Back to The Fertility Podcast archive for this episode to celebrate the release of the Netflix movie 'Joy' - Natalie has shared a conversation she had Connie Orbach about how she started her research to curate the British Science Museum's exhibition about the story of IVF.

What was discussed:

• Connie herself admitted how she didn't realize how much content she would find in the archives from Leslie Brown, regarding the correspondence she received from all around the world.
• Connie talked about Jean Purdy who I've learned all about over the last couple of weeks and she is talked about as being IVF's forgotten pioneer, despite being written about by Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards as one of the three of them.
• Connie has written a really good blog here Jean was hired as a lab technician however she was tasked with managing the laboratory and in reality, she did much more. Jean Purdy was not just central to the running of the lab but also to the scientific work. Connie and I spoke about whether her gender meant she was taken less seriously by reporters? Possibly, seeing as she was recorded in the photos as being the 'midwife'.
• Was her role as a lab technician seen as unimportant next to that of the surgeon and the scientist? This is so ironic seeing as she is credited with first discovering the blastocyst embryo stage, one of the key breakthroughs in our understanding of an embryo's development.
• Whatever the reason, it was not for lack of trying from Edwards. He repeatedly emphasized Purdy’s importance and unsuccessfully lobbied her name to be added to the commemorative plaque placed at the site of their original clinic. Read more in Connie's blog and here are some other articles that are written for the exhibition
• Sally Cheshire, chair of the HFEA has also written a blog for the exhibition. Martin Johnson discussing the challenges faced by Bob Edwards developing IVF.
• Gareth Downs on the male perspective: Bristol Archives wrote a blog recently about receiving the Lesley Brown Archive

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To celebrate the release on Netflix of the new film about IVF 'Joy' this is an old episode of The Fertility Podcast, which Natalie produced in celebration of Louise Brown's 40th Birthday and the fact that at that point in time, over 300,000 babies have been born through IVF treatment with more than 1 million cycles having taken place. TheHFEA asked Natalie to make a podcast with them, so Natalie is in conversation with its chair Sally Cheshire and one of its Inspectors, a lady called Janet Kirkland MacHattie, who worked as a nurse at Bourne Hall in 1982, under Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards and Jean Purdy.

In fact, it was during this conversation with Janet, that Natalie first learnt about Jean, and found herself feeling somewhat ashamed that she didn't know about her sooner!

What was discussed:

• Sally Cheshire talked about how at the time the treatment was quite experimental and Louise Brown's parents were quite brave in putting themselves forward
• She explains how the Government and Parliament decided to investigate how treatment should be regulated and asked Mary Warnock to form a committee in 1984 to look at how infertility should be regulated. The law came into being in 1990 and the HFEA came to be in 1991.
• Sally talked about her role at the HFEA and what has changed over the last 40 years and the importance of the focus of its work being on the 70% of people who aren’t successful with their treatment.
• The HFEA has a vital role, thinking about how emotional support can be improved in clinics because, as she explains 'We do know that even if you are pregnant after IVF there’s a level of anxiety you carry with you".
• The importance of being medically, emotionally and financially equipped to try again when going through fertility treatment. Sally explained how 'We still feel a lot of media stories about fertility treatment are positive… very often, there’s a lot of around celebrities with the example of Bridget Neilson who gave birth at 54. Are they being truthful about using donor eggs? Some of those stories give you a false impression."
• Janet explained how she went for the job at Bourn Hall, to join the nursing team - not really knowing what was involved and when she asked Patrick Steptoe his advice on a book she could read to learn more, his reply was 'My dear, they've not been written yet
• What the treatment process was like initially, with Ladies staying at Bourn Hall for ten day periods and how as they didn't have blood tests, the Ladies urine was tested every three hours to find out if they were ovulating.
• Janet talked about an interview Patrick Steptoe gave where he spoke about his vision for the future being "centres set up where people have been properly trained and this technique will be available to women all over the world"

To compare clinics like for like, or rate your clinic visit the HFEA website

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The Fertility Podcast is back with an all time favourite topic… stress!

In this episode Kate is with Alice Domar to talk all about stress and how it affects your fertility. Stress and Fertility is a topic that is often asked by a lot of patients, and it is one that leaves people little answer to whether stress causes infertility.

There is no question that infertility causes stress, through all the waiting, the tests, the remembering so many different things and then sometimes, not ever finding an answer to your unexplained infertility.

So in this episode, Kate and Alice talk about infertility about how most of the women and men going through it have psychological issues and lots of stress. They talk about how infertility effects everything in your life, your friends and family, mental and physical health, your body image and so much more.

Alice talks about infertility is a disease, however, unlike most other diseases, you are blamed for it. She goes onto talk about how it should be seen as a mental health issue or how it should be treated as the same but it is not.

They also talk about being on hold and feeling like you can’t do anything because you don’t know what is going to happen if you do.

OUR SPONSOR:

We are delighted that the current series is being sponsored by Proceive who are kindly offering all listeners to The Fertility Podcast 15% off any Procieve purchase, when you use the discount code FP15.

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Website - https://dralicedomar.com/

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Alice’s research - The relationship between stress and infertility:

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON WOMEN PREGNANT FOLLOWING ART: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY -

PREVIOUS EPISODE: Stress and Fertility by Kate Davies