It’s been a while since I shared an update here and what better opportunity than with the launch of the new series of The Fertility Podcast which has Kate in conversation with former fertility patient and fertility coach, Sarah Banks which you can listen to here
Sarah has been surveying patient’s experiences and the results aren’t great with 4.9 out of 10 being the overall level from a total of 200 responses so far. This doesn’t fill me with joy to share as in the eight years I have been raising awareness of fertility struggles and talking to people about their experiences, a common complaint I’ve heard has been the lack of support. I have also heard great stories of clinics doing this brilliantly, however, Sarah’s findings highlight that more is needed. The good news is there are exciting companies coming into this space using the wonders of technology and we’re chuffed to say this episode is being sponsored by Ovomcarewho have an innovative approach to patient care using AI and a very cool app, and I love hearing about tech for good especially when it comes to patient care.
Hopefully, this is the start of a new generation of IVF treatment as there’s no excuse for staff within clinics not to be trained to be compassionate when talking to patients. In this podcast episode, Sarah and Kate talk about what can be done to improve the situation, so do have a listen. 
Meanwhile, I wanted to update you on the work we’re doing with Fertility Matters at Work as it’s been a busy first half of the year and has been taking up all of my time and attention which is why Kate is now holding the mic with The Fertility Podcast. We’ve been working our socks off to raise awareness within the workplace of the importance of support for anyone struggling to bring home a baby and recently bought together a number of our members for a powerful roundtable event, where we shared case studies from three organisations who are now ‘fertility friendly accredited’ and invited the group to share best practice of what had been working for them and any challenges they were still to overcome. You can read a write-up of the event here
We’re constantly sharing our insights in the presentations we facilitate for the workplace and are talking across sectors from Retail, Finance, Insurance, Law, Healthcare and Hospitality talking about how sadly, despite infertility impacting 1 in 6 people ( WHO ) it’s still an issue hidden in plain sight, something you can read more about here .
This year has seen the media interest in IVF at Work increase and in May we were delighted to be invited onto BBC Breakfast twice to talk about the issue. We also saw the CIPD introduce new guidelines which was when I made my debut appearance which was very exciting as you can imagine. You can have a watch here
Discussing CIPD findings in light of its guidance for fertility policies from Fertility Matters on Vimeo.
This work continues to be so rewarding as we continue to find more organisations who realise its importance and want to make a change. It has however meant my time spent on The Fertility Podcast has become less so, which is why I’m so pleased we’re back with a new series and I hope you enjoy it.
Rest assured I still have my podcast hat on with Fertility Matters at Work, as we have a series called The F Word at Work, which is focusing on the workplace conversation, sharing people’s experiences of navigating treatment whilst at work as well as some of our members talking about what they’re up to, plus we have some amazing thought leaders from the workplace wellbeing space. Just last week the three of us were taking part in a round table discussion at Thrive Law and used the opportunity to record more chats, as you can see me here, with my kit!
So make sure you’ve subscribed to both pods, to stay up to date with all the developments, both in the world of ART and within the workplace and if you have a story to share that you think is yet to be told, do get in touch with Kate – kate@yourfertilityjourney.com
xx
