference in central London in June.

The conference is open to all, and partners, friends and family will be warmly welcomed. The date is Saturday June 13 and it lasts all day, with informal discussion groups planned for the afternoon.

Experiencing an early menopause can be difficult and is often isolating, so anyone who would like more information about the day, or about what the Daisy Network can offer, may be interested in visiting the website at www.daisynetwork.org.uk

PCOS fertility workshop

I'm delighted to have been asked to speak at a workshop on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and Fertility organised by Verity - the PCOS support network - in June.

It's a one day event, with a range of sessions exploring how Polycystic Ovary Syndrome can affect your fertility, and what you can do about it. PCOS is a very common female fertility problem, and can be linked with other upsetting symptoms such as weight isssues and excess body hair.

I'll be speaking about what to expect when you're trying to conceive. Other speakers at the event include Professor Stephen Franks and Dr Davinia White, and there will be sessions on funding for fertility treatment and on infertility and complementary therapies. The event will be held in Croydon on June 27. You can find out more at www.verity-pcos.org.uk

Free seminars on fertility treatment.

If you know you are likely to need fertility treatment and want to find out more about it, you may be interested in some free seminars being offered on the subject at one UK clinic. Bourn Hall, just outside Cambridge, is the clinic originally set up by the IVF pioneers, Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards, and now it is a large unit offering a range of treatments.

There is a seminar every month held on a Saturday afternoon, where senior members of the medical and scientific team are on hand to provide information about the treatments and counselling offered at the clinic. The clinic do ask that you notify them in advance if you'd like to attend one of the seminars, but there is no obligation to continue with treatment there, and the question and answer session may prove informative.

You can find out more on the Bourn Hall website at www.bourn-hall-clinic.co.uk

Fertility warnings for cancer patients

According to an interesting article in the New York Times, it seems that many cancer patients are still not being warned about the risks treatment can pose to their fertility.

The paper reports that many patients don't think to ask about this during consultations, and that specialists often forget to tell them in the rush to start treatment. One study estimated that only 1/4 of specialists told patients that their cancer treatment could mean they would not be able to have children. In the US, a new programme has just started to help cancer patients who are worried about their future fertility.

It is surprising that even now many people are unaware that infertility is a fairly common side effect of cancer treatments. If the risks are explained before treatment starts, there is often a window of opportunity to freeze sperm or eggs before it begins. The chances of a successful pregnancy with frozen eggs are still low, but this is a rapidly changing field and this is certain to improve in the not too distant future.

Oxfordshire petition

It's one of those areas of the country with a completely nonsensical IVF funding policy - where only older women, who are less likely to be successful, qualify for NHS help. In Oxfordshire, you have to be 35 to be eligible for funded treatment - and so one couple who would have to wait nine years to qualify have started a petition to call on the local Primary Care Trust to change their policy.

It certainly can't be seen as cost effective to be funding treatment only when there is less chance of it working, but this kind of rationing helps keep waiting lists low and ensures many couples simply have to pay for their own treatment whilst still allowing health officials to claim that they are offering funding for IVF. The government's guidance is that up to three cycles of funded treatment should be offered to eligible couples where the woman is under 40, but in reality this is not happening in much of the country.

The couple who started the petition in Oxfordshire were told that their chances of success if they had IVF now would be 50%, but if they waited until they were eligible for funding, they'd only have a 24% chance of the treatment working. Surely the argument for a change of policy could not be clearer. You can sign the petition at gopetition.co.uk/online/26607.html and you can read more about the story in the Oxford Mail at www.oxfordmail.co.uk

Medical causes of excess body hair

Women who have excess body hair, known as hirsutism, don't always realise that this may indicate an underlying medical problem. Many women are upset and embarrassed if they start growing excess hair but the condition is surprisingly common, affecting up to 15% of the population, and women should feel confident about seeking medical advice. Hirsutism is often a sign of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and the vast majority of women who have excess body hair also suffer from PCOS.

A new study to be published in The Obstetrician and Gynaecologist looks at the causes of hirsutism and also investigates the treatments that may be used successfully. If a woman is overweight, then weight loss can sometimes make a real difference, as can hormone therapy, such as taking the oral contraceptive pill. Women may also be offered cosmetic or medical treatment for hirsutism. There's more on this at www.rcog.org.uk

Funding for Fertility

If you want to know what your chances are of getting NHS help for IVF, a new website has just been launched that can help. The map at www.fundingforfertility.co.uk covers the whole of the UK, and by clicking on an area you can discover whether funding is available, and what restrictions have been set on who can receive it.

The website has been set up by the charity Infertility Network UK, and shows that even now, five years after the IVF postcode lottery was meant to have ended, your chances of getting funded treatment depend entirely on where you live. Government guidance suggests that eligible couples should be able to receive up to three cycles of IVF, but for most of those who need treatment this is still far from becoming reality.

Some areas are not funding treatment at all, whilst many others will only help with one cycle. Even in areas where there is funding, the local trusts often set strict limits on who is eligible in order to ration treatment. You may find that you are too old, too young or too heavy, and smokers are ruled out in most areas. The problem is that these criteria are not always created by people who have an understanding of infertility and IVF, and the current situation is far from fair or just.

See the Fertility Funding map at www.fundingforfertility.co.uk

Donor anonymity and sibling tracing

The Donor Conception Network has highlighted a problem that has recently arisen for the parents of donor conceived children who had been able to ask clinics for the codes given to their donor by the clinic in order to help with sibling tracing. The HFEA has recently changed the advice given to clinics on this, and suggested that they should stop issuing these codes to parents.

There are apparently some concerns about donors being identified from the codes, and worries that they may be used to track down half siblings before children have reached the age of 18. However, the Donor Conception Network is concerned about the way that the decision to stop issuing the codes has been taken so suddenly. If you have donor conceived children and have any thoughts on the issue, you can get in touch with the network through the website at www.dcnetwork.org

Post-natal depression and multiple pregnancy

When you're trying hard to get pregnant, it's easy to assume that having two or three babies in one go would be the ideal solution to your problem, giving you an instant family. The fact that there are medical risks attached to multiple pregnancy is well-documented, but a new study from the States has found that mothers of twins and triplets are 43% more likely to suffer post-natal depression.

More than seven thousand mothers took part in the study and the researchers found that those who had been through the stress of a higher risk multiple pregnancy and delivery were far more likely to become depressed. It was also thought to be partly due to the exhaustion they experienced caring for more than one baby. The research is published in the April edition of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. You can find more at www.aap.org

Book review

An early review for my new book The Complete Guide to IVF has just appeared online - if you're interested in finding out more about the book, you can read it at www.thebookbag.co.uk

Drug hope for male infertility

New research suggests that combining a common fertility drug with vitamin E can improve male sperm counts and increase pregnancy rates.

Researchers at Cairo University used clomiphene citrate (sometimes known by the brand name Clomid), which is often given to women to help them ovulate, along with vitamin E in their trial. Sixty men with fertility problems took part in the study, and half were given clomiphene citrate and vitamin E for six months whilst the others were given a placebo. The results showed that the men who had taken the combined drugs had higher sperm motility and concentration. The pregnancy rate for partners of these men was considerably higher at 37%, whilst the pregnancy rate for the partners of men who'd had the placebo was just 13%.

The scientists say more research is needed but in the meantime you can read more about the study in Fertility and Sterility. You will need to scroll down the page to get to the relevant research.

Cause of IVF failure?

Scientists in Australia think they may have discovered what could cause some IVF cycles not to be successful. Researchers at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane discovered that sometimes the liquid in surrounding eggs in their follicles is infected with bacteria, and that this made IVF less likely to succeed. Their initial findings have led to an ongoing larger study to look into this. You can find out more about the results so far at www.news.qut.edu.au

New book out TODAY

My new book, The Complete Guide to IVF , is out today, published by Piatkus. If you're considering IVF, having iVF or just want to know more about the subject I hope it will be really helpful.

I spent far too long researching it, partly because I found it absolutely fascinating to spend time behind the scenes at fertility clinics and to have the opportunity to quiz consultants, fertility nurses, embryologists and counsellors about their perspective on the subject, at the same time as talking to many patients. I hope that has paid of in terms of the detailed information the book contains. I don't have a scientific background myself, and I think in many ways it was an advantage when it came to writing this book. I had to get people to simplify their explanations so that I could understand them and was never ever afraid of asking really stupid questions which means it is certainly written in a way that makes the sometimes complex treatments very simple to understand.

I hope you'll enjoy reading it - and do get in touch via my website www.katebrian.co.uk if you want to know more.