We'll help you find the right fertility pathway
All patients are treated as individuals and treatment packages are specifically tailored to suit each individual patient's needs.
Our patient journey below represents an example of a typical journey whilst under our care, but will vary according to your needs.
Your treatment will be tailored to you.
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Investigations
We begin the fertility journey with you to better understand your body. We will perform the following tests if they have not been done previously by your GP. We may also carry out further investigations such as Hysterosalpingogram (HSG), Laparoscopy, Hysteroscopy, and Anti-Mullerian Hormone.
Initial investigations
Hormone profile
We will conduct Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), Luteinising Hormone and oestradiol. These blood tests will help to tell us about whether you are ovulating and also to help assess how your ovaries are working (the reserve of your ovaries).
Semen analysis
This is a detailed look at the number, movement and shape of the sperm.
Trans-vaginal ultrasound scan
This is an internal scan to assess the size and shape of your womb and also provides information regarding the size, activity and location of your ovaries.
Chlamydia antibody status blood test
We perform this test, as occasionally women that have had Chlamydia may have tubal damage.
Rubella immunity blood test
We perform this test as if you are not immune to rubella, and contracting it in pregnancy may cause damage to the baby.
Further Investigations
HSG (Hysterosalpingogram)
This is an X-Ray investigation. It involves injecting a small amount of dye which shows up on X-Ray films of the pelvis. This gives valuable information about the shape of the cavity of the womb and also whether the fallopian tubes are open.
Laparoscopy
This operation to look inside the pelvis and diagnose or treat any problems. It can be used to check whether the fallopian tubes are open, look for/or treat endometriosis or adhesions or fibroids.
Hysteroscopy
This operation is to look inside the pelvis and diagnose or treat any problems. It can be used to check whether the fallopian tubes are open or look for/or treat endometriosis or adhesions or fibroids.
Anti-Mullerian Hormone
An AMH blood test is used to assess a patient's ovarian reserve. This test is a payable private test.
Referring into our service
There are two main routes of referral to Yorkshire Fertility.
- The most common referral method is through your GP, who must refer using the E-referral system set in place.
- You may also be referred to the service by your specialist consultant or care provider, who will write to us themselves.
Self-referral is available to patients who would like to pay a charge of £141.00 for a direct referral into our service. NHS funding criteria still applies.
It is beneficial to us and may make your care pathway move more quickly if your referrer can initiate a baseline hormone blood test to include Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), Luteinising Hormone (LH) and oestrodial taken on days 1 - 3 of your period, along with rubella immunity and Chlamydia antibody status. Your partner can have a semen analysis performed too.
If you are unsure whether or not you qualify or are entitled to be seen by Yorkshire Fertility, please contact us and we will be more than happy to help you.
Your waiting time to be seen from referral will not exceed five weeks, and where we do not have the capacity, we will ensure a time slot is made for you to be seen.
If for any reason you are struggling to get a referral to us, please telephone our unit on 01422 261344 for further advice.
Nurse new appointment
Your first appointment will be to see one of the Fertility Nurse Specialists who will take a detailed medical history. If you are attending as a couple it is essential you attend this appointment together. The nurse will explain the significance of any investigations that you have already had and the implications of any medical history. She may arrange for either or both of you to have further tests. The female partner will also have a base line trans-vaginal ultrasound scan.
The female's body mass index will be checked as fertility treatments cannot be offered to women who's BMI is outside the range, however we will offer our dietitian services if required.
You will be given an appointment to return to clinic in 6 weeks time, this gives us time obtain the results of certain blood tests.
Doctors consultation
When you return for your follow up appointment you will have the opportunity to meet one of our medical team either; Mr L Chaudhari, Dr H Ahmed and Helen Gibbons, Advanced Nurse Practitioner, who are all fertility specialists. This will normally be a time given to discuss the investigations and any results and hopefully to then start to plan treatment options and next steps.
Your individual needs will be discussed and you will have the opportunity to ask any questions. The doctor will aim put you at ease and prepare you for the next stages of your fertility journey.
All our follow-up appointments are available as telephone and virtual appointments on request. This means you can have an appointment over the internet using secure software. Many patients choose to use this option to avoid the time and cost occurred from travelling as well as it having to take more time out of work than necessary.
Diagnosis
From the investigations we perform, you may be given one or more of the following diagnosis.
Causes of infertility in women
Conditions affecting a woman's fertility can include:
- Ovulatory problems
- Damage to the fallopian tubes
- Endometriosis
- Conditions affecting the uterus
- A combination of factors
- No identifiable reason
Other factors of infertility in women
- Age as female fertility declines sharply after the age of 35
- Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
- Gynaecological problems such as previous ectopic pregnancy or having had more than one miscarriage
- Medical conditions such as diabetes, epilepsy, and thyroid and bowel diseases
- Lifestyle factors such as stress, being overweight or underweight, and smoking
Causes of infertility in men
Conditions that may result in infertility include:
- Low sperm count or quality
- Problems with the tubes carrying sperm
- Problems getting an erection
- Problems ejaculating
Other factors of infertility in men
- Having had inflamed testes (orchitis)
- A past bacterial infection that caused scarring and blocked tubes within the epididymis as it joins the vas
- Having received medical treatment such as drug treatment, radiotherapy or surgery. For example, to correct a hernia, undescended testes or twisted testicles
- Genetic problems
- Diabetes
- Lifestyle factors such as being overweight or having a job that involves contact with chemicals or radiation.
Patient information evening
Once you have decided to embark on a assisted conception treatment, you will be invited to watch our patient information evening presentation. This video is a visual presentation of a typical treatment cycle so that you are fully informed before the treatment starts.
Once you have watched the presentation you may find that you have some questions to ask so its a good idea to keep a pen and paper to take down any notes, and questions to ask.
We will be holding a live question and answer session every six weeks so that patients can attend and ask any questions about treatment.
The Q&A session will be hosted by one of our consultants and will be on a Wednesday evening at 6pm.
Join a Q&A session
To join a session click on the relevant date below to join via Microsoft TEAM's. The event will automatically expire after the date has passed.
What our patients have said about our live Q&A sessions
"Thank you. I really appreciate this session. It helps me feel that we are not forgotten."
“Thank you so much for giving your time to answer questions it provides such reassurance.”
"Thank you for continuing with the Q&A sessions; they are really useful, and it's great to touch base with you every week."
“I just want to say thank you for answering our questions in so much detail. It is really reassuring and helpful at this uncertain time. Thank you all and stay safe.”
Nurse paperwork consultation
At this appointment, you (and your partner) will meet with one of our fertility nurses to review the details of your treatment and discuss your forthcoming IVF cycle. We will explain each step of the process, outline the medications you will be using, go through the treatment timeline, and answer any questions you may have.
Before coming into the clinic, you will be sent your consent forms electronically (e-consents) to complete at home, online. This gives you the chance to read through them in your own time and consider some of the questions we may ask you regarding treatment.
The nurse paperwork appointment in the clinic is for both partners and usually takes around 1.5 hours. Please bring photo ID, as the nurse will need to see this again at this stage. The length of the appointment is due to the legal aspects we need to cover, as well as the number of forms that must be carefully reviewed and finalised.
- Yorkshire Fertility IVF/ICSI treatment cycle checklist template (PDF download)
- Yorkshire Fertility FET treatment cycle checklist template (PDF download)
You can find all the forms on the HFEA website but remember these will be explained to you in detail at the consultation.
We will also arrange any outstanding blood tests and perform an ultrasound scan.
You may need a trial embryo transfer, which is a trial run of performing an embryo transfer to ensure that there are no difficulties passing a small tube through the opening of the uterus (cervix). It feels very much like having a smear test.
Starting your treatment
Once you have completed the necessary paper work and had your blood tests done as explained in the Nurse paperwork consultation you are ready to start your treatment with your chosen cycle.
The first steps involve controlling of the necessary hormones. Most patients have long protocol IVF which starts with suppression of hormones to enable us to take control and prevent ovulation. This is called down regulation. Following this, injections are given to stimulate the ovaries to produce follicles that will contain the mature eggs. Some patients have short protocol IVF in which the down regulation is not required. The most appropriate protocol for you will be discussed during your consultations. Ultrasound scans and blood tests are carried out to check development and once the follicles on your ovaries have reached a certain size, the eggs will be collected from the ovaries. You can read more about this process: IVF, ICSI and FET treatments.