The Béa Blog

A quick Google search for “Serena Williams fitness routine” is enough to make most people shudder and while Serena might make it look like a piece of cake, we mere mortals don’t have to follow [insert clever cake pun here]. 

Can your beauty regime harm your fertility?

If you google search ashwagandha or dong quai you’ll find numerous blogs on how beneficial it can be for fertility and stress reduction. You might even be surprised to see it in some popular supplements or fertility teas. But what do we really know?

  To steam, or not to steam, that is the question... We have a new well-being motto: “Just because Gwyneth Paltrow does it, doesn’t mean you should.”   Vaginal steaming – a.k.a yoni steaming – is an alternative health remedy which involves sitting (naked) over a pot of steaming water infused with herbs. The steam is meant to cleanse the vagina while the herbs (commonly mugwort or wormwood) are said to help regulate menstruation, ease period cramps and reduce bloating. While Gwyneth Paltrow may have made yoni steaming chic, do we really know if it works? And more importantly - is it safe? Steaming Theory The practice of vaginal steaming has been offered by holistic ‘clinics’ as an alternative therapy for some time and embraces detoxifying traditions from Asia and Africa. The vulva is exposed to heat and herbs for perceived hygiene, the elimination of odour and relief of vaginal irritations.    Steaming in Practice The vaginal steaming trend seems to come from the misguided notion that the vagina needs cleaning. In reality, the vagina is self-cleaning (yes – vaginas are amazing!) with natural secretions that contain good bacteria which are there to protect it.    Some public health officials believe that steaming itself can be unhealthy. Excessive heat in the vagina may disrupt its natural pH balance, allowing unwanted bacteria and yeasts to grow, not to mention make it itchy.    And while we’re talking about risks - you might sustain second-degree burns from blowing hot steam up your fanny (if this happens, please get immediate medical attention).   Steaming for Fertility The microbiome of the vagina plays a pivotal role in fertility. In fact, the lack of naturally occurring vaginal bacteria is linked with females who experience fertility problems and can impact the outcome of fertility treatments. Vaginal steaming can impair our natural microbiome.   In addition to our microbiome, the pH levels in the vagina can be affected by steam. When trying to conceive, sperm must travel through the vagina and the cervical canal before reaching the fallopian tubes. An imbalanced pH level in the cervix or vagina can damage a sperm enough to prevent it from fertilising an egg (if it even gets that far).   Steaming and Pleasure  Since vaginal steaming can lead to vaginal dryness, we think it’s important to highlight that steaming could lead to discomfort or pain during sex. A study in the journal of sexual medicine found that most females felt more easily orgasmic when sex was wetter and thought their partner preferred sex to feel more wet than dry.    So, for your health, your fertility and your sex life – please don’t steam your vagina. 

If you're trying-to-conceive and looking for support, you're likely being bombarded with empowering quotes and inspirational messages but we want to help you feel empowered through education about your body and your fertility. So get ready…

Contrary to popular belief, cycle syncing is not when you and your friends get your periods at the same time. In reality, cycle syncing is the practice of tailoring your exercise regime to your current phase of the menstrual cycle. Sounds complicated? We’ll explain how this could benefit you. 

Why the fertility treatment options currently on offer in the UK aren’t enough. The pandemic has made us acutely aware of the passage of time. But no one will have felt the loss of a year more keenly than those waiting for or undergoing fertility treatments.

Is it time to drop the "single" in single mum? Regardless of their relationship status, parents are parents and they deserve to be respected for it, not shamed. 'Single mum' has traditionally connoted poverty and lack of support. But the term is laden with judgmental baggage that doesn’t do single mums, single dads, or single parents in general, justice. It’s a loaded word, thrown around as though the baggage it carries doesn’t exist. It’s not a label that fits, so is it time to discard it? Society has traditionally held an oddly diametric view of 'single mums'. We raise them on a pedestal and then proceed to pity their place there. “Look at the amazing job she’s doing” then “Must be so hard doing it all alone”. Not every mother is single because she ‘somehow’ ended up that way. Some mums swipe right for years before deciding they deserve better. Some mums never open an app, choosing instead to trust that there is some sort of plan they don’t yet know about. Some mums are single by choice. Some aren’t. Irrespective, it’s time to drop one word out of the equation: single.  The majority of the 11 million 'single' parent families in the US are headed by mothers. What this statistic doesn’t tell us is that these mothers are carving out a life for themselves – they did not care to wait for a partner. They did not care to leave the most life-altering decision they will make in the hands of a dating app, hoping that the last swipe might turn out ok. They took matters into their own hands. Being a single mother is not about being alone.  The reality is, most single mums are not, well, single. They have their best friend a phone call away. They have colleagues willing to cover for them when they need it most. They have mothers, fathers, nieces and siblings. Grandparents, aunties, nieces and nephews. They have a crew of friends; the family they chose. In short, they have a support network the size of a village, a village that can be, in some cases, more supportive than a single partner. We, as a society, focus on the wrong thing. We’re busy talking about those who choose to be single mums when what we actually should focus on is those who choose motherhood. The "single" part could be intentional or circumstantial – the choice in this equation that matters is the choice to become a mother.  The stories we hear from mothers who chose to forge on ahead are stories filled with familial strength, perseverance, courage, and above all, love. We hear stories of mothers making meatloaf or lasagna or soup ahead of a due date, frantically filling freezers for daughters who will have their hands full. We hear stories of prospective mothers going through rounds of fertility treatment, with no one to help with their injections, hoping to double their little family, from one to two. We hear stories of legions of friends, bearing hugs and food and cries of “go take a nap, I’ll take care of everything”. What we don’t hear are stories of isolation or loneliness. Of course, there are moments when these emotions rise to the top, but to reduce the journey to moments of emotion would be disingenuous. It’s time to stop belittling single mums Dropping single from our lexicon is important for a different reason: it’s reductive. Women are choosing to start families irrespective of whether there is a partner in their life or not, because, well, we don’t need a stable, sperm-owning partner to be a family. To refer to these women as "single" is crude. It indicates that they’re somehow less than a mother, as though they need a special label attached to ‘mother’ that ‘others’ them from those who have a partner. When we talk about single mums and mums, we tell the world that there are two categories, defined not by motherhood but by relationship status.  The journey to motherhood is a long road. Some adopt, some foster, some go through many, many fertility treatment cycles, some search tirelessly for a sperm donor and some work double time before their new arrival comes. To those who call the women choosing to start their families alone "selfish" – this could not be further from the truth. Being a single parent is the opposite of being selfish. For obvious reasons. But, what about single dads? Conversely, single dads are lauded for their bravery. Raising a child is seen as a female job, and men who do so are placed on a pedestal not only for their parenting skills but also for the assurance of the masculinity they must feel to undertake a ‘female’ role. Ask any solo father or single dad and you’ll get a very different picture. They are parents, like solo mothers, they face similar trials and dedicate their time to ensuring the best for their children. The difference is that society applauds one and pities the other. Single dads are brave for trying to parent without a female partner, while solo mothers are spurned because they couldn’t find a man to stay with them and their child. Few parents would find these stereotypes helpful. They chose to be parents and make sacrifices every day for the well-being and happiness of their children. They don’t need pity or applause or judgement. "Single" or "solo" parent sounds like they’re alone but – as anyone who has ever had a small child tries to come into the bathroom with them will know – this is rarely the case. This article was edited by Béa Fertility, from a previous article on Medium by Béa Fertility CEO Tess Cosad.

Because you wouldn’t tell someone with a broken arm to “just think positive”.

Many of us remember our sex-ed classes in school, being asked to put a condom on a banana (or something of a similar shape) and being warned about teenage pregnancy. While some were lucky, and experienced a fairly neutral and informative class, others found the experience quite harrowing.

You can draw boundaries. You can take steps to stay sane. But what if you just want to let rip? How to handle the Christmas fertility trolls (with no filter)

It always seems like some people supercharge their baby-making capabilities through what they eat. That there’s a secret diet for the elite, with a special blend of nutrients…

If you don't already know, secondary infertility is when someone, who has already had children, struggles to get pregnant again. This can be really tricky to navigate because you've already got pregnant once – surely it should be just as easy the second time around, right? Wrong.

It’s hard to open up about fertility with friends and family, let alone your boss. This is how to navigate your fertility and work. 

Pineapple tattoos. Pineapples printed on baby-grows and nursery wallpaper. Pineapples in social media profiles and hashtags. What’s going on?

If you’re planning to have a baby, are some diets a bad idea? Should you switch your eating-ethos ASAP? Is detoxing genius or dangerous? With so many food cults promising miracles, all claiming to be The One And Only Solution, it’s a wild west out there!

Struggling to conceive can have an impact on your mental health and yet it’s often left out of conversations. If you’re experiencing fertility problems you may find it affects many aspects of your life, making it difficult to escape from.

The experience of trying to conceive can feel like a whirlwind of cycle tracking, ovulation tests and timed intercourse, injecting hormones, side effects of medication, appointments and scheduled insemination. This is enough to stress anyone out and add a strain to your mental health and relationship.

Let’s be honest, relationships can be hard work and external factors can really impact your relationships whether it’s your work, your family or your finances. When you’re trying to conceive this can impact your relationship with your partner and it can add additional stress. 

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.

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.

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.

Every December it’s the same old story. You're catching up with friends or family from home. One of them takes a deep breath. "So, everyone, I have some news!"

Do you have a creeping sense of dread about being peppered with baby questions this Christmas? We hear you. The secret to coping is to protect yourself by managing the conversation from the outset. Read on for our suggestions.