Big Fat Negative: TTC, fertility, infertility and IVF

When fertility treatments work, what happens next? Emma and Gabby are back for a one-off episode to talk about Emma's experiences of giving birth, and how infertility continued to frame her experiences. TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains conversations about giving birth, motherhood and successful IVF treatments. Please protect your heart and don't listen if you don't feel able to. We'll be bac...

Hello, are you a new listener? It might be helpful to start from the beginning - you'll get to know us better that way. It's the final episode before Emma and Gabby take a break, and we've got a bumper show for you. Lisa Faulkner - yes, her from off of the telly - talks infertility and her journey to adopting her daughter, while Professor Tim Child, medical director of Oxford Fertility, explains w...

Hello! Are you a new listener? Why not start from the first episode? You'll get to know us better. For the penultimate episode of this series, Emma and Gabby are joined by their friend Ally, who talks about raising a child after infertility, her journey to conceive a second child and what it took to make the difficult decision to terminate a pregnancy after the baby was diagnosed with a chromosoma...

Hello! Are you a new listener? Why not start from the first episode? You'll get to know us better. Emma and Gabby are joined by author Genevieve Roberts, who discusses her book, Going Solo: My Choice to Become a Single Mother Using a Donor (out now!). Professor Tim Child, medical director at Oxford Fertility, addresses abnormal-shaped uteruses: how much do they affect your chances of conceiving? S...

Hello! Are you a new listener? Why not start from the first episode? You'll get to know us better. We're joined again by author and psychotherapist Julia Bueno for the second part of our conversation about miscarriage. Julia's book, The Brink of Being, is available on Amazon and in bookshops. Meanwhile, Professor Tim Child, medical director at Oxford Fertility, discusses antihistamines - are they...

Hello! Are you a new listener? Why not start from the first episode? You'll get to know us better. We're joined by author and psychotherapist Julia Bueno for the first part of our conversation about miscarriage. Julia's book, The Brink of Being, is available on Amazon and in bookshops. Meanwhile, Professor Tim Child, medical director at Oxford Fertility, addresses saliva - is it good or bad for se...

Hello! Are you a new listener? Why not start from the first episode? You'll get to know us better. We're joined this week by Kate Spicer, the author of Lost Dog: A Love Story, to talk about pets - why they fill a gap in our hearts, and why they can help us deal with our feelings of grief. Meanwhile, Professor Tim Child, medical director at Oxford Fertility, explains why you should avoid Ibuprofen...

Hello! Are you a new listener? Why not start from the first episode? You'll get to know us better. Gabby is joined this week by Lisa Hendrickson-Jack, the author of the Fifth Vital Sign, to talk fertility awareness, and how you can track your cycles to improve fertility. Meanwhile, Professor Tim explains what to do with IVF drugs once you've finished your cycles. Some swears. Hosted on Acast. See...

Hello! Are you a new listener? It might be a good idea to go back to the start of the podcast and listen from there. You'll get to know us better. Gabby and Emma are joined this week by Dr Jan Toledano of the London Hormone Clinic to talk hormones and the role they play in TTC. Professor Tim addresses embryo quality - how to embryologists decide which one to put back? Some swears. Hosted on Acast....

Hello! Are you a new listener? It might be a good idea to go back to the start of the podcast and listen from there. You'll get to know us better. Emma and Gabby are joined by Becky Kearns to talk about how she conceived her three daughters via egg donation after she was diagnosed with early menopause. Professor Tim explains why clinics ask IVF patients to stop drugs at different stages during ear...

Hello! Are you a new listener? It might be a good idea to go back to the start of the podcast and listen from there. You'll get to know us better. Emma and Gabby are joined by Lina Chan to talk about her 'journey' and why she started fertility information service Adia. Professor Tim Child, medical director at Oxford Fertility, returns - this week to why you'll need a full bladder during embryo tra...

Hello! Are you a new listener? Can we suggest you go back and start from the beginning of the podcast? You'll get to know us better that way. This week, Emma and Gabby are joined by their first anonymous guest, who talks about her journey and how she reconciles infertility with her Islamic faith. No Prof Tim this week! He'll be back soon. Some swears. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor...

Emma and Gabby are joined by Kate Pinney, a midwife from Tommy's, to talk about miscarriage, while Professor Tim tackles apple cider vinegar - can it help regulate hormones? NB. we've banished pregnancy chat to the end of the podcast, so it's easier for you to avoid if you need to. Are you a new listener? It might be better to start from the beginning. Warning: some swears. Hosted on Acast. See ac...

Why, hello there, stranger. Are you a new listener? Might we suggest you go back and start from the first episode of the podcast? You'll get a much better idea of what we're about. This week we're joined by Alpesh Doshi, a consultant embryologist and the co-founder of IVF London, who demystifies the role of the embryologist. What does an embryologist do? How do they know they've got a good embryo?...

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains audio of Gabby doing her pregnancy test. Please do not listen in you don't feel able to. It's the big one: did Gabby's embryo transfer work out? She takes you through her two week wait in her audio diary. Elsewhere, Professor Tim tackles DHEA. Some swears. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ahead of National Infertility Awareness Week in the US, we're collaborating with Sarah and Kaela from the Infertile Mafia podcast, who are answering our questions this week. Meanwhile, Gabby is mid-two week wait, while Professor Tim addresses HSGs and HyCoSys: can they really make you more fertile? Pregnancy chat skippers: avoid 8:28 to 18:34. Some swears. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo...

It's the eve of Gabby's frozen embryo transfer, so we've consulted experts, the wider infertility community and, er, Emma, to help her prepare for her big day. Professor Tim Child tackles the thorny issue of folates vs. folic acid. Pregnancy chat skippers: avoid 6:00 until 12:00. Some swears. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BONUS EPISODE – today’s installment of BFN is sponsored by Thriva. Emma and Gabby were invited to host a brilliant event with Thriva, She’s So Hormonal, which brought together experts and real-life stories to raise awareness of how female hormones can affect us. Yes that’s our old friends mood swings, fatigue, bad skin, fertility and the menopause. This episode is a recording of one of the panel d...

The countdown to transfer begins for Gabby, as the girls are joined by author and journalist Lynn Enright to talk vaginas, vulvas and her new book. Meanwhile, Professor Tim Child, medical director at Oxford Fertility, makes his glorious return to talk about baby aspirin. Some swears. Pregnancy chat avoiders: skip 15:35 to 22:55. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emma and Gabby are joined by natural fertility expert Dee Armstrong , who talks about TTC sex - how those who don't need IVF can optimise their chances of having a baby naturally. No Professor Tim this week... Some swears. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

**TRIGGER WARNING**: Pregnancy is discussed throughout this episode. Please do not listen if you don't feel able to right now. It turns out infertility doesn't stop at two pink lines. Gabby chairs a short discussion between Emma, Cat Strawbridge and Roma Agrawal, who discuss the effect infertility and loss have had on their pregnancies. Our usual service will return on WEDNESDAY, rather than Tuesd...

This week Gabby is still thinking about her lumpy new friend, and Emma is on her high horse. They're joined by Katy Lindemann, aka Uber Barrens Club, who describes the many twists and turns of her 'journey' - including suspected PCOS, a lining that wouldn't co-operate and miscarriage. Meanwhile, Professor Tim Child, medical director of Oxford Fertility, tackles HCG - should its levels really doubl...

It hasn't been the easiest week for Gabby, who has discovered an unwelcome new friend, while Emma has taken yet another trip to the EPU. The two are joined by entrepreneur, tech superstar and former policy wonk Rohan Silva, who talks about his oligozoospermia, and why men won't talk about their infertility. Professor Tim Child, medical director at Oxford Fertility, tackles intralipids. Pregnancy c...

The girls are still on their backup mic this week, so bear with them. Gabby's had a wobble - and so has Emma. Luckily, they're joined by Fertility Fest organiser, channel swimmer and all-round fertility superstar Jessica Hepburn to cheer them up. Meanwhile, Professor Tim Child tackles embryo glue - is it worth it? Pregnancy chat skippers - avoid 13:08 to 21:00. Some swears. Check out Fertility Fes...

Happy Tuesday, yo. Gabby is still agonising over whether to fly to NYC after her transfer, while Emma is having a(nother) anxious moment. Gabby speaks to Vanessa Haye, a social entrepreneur and fertility campaigner, who talks about her faith and her experiences of infertility as a black woman. Meanwhile, Professor Tim tackles drugs timing: if you forget to take a pill, should you panic? To get tic...