Are you, or is someone you know trying for a baby? Is Mother Nature taking longer than you’d hoped? Do you know exactly when you’re ovulating?

Women can spend years wanting to avoid getting pregnant, yet when they do decide that the time is right to start a family, it can often take longer than expected.

It’s widely reported that 1 in 6 couples have difficulty conceiving and with masses of media coverage relating to infertility, many women worry about their ability to have a baby. Yet, new research suggests that a primary cause of failing to conceive is quite simply having sex at the wrong time.

Few women have a ‘regular’ 28 day cycle, therefore the days of the month when pregnancy can occur will differ from woman to woman and from cycle to cycle.

With over 20 years experience in women’s health and fertility, Lesley Foster will be clarifying the confusion about your cycle and giving advice on the best ways to determine your own most fertile time. She joins us to answer all your questions, and so too will Joanne Wesley, who had been trying for a baby for over 2½ years and fell pregnant after 4 months once she was able to identify her most fertile time.

Lesley Foster, Fertility Expert and Joanne Wesley, mother join us live online on Friday 3rd August at 1230

H: Mai Davis, host
L: Leslie Foster, Fertility Expert
J: Joanne Wesley, mum of two

H: Hello and welcome to the Healthcare Show, it's brought to you today by the Clearblue Fertility Monitor. Hello, my name is Mai Davis. Now you may be interested to know that couples who are trying to get pregnant, one in six of them have trouble conceiving. New research though shows that just not having sex at the right time can really damage your chances of getting pregnant, but the question is how do you know when to try to conceive? Well joining me today to talk about this we have fertility expert Leslie Foster and we have new mum of two, Joanne Wesley. Welcome to you ladies

L: Hello

H: Thanks for joining us. Leslie first of all, if I can ask you, what does this new research say about improving your chances of finding out when you could conceive?

L: Ok well the research was published in a journal called Fertility and Sterility earlier this year, what it showed was that in a trial a group of women using the monitor over two cycles, about –

H: This is the Clearblue Fertility Monitor?

L: That's right yes, about 23% of the women using the monitor conceived in the first two cycles, in a parallel group of women not using the monitor about 14% of them conceived, so what is showed was there's an 89% chance, increased chance of conception if you use the monitor to help –

H: Which is very high isn't it?

L: It is yes

H: How does it work? What does it measure?

L: Well it's a step up from the traditional ovulation test which is what many women might be familiar with and may have used already themselves, it measures two hormones, so it's a simple monitor with urine testing system

H: Yes you've got the monitor there have you, it's quite small isn't it?

L: It is yes. So the urine test measures two hormones instead of just one, which the typical ovulation test do, and yes it's a simple urine testing system that they use through the month to measure the hormones

H: Ok well don't forget if you've got any questions for Leslie or for Joanne, you just put them in the bottom of the screen, click send and we'll try and get them answered in the next 20 minutes for you. Joanne, you're a new mother of two, how old are your children now?

J: Cofi my eldest is 2 ½ and Oscar is 6 months

H: So you're running around like a headless chicken then?

J: Yes

H: Now Cofi your eldest, you had trouble conceiving didn't you before you had Cofi?

J: Yes

H: Tell us what happened to you

J: Ok, we were trying for about 2 ½ years to get pregnant and I'd tried looking for natural signs of ovulation, I'd tried ovulation kits, the testing sticks –

H: That Leslie was talking about

J: Yes and also temperature charting as well, and I just found it really ambiguous, I couldn't always find out when I was ovulating, so in the end we went for fertility tests, and at the same time I started using the monitor and I used it for four cycles and then got pregnant before I got the test results back

H: So after 2 ½ years of trying and nothing nothing nothing, it then took 4 months using this?

J: Yes

H: Because 2 ½ years trying must be very distressing –

J: Yes

H: Apart from anything else

J: Yes it was very distressing, really stressful actually. And the longer it went on the more stressful it was

H: So were you surprised then when you got hold of this and then presumably it was a lot simpler than what you'd been trying before?

J: Yes it was brilliant, it was much, much easier, it told me when to test so I didn't have to work that out, it was just so much easier, a lot less stressful and yes it was really good because it worked as well so –

H: Leslie tell us a bit more about how it works?

L: Ok well it measures two hormones, the two hormones are oestrogen and luteinising hormone which is often known as LH. When the level of oestrogen reaches a critical level, the LH surge happens, so you get a surge of the hormone, and that causes ovulation which is obviously a release of an egg from an ovary. The release of the egg from the ovary happens about 24-36 hours after ovulation, so what the monitor does it picks up the two days of peak fertility around the time of ovulation using the LH surge, but what it can also do is to pick up the days of high fertility, which are about 1-5 days leading up to that time of ovulation, and there's an increased chance of conception during those days as well as the days just around ovulation

H: And is it quite easy to use?

L: It is very easy to use yes. Basically the monitor tells you when to test, so most women will do 10 tests per cycle. If the cycles are either very irregular or –

H: What do you mean by a test? Is it a test –

L: It's a little urine test, so simple urine test, all they do is hold it in the stream of urine, put a cap on –

H: A bit like a pregnancy test

L: That's right, yes and the difference is with this that rather than having to read the results themselves, they just pop it into the monitor and the monitor does all the hard work, so it reads the result for them, it brings up the result on the screen

H: So it's something you use at home, you don't have to go to a surgery to do it

L: Yes absolutely yes

H: And how many times a month do you have to use that?

L: They do 10 tests per cycle. If for some reason the monitor hasn't picked up the LH surge within the first 10 tests then it will ask for another 10, so that it doesn't miss the LH surge, so it will cope with quite variable cycles, so women having irregular cycles can still use the monitor

H: I was going to ask you that, is it suitable for anybody, you know because some people might assume it will only work if you're very regular, because obviously some women aren't?

L: No that's right, it will work as long as their cycles are no shorter than 21 days, and no longer than 42, so any time, any length of cycle within that range it will be absolutely fine –

H: That's quite a wide range though isn't it?

L: It is, yes

H: So it can work for more or less anybody? Maybe 90% of women?

L: A lot of women, there are some medical conditions and some medicines that m ay interfere, but all of that information is on the Clearblue website but also on the pack, so if women are thinking of buying it they should just check the information on pack before they buy it

H: And when you're actually looking at the monitor, obviously you're looking at it to see when is the best time to have sex, is it really obvious and it tells you when is a good time, when's not a good time or when's maybe a reasonable time?

L: Well it would do, on the digital screen here it will show a number of symbols, so in the top right hand corner here there's the day of the cycle, which just tells you your day one, two, three and so on, and then up the left hand side here there will be a bar system, bit like a mobile phone

H: Like the batteries on a mobile phone?

L: Yes that's right yes, so one bar, there are three bars so the first – at the beginning of the cycle when both the hormones are low, there'll be just one bar and that's showing it's low fertility, so there's a very small chance of conception at that time of the cycle. When the monitor picks up the oestrogen rising then it will go to two bars, and that's an indication of high fertility, so there's an increased chance of conception during those days –

H: So it's possible to conceive but it's not the best time

L: That's right yes, there's an increased chance of conception so it's worth trying at that time. When the monitor then picks up the LH surge it will go to 3 bars with a little egg symbol, and that's peak fertility

H: An egg symbol?

L: Yes, that's around the time of ovulation so there's normally two days of peak fertility, and that's when you've got the highest chance of conception, during those two days

H: So it's very very simple to read, it's not complicated

L: Yes absolutely no that's it

H: Did you find that Joanne when you used it that it was very simple?

J: Yes it was very simple basically it tells you what to do, it tells you when to test and you know exactly when you're ovulating so yes I found it really easy to use

H: So when you saw the three bars you thought ok now's the time

J: Now's the time yes!

H: Well we're getting questions in from people wanting to ask you both questions so we'll start with the first question that's come in from Emily, Emily's from London. She wants to know is it best to try for a baby halfway through your cycle?

L: No that's the point really of the monitor in that the myth that most people believe is that every woman has a 28-day cycle and everybody ovulates on day 14. What we know is that's not true and in fact very few women have a standard 28-day cycle. The cycle lengths vary and ovulation moves around within the cycle, so the whole point of the monitor is that it doesn't matter how long your cycle is and you won't ovulate in the middle of the cycle if your cycle isn't a standard 28 days, so the monitor will find your ovulation wherever that is within your cycle

H: So it's very precise?

L: Yes

H: Actually we've just had another question leading in from that, they haven't left their name they've just said “my period cycle is only 21 days, what does this mean for my ovulation cycle?”

L: It means that they'll be ovulating probably earlier in the cycle, if they're assuming that they're ovulating on day 14, then they're probably missing it, because if the cycle is shorter they'll actually ovulate earlier in the cycle

H: They'll be sooner won't they?

L: Yes, and at 21 days then the monitor would be suitable for her as long as the cycles don't fall any shorter than that, yes

H: Do the monitors have to kind of learn about your system, so does it take a few months for the monitor to really read how your system works, or does it, can it work pretty much straight away?

L: It will work straight away, what it will do it will store the information, so all the hormonal information it takes from the test stick it stores into a memory, and it does learn about your cycle, you're quite right, so over a period of time it's able to be more and more precise, but the information it gives right from cycle one is correct, it's very accurate

H: Joanne, you said it was really easy to use, did you when you were talking about it with your friends did you find that people thought oh gosh this might be really, really complicated? Was it easy to explain to them?

J: No it was quite easy to explain. I think if people are thinking of buying one it's got a really good booklet which explains it all really easily for you as well, so I think it's like anything, it takes a little while to get used to but once you've done it a couple of times it's easy

H: Was the emotional relief for you for having something that you thought was actually working, that must have been quite great really

J: Yes it was brilliant because I knew exactly when I was ovulating and that was the thing I found most stressful before because it was so difficult to find out, from using the other methods I was never really sure whether I was right or not, so with this it was cut and dried, I knew that I was ovulating and that was the right time

H: Ok, we've got another question, this one's from Vanessa in Ipswich, Vanessa wants to know, she says “I'm 29, I'm healthy and I'm active. I've been trying for a baby for nearly a year, at what stage should I consider discussion about IVF?”

L: Well as we've said there's a lot of people out there that just aren't having sex at the right time, so if she's been trying for a year then if she thinks she may have been missing her ovulation the best time to conceive, then maybe she might consider using something like the Clearblue Fertility Monitor. If she's been trying for a year she may also be concerned about other things, so we would always say if she's concerned talk to a GP as well, but something like the monitor may help her conceive naturally, which has got to be much nicer than having to go through the stress of IVF if she doesn't have to

H: Because I presume like somebody like you Joanne, there was nothing physically wrong, you –

J: Yes

H: So you – I suppose a lot of people, if they've been trying for a year, or perhaps like you Joanne for 2 ½ years, you start to assume there's something wrong with me, there's something wrong with my partner and that might not be the case

L: Yes absolutely

H: We've got another question here from Laura whose from Putney in London, she says my partner and I have been trying for a baby for months, if I use the Clearblue Monitor and nothing happens, should I consult my doctor?”

L: We would say if she's not seeing the symbols from the monitor that she expects to see, so if she's using it properly, she's testing at all the right time, as long she's seeing her low, high and peak fertility from the monitor then there's no indication that she needs to do anything else other than just have sex at the right time and see how that goes. If for some reason the monitor wasn't giving the symbols that she expects then we have a – there is a good careline for Clearblue Fertility Monitor but also as again, again she could always talk to a doctor to see whether there's any other symptoms of anything else being wrong

H: Yes we'll give that careline number out at the end. When you were trying for 2 ½ years all kinds of things must have been going through your head?

J: Yes I mean we were convinced there was something wrong with one of us, yes it was really an upsetting time, and it was really relieving actually when I used the monitor and I saw the symbols because I'd convinced myself I wasn't ovulating, so –

H: A lot of people have trouble, I mean did any of your friends, couples that you know also say you know we've been trying and we're having trouble? Do you find that you know a lot of people who are in the same boat?

J: Yes I think once you start having trouble and you start talking to people, other people will admit actually it took us quite a long time and yes I know other friends that it's taking longer than they thought, so yes

H: I think that's true of a lot of couples isn't it, people – if they're young and they're healthy and they expect, if they try for a baby it will happen straight away and very often it doesn't and people instantly because there's so much talk about IVF and lower fertility rates perhaps, do you think people panic sooner than perhaps they would have maybe 10, 20, 30 years ago?

L: Yes I think we live in a very instant society don't we, we expect things to work quickly and as you say a lot of people are under pressure, particularly if they've got a good career, they decide to take a career break, they don't want to spend a year getting pregnant, they've decided they want a baby now and that's it, and that's what fits in with what they've planned, so yes I think there is more expectation these days that it will happen when we want it to happen, and I think also a lot of us are brought up when we're young to believe that if you don't use contraception you'll get pregnant, so there's that myth from teenage years of all I've got to do is stop taking the pill and it will happen, and when it doesn't people start to worry very quickly

H: Yes because we're all, as teenagers, scared into thinking –

L: Yes absolutely

H: You will get pregnant, don't do it

L: That's right, yes

H: Mother knows best and then of course when you are trying to get pregnant and it doesn't happen you've got to make that mental switch in your head, I suppose it's quite difficult for a lot of people then isn't it?

L: Yes and I think again a lot of women don't understand that there is a limited time, period of time in the cycle when you can get pregnant because we're not taught that when we're taught about contraception

H: It's a lot shorter than a lot of people think isn't it?

L: It is

H: It's just a few days within that month

L: It is, yes typically about 6 days during each cycle when you have a high or you know your highest chance of conceiving, so it's not long and if you miss it each month that can prolong the period of time that you're trying

H: And of course now a lot of people, a lot of women are leaving it till they're a bit older, they're leaving it till they're in their 30s which of course has added problems. I suppose you must come across a lot of that with people saying you know I've left it too late –

L: Yes we know that there's research published to show that women's fertility starts to drop from the age of about 27 which is a lot earlier than people realise, so – and I think also we see in the media that there are women in their 40s conceiving which tends to suggest that actually it's still easy to get pregnant in your 40s, well it's still possible by all means and some women will find it easy but as a general rule women's fertility starts to drop in their 30s and once you get into your 40s it drops quite quickly

H: It kind of drops off a cliff at that point really doesn't it?

L: Yes absolutely

H: How old were you when you were trying to get pregnant when you first started to try to get pregnant Joanne with Cofi?

J: I was in my mid 20s

H: So quite young really

J: Yes, but I was aware that, you know if it's going to take years, and your fertility goes down as you get older and I think that it does put extra pressure on you, especially if you are starting to get a bit older

H: We've been talking about the problems in getting pregnant, do you think that people now are actually thinking ok there are ways now, perhaps like this monitor or other ways where I can measure when I'm ovulating, so will actually plan more precisely when they're going to try and get pregnant, you know as you were saying people have very busy lives – no I want to have a baby in January so I want to get pregnant then –

L: Yes

H: Do you think people start doing that now perhaps?

L: I think there are more couples thinking about it and also there are more couples who are both working who, you know there maybe what one partner working away, so actually getting together to have sex is not that easy, and you know if they know when the woman's fertile they can even plan around that so you know if they can be more flexible with their job, be together at the right time, then at least they know they're maximising their chances of conception so I think you know there are many instances when planning a family is happening more and more because of people's busy lifestyles and the fact that they've got other things they want to be doing as well

H: do you think more and more people will start doing that, I mean in your contemporaries do people want to be able to plan something like this do you think?

J: Yes I think so, I mean women have careers now as well, like you say so it's not that you can just decide to have a baby –

H: Whenever

J: Whenever, some people do like to plan it like that and for it to be convenient and fit in with their lives, so that would definitely help to have something that's going to help you to do that I think

H: And you've got, how many now, you've got two
J: Two yes

H: Are you going to be having any more?

J: I don't think so

H: Because you're childminder as well aren't you?

J: Yes

H: So you're looking after an awful lot of children?

J: Yes I'm looking after 4 children at the moment

H: That must be hard work

J: Yes it has its moments

H: Do you find when people talk to you about fertility that perhaps – because there's so much stuff in the press now about fertility and people with difficulty conceiving and IVF and stuff like that, do you think people are misinformed, even though there's more information out there, that they're not getting hold of the right information and people have the wrong ideas?

L: I think it's easy to be, it's easy to believe there's a reason to be scared about fertility because yes there's a lot in the media that is about the negative side of fertility dropping and women having problems or couples having problems conceiving, but there are a lot of positive things you can do, there's a lot of good information on the internet and in books about good nutrition, exercising, stopping smoking, you know stopping alcohol, that sort of thing, and things like the fertility monitor can just help that proactive approach so that you can use something like this before you start to get stressed, so you know before you've been trying for too long, actually slot it into the regime of we're planning a family, we'd like to start thinking about having a baby or even planning a second, you know if it's a second and they want a particular gap between the children or whatever, so there's lots of proactive things you can do and this is just one other thing. At the end of the day it's not, it's not intervening, it's not artificial, all the monitor's doing is giving you information about your hormones –

H: About your own – it's working with your own body to give you information about what you should do really isn't it?

L: That's right, to help you conceive naturally

H: Because I think a lot of women are quite scared when they read the newspapers and there are so many stories about dropping fertility levels and IVF and different kinds of IVF, I think for a lot of young women it's actually quite scary, so if they don't get pregnant straight away, they assume the worst

L: That's right

H: How long did it take before you assume there was something wrong, because you tried for 2 ½ years, was there a point when you thought hang on, this isn't working here, before the 2 ½ years was up?

J: I think after about a year we started to think there might be a problem, but I was almost a bit scared to go and have tests and I just wanted to keep trying different things myself first so I think probably after about a year I was starting to think it's not happened yet, why hasn't it happened?

H: I think women start to panic sooner now don't they possibly?

L: Yes I mean possibly many women will go and see their GPs even after 3-6 months as you say because of the way we're brought up with this instant society then, and because we assume it will happen just like everything else, you know you can just switch your fertility on, and as I say in most cases there's probably nothing wrong, it's just a case of understanding your body a bit better, understanding there is a limited period of time when you are fertile and maybe you need to time your intercourse a little bit differently, and do some of the other things to help your body prepare for pregnancy so you know get health and so on as well

H: Ok well thank you ladies, we're going to have to leave it there Leslie and Joanne, but if anybody wants to know some advice about the monitor we can give you the website where you can learn all about it it's www.clearblue – that's one word .info/uk and there's a careline number as well, telephone number which will be charged at the local rate if you ring it, the number is 0845, that's 0845 607 6596, that's 607 6596, that's all from us for the Healthcare show for today, we hope you enjoyed the program and we'll see you again next time. Thanks for watching

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