Tuesday 6 November 2012

afterword... The Fertility Show


This weekend's Fertility Show was very busy - more than 3,600 visitors over the weekend - and it was lovely to meet some of you and to find many old friends too.  The seminar programme this year was fantastic with really interesting topics addressed by some of the world's leading experts in their fields and most of the talks appeared to be packed out.
There were quite a few clinics from the UK exhibiting at the Show, mainly from London and the South East, but they were rather outnumbered by their counterparts from overseas who have clearly realised that more and more people are considering travelling for fertility treatment.  There were fertility specialists from Spain, Russia, Latvia, Georgia, Italy, Barbados, the Czech Republic, Norway, Denmark, Greece, Sweden and across the USA from Florida to Chicago. I spoke to a number of people who were considering treatment overseas and they'd found it really helpful to have so many different clinics from around the world all gathered under one roof.  It can be very hard to distinguish between one and another when you're only judging them on their websites and email communications, and the opportunity to meet staff face to face and get a feel for the clinics and what they can offer is quite unique.
For me, it was really good to see so many patient support organisations there too - Infertility Network UK, the Donor Conception NetworkInternational Asherman's AssociationKlinefelter's Syndrome Association, Fleur and the lovely team from Verity PCOS who must be congratulated on their purple theme which even went as far as a rather wonderful pair of handmade purple earings...
As it is National Adoption Week, it was heartening to see that a number of fostering and adoption agencies were represented too as this is an alternative route to parenthood that some may want to consider.
Everyone I spoke to who'd visited the Show had found it to be a beneficial experience.  I know some people do feel it is a rather commercial affair for a medical problem, but fertility treatment is a massive commercial industry. Personally, I think the opportunities a weekend at The Fertility Show can offer outweigh any such concerns.  If you're not into fertility astrology or crystal therapy, you don't need to spend time at the stands offering them. It's a matter of picking and choosing the things that you want to know more about and making the most of the opportunities the weekend can afford.






Friday 2 November 2012

Come and say hello...


If you’re going to The Fertility Show at London’s Olympia tomorrow, do come and say hello.  I’m speaking at 11.45 about choosing a clinic, and then chairing a Q and A session with two overseas clinics at 3.30, so do come and find me if you’re there.   If you haven’t booked in advance, you can still turn up and pay on the door.
Piatkus, who publish my books, have very kindly donated some copies of The Complete Guide to IVF to the Infertility Network UK stand where they can be exchanged for donations to the charity, and I will also have some copies of Precious Babies, my latest book about pregnancy, birth and parenting after infertlity.
The Fertility Show is always a really interesting two days, and this year is on track to be the best yet with a fascinating array of seminars and exhibitors from around the world.  If you want to know more about exactly what’s on and when, go to www.fertilityshow.co.uk

Thursday 1 November 2012

My new blog site

If you don't know about it already, do have a look at my new blog site, www.fertilitymatters.org.uk.  I'm going to be posting in both places for the time being as I know it will take a while for everyone to find the new site, but I hope that in the long run it will be easier to use and it has room for far more content than this blog.