Big Fat Negative: Ttc, Fertility, Infertility And Ivf

Termination for medical reasons: it's such a difficult subject, Emma hasn't been able to bring herself to talk about it. Until now. We're joined by Hayley Manning, the co-host of Time to Talk TFMR, a podcast where women share their experiences of making an impossible choice. You can find Hayley's podcast on all good platforms.If you want to enter the book competition, email bigfatnegativepodcast@gmail.com with your answer and the subject line "BFN Book Win". Competition closes at midnight on Tuesday 18 January.Swears throughout this episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The girls are joined this week by Lizzie, who discovered two years ago that she was conceived through a sperm donor. She talks about how that felt, how she's come to terms with it and what it means to go from only child to one of 11 half-siblings (and counting).Swears throughout. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Professor Joyce Harper has spent 30 years on both sides of the IVF counter: as an embryologist, professor of women's health and one of Europe's leading voices on fertility treatment, and also as an IVF patient. She joins us to explain how to do your own research: how to read scientific papers, how to spot a dodgy study and how to get clued-up on your own treatment.Swears throughout. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The girls are back with a new series - kicking off with entrepreneur, TV star and hip hop royalty Raquel 'Rocky' Horn, who talks us through her infertility 'jourrrrney' and why she has chosen to share it with the world, and explains what it's like when you're a stepmother who desperately wants her own baby.Swears throughout. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We're back for a Fertility Week special, with an update from the Foxes: did they manage an embryo transfer? What was their TWW like? What was their result?TRIGGER WARNING: This episode includes an audio diary of a two-week wait, including the results of a pregnancy test. As always, please look after your heart. Swears throughout. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Katy from Chasing Creation (chasingcreation.org) joins Gabby and Emma to talk about her decision to have a hysterectomy, its repercussions and how she is creating her unexpectedly childfree life. Meanwhile, Liz gives advice to someone struggling with the uncertainty of infertility.Sign up to BFN's newsletter at https://www.bigfatnegative.com/newsletter-the-waiting-room.See you in January!Swears throughout. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we're discussing the state between TTC and childlessness - at what point do you cross over? Gabby and Emma are joined by Annabel from Maybehood (https://maybehood.com/) to discuss it. Meanwhile, Sophie has had her egg collection.Subscribe to our newsletter at bigfatnegative.com.Swears throughout. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Kreena Dhiman's story has more twists and turns than Emma's wonky fallopian tubes: having survived cancer and heart failure, she embarked on a surrogacy journey, and - well, we won't give away the ending. She joins us to tell us her jourrrrney, and what happens when everything goes more right than could possibly imagine.Meanwhile, agony aunt Liz gives advice to someone who needs advice on how to keep going.Kreena's podcast is called The Intended Parent and it's available wherever you get your podcasts.Swears throughout. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How do you navigate infertility if you have to work with babies, children or - horror! - pregnant women every day? Sophie Martin lost her twins, Cecil and Wilfred, at 21 weeks, and went through gruelling rounds of IVF to get pregnant again. During all of it, she was working as a midwife, helping women to bring their babies into the world. She talks about her journey, and how she coped in her day job. Meanwhile, Sophie is on day nine of her stims.Swears throughout. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Gabby and Emma are joined by Dr Belinda Coker, the founder of Your Trusted Squad, to talk about how it feels to be a doctor whose pain is ignored by other doctors, and why she started Your Trusted Squad, her fertility concierge service. Meanwhile, Liz is tackling the thorniest question there is: what's the point? You can subscribe to the newsletter, buy t-shirts and pre-order our book at http://www.bigfatnegative.com.Swears throughout. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

By popular demand, Emma and Gabby give you an update on where their heads are at on second babies. TRIGGER WARNING: If this is a point in your jourrrrney where listening to this might be hard, please look after your heart and skip this episode! You have been been warned!Meanwhile, Sophie has received her drugs and is getting ready for her first jab.Swears throughout.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Emma and Gabby are joined by Rachel Westbury, the founder of the Nappy Endings surrogacy agency and a three-time surrogate (of four babies).Meanwhile, Liz is addressing the question of whether or not to do IVF.If you want to listen to Sophie Sulehria's podcast, check it out here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06nxjd.Swears throughout.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we are joined by Marissa Nelson, a marriage and family therapist, and (crucially) also a sex therapist, who joins us to talk sex while TTC: can it ever actually be sexy?Meanwhile, we are squee-ing with Sophie about her upcoming IVF round. For those who are interested in the history of Gonal-F and how the Vatican was involved in its development, here's that article: https://qz.com/710516/the-strange-story-of-a-fertility-drug-made-with-the-popes-blessing-and-gallons-of-nun-urine/.Swears from the start, and throughout.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Emma and Gabby are joined this week by blogger and author Elle Wright, whose new book, A Bump in the Road, chronicles the infertility journey she endured after the loss of newborn son, Teddy. You can buy it here.Meanwhile, BFN agony aunt Liz is talking PTSD.No Prof Tim this week - he'll be back in a few weeks.Swears throughout.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Do you have questions about doing IVF abroad? Emma Haslam from Your IVF Abroad (yourivfabroad.co.uk) is here to answer them all - from what to do about language barriers to how to find a decent clinic.Meanwhile, Sophie has some exciting (but 100% non-triggering) news, and Professor Tim is tackling blood groups - do they affect fertility?Here is a link to a video of a watermelon with a lot of elastic bands around it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azA_zYYYy7I Swears throughout.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

They've been going on about her for long enough - today, Emma and Gabby have finally dragged their acupuncturist, Lui Yeung, onto the podcast. She explains the principles of acupuncture and why it's helpful for fertility (also: which one of the girls is better at it. It's a bit tense). Meanwhile, Liz and special guest Nick are talking about performance anxiety and Prof Tim is talking linings again - can they ever be too thick?You can find out more about Lui at https://www.luiacupuncture.com/ or on her Instagram account at @luiyeungacupuncture.Swears throughout.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

... clue: you won't get frostbite from the difficult one. Emma and Gabby are joined by polar explorer Jenny Wordsworth, who tells them about the parallels between extreme endurance expeditions and infertility (because there sure as hell aren't many differences), while Sophie is talking furry friends and Professor Tim is tackling thin linings: what can you do about them?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We're talking 'coming out' this week: how to tell people what you're going through. Plus, we're talking to The PCOS Dr, aka Dr Amina Hersi, and Professor Tim tackles retrograde ejaculation.Find Dr Amina's Instagram profile here.Swears throughout.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's Liz's first turn as BFN's agony aunt - this week she's addressing an embryo dilemma: to fork out or not to fork out? Meanwhile, we're speaking Ruth Corden (you can find her podcast here or by searching 'Finding the Funny' on your podcast app) about childlessness not by choice, and Prof Tim is talking thyroids. Many, many swears.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sophie is back this week to talk about the highs and lows (mainly lows, let's be honest) of taking a break from TTC. Meanwhile, we meet Wegan, the 'wafty, floaty, delicious' (Gabby's words) influencer couple who launched a campaign last year to get same-sex couples the same infertility rights as heterosexual couples. We also ask Professor Tim about embryo transfers: is having two transferred really so bad?You can find out more about Wegan's campaign at change.org/fertilityequality - and pre-order our book and find out everything else about us at bigfatnegative.com.Swears throughout.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.