The Béa Blog

Feb 21, 2025

Are you being upsold IVF? 5 questions to ask your fertility clinic

Feel like you’re being directed to the most expensive wine bottle on the menu (*ahem, IVF*)? These 5 questions are for you. Be bold, be brave, and feel completely entitled to ask your fertility clinic in your first consultation.

Fertility & Health Advice

Feb 14, 2025

Sperm-friendly vs non-spermicidal: The lubricant deep dive

Recently we’ve had a few questions surrounding lubricant. Whether it needs to be used with the Béa Treatment, what ingredients to look out for, and what the difference is between non-spermicidal and sperm-friendly lubricant. This article will explore all of this, a lubricant (lubricated?) deepdive, if you will. Let’s go.

Fertility & Health Advice

Sep 06, 2024

PCOS & TTC: Your questions, answered

This PCOS Awareness Month, we kicked things off with a free PCOS & fertility webinar. You came with your questions, and our Lead Fertility Coach Sandy was on hand to answer. Then we thought, why stop there? Those that didn’t...

Fertility & Health Advice

Aug 23, 2024

Preparing for IVF: an embryologist's guide to getting the best outcome for you

Are you thinking about taking the next steps on your fertility journey and considering IVF? We know it can seem overwhelming, intimidating and even a little scary - we’re here to help. You’re not alone, and you’re not wrong in...

Fertility & Health Advice

Aug 16, 2024

Net Promoter Scores (NPS) and how fertility clinics actually score...

Here at Béa HQ, we've been talking a lot about transparency and trust recently. We know both play a major part in the decision-making process around fertility treatments, alongside reviews and hearing from voices other than ours (we're obviously a...

Fertility & Health Advice

Jul 03, 2024

Redefining the term 'blue balls': Does termperature affect sperm quality?

Does cooling one's balls really improve sperm quality? Is it time to reclaim and redefine the term ‘blue balls’ in fertility? The short answer is…maybe. We've taken a deep dive into how temperature affects sperm quality, so you don't have to.

Fertility & Health Advice

Apr 18, 2024

Acupuncture and fertility - can it actually help?

Acupuncture for fertility is the only complementary therapy recognised by the HFEA, and evidence suggests it can be helpful in supporting fertility journeys. We spoke to Lora from Circe Health to find out more about this ancient therapy.

Fertility & Health Advice

Apr 01, 2024

Planning a full house?

Let's dive right in shall we? Family planning – it doesn't matter if you want to have one child or three it's important to know when you need to start trying. Of course, everyone is different. There are lots of factors at play.

Fertility & Health Advice

Mar 29, 2024

Understanding egg freezing

Freezing your eggs is seen by many as an insurance policy – allowing people to delay having children while they focus on different aspects of their life. Some are unsure if it’s right for them as egg freezing is expensive,...

Fertility & Health Advice

Mar 29, 2024

Understanding ovulation induction

Problems with ovulation are among the most common causes of fertility issues in females. If an egg is not released from the ovary, then it can’t get fertilised in order to make a baby. While it may be concerning if...

Fertility & Health Advice

Mar 29, 2024

Understanding sperm DNA fragmentation

Sperm DNA fragmentation refers to damage in the genetic material (DNA) of the sperm. Here we’ll explore what it is, how it’s measured and how it can be treated. What is sperm DNA fragmentation? Sperm DNA fragmentation is when the...

Fertility & Health Advice

Mar 29, 2024

Understanding anti-müllerian hormone (AMH) testing

An AMH test measures the levels of anti-müllerian hormone in the blood and helps assess the ovarian reserve. It’s often performed in fertility clinics to help assess how your ovaries may respond to a hormone stimulation. Here we’ll explore what AMH...

Fertility & Health Advice

Mar 29, 2024

Understanding a semen analysis

Male fertility plays a part in nearly half of all infertility cases and can affect approximately 7% of all men. A semen analysis is one of the tests that should be offered to help determine if there is an underlying cause...

Fertility & Health Advice

Mar 29, 2024

How to access fertility care through the NHS

We know it can be upsetting when you’re trying for a baby and you’re not getting pregnant as quickly as you may have hoped. The NHS explains that around 84% of heterosexual couples will conceive within a year if they have regular,...

Fertility & Health Advice

Mar 29, 2024

Common fertility tests & what to expect

If you’ve been trying to conceive for over a year, it might be a good idea to make an appointment with your GP for some investigations. The tests may help determine if there’s an underlying cause of why you’re not...

Fertility & Health Advice

Mar 29, 2024

Navigating TTC: How long does it usually take to get pregnant?

Most people want to know how long it will take them to get pregnant. Although we do know how long it takes on average for a person or couple, it is impossible to tell how long it will take you to get...

Fertility & Health Advice

Sep 01, 2023

How to speak with your doctor about fertility

Talking to a GP about fertility can be difficult. However – your GP is there to help and support you. Here we discuss how to get the most out of your consultation. How to talk to your GP It can...

Fertility & Health Advice

Aug 09, 2023

The Béa Fertility Glossary

Navigating fertility can be confusing. And the terms used when we talk about fertility can be equally so. To help you, we’ve put together this list of the most common terms. Artificial insemination A procedure that involves directly inserting...

Fertility & Health Advice

Apr 19, 2023

AMH: is it worth the hype?

This is a controversial question. Anti-müllerian hormone (AMH) is linked to female fertility, so AMH testing has its uses, but it’s not a crystal ball (if only!). Whether you’ve come across AMH before or you’ve never heard of it, you’ll want the facts.

Fertility & Health Advice

Apr 19, 2023

Best and worst things for future fertility

You don’t need us to tell you there’s no equation for your future fertility. That said, there are choices you can make now that might pay off later down the line.

Fertility & Health Advice

Apr 19, 2023

To freeze or not to freeze

Freezing your eggs is seen by many as an insurance policy – allowing people to delay having children, while they focus on different aspects of their life. Some are unsure if it’s right for them as egg freezing is expensive and invasive.

Fertility & Health Advice

Apr 19, 2023

Fertility and contraception: Is it time to quit the pill?

You probably learned in sex-ed how to use contraception to prevent a pregnancy (makes sense, you were underage). Unfortunately, there’s no sex-ed for adults who want to get pregnant.