Ok, let’s start with the basics.
- Heterosexual couple
- Carrier - F, 38 when conceived with Béa, 39 today.
- Partner - M, 40 (will be 41 in Nov.)
- TTC - on and off for 3 years
First of all, where are you today?
- My baby is 11 weeks old today!
- Conceived with 2nd Béa Treatment Kit
Tell us about your TTC journey.
We tried for about 3 years before conceiving. We didn’t really start trying seriously until the last few months, when we started really doubling down on mapping ovulation windows and using ovulation test strips.
We realised that with our age, it wasn’t going to happen without planning (I was 38 at the time, my partner was 40), so we decided to go see a fertility doctor at a private clinic. We had all the tests done. My result was fine (and the doctor said I actually had quite a few eggs for someone of my age), but my husband was diagnosed with abnormal sperm morphology (some of his sperm had two tails).
This was a blow, because my husband also has an old injury from his past that caused damage to the nerve that controls sexual function. So the diagnosis put so much more pressure on us at a time when we didn’t need it. Things suddenly got a lot more stressful.
"The diagnosis put so much more pressure on us at a time when we didn’t need it. Things suddenly got a lot more stressful"
Was there a reason why you hadn’t tried IVF before?
The doctor at the fertility clinic told us it would have to be IVF or nothing. We asked about IUI, but they told us that I was too old, and it wouldn’t work. They really pushed for IVF, and I kind of got the impression that it was a sales pitch – they basically told you “you’re of a certain age, with certain diagnoses, IVF is your best chance because it’s most effective in a short space of time, and with your age you don’t have much time to waste”.
I didn’t feel right about this, so we went home and started doing our own research. Sperm quality can really improve with changes to lifestyle and diet, so we just went all out. We cut out all ultraproessed foods, changed our lifestyle, and kept trying with intercourse whilst doing all of that.
After a while, it was clear that whilst we could fix our sperm issue on our own though diet, the nerve damage impacting sexual function isn’t something we could fix, and the pressure on my husband was making things quite stressful. So I looked into other products.
Did you try any other methods?
No, we went straight to Béa.
How did you find out about Béa?
I found a product in the US called The Stork– it seemed to only be available in the US, and even then not very widely available. I thought to myself, “there’s got to be something like this in Britain”, and that’s how we found Béa! We bought the very first product Béa shipped – the Research Edition – and said to ourselves, “we’re about to spend £7-8k on IVF, why on earth wouldn’t we try this first?!”
I had seen a product in Canada once, and I thought to myself, “if I have to go to Canada to get this, it’s still going to be cheaper than IVF.”
How did you feel about using the Béa Treatment?
It’s surprisingly more comfortable than I thought it would be. The first time we used it felt a little uncomfortable, to be honest, because it’s a new experience and so you’re fussing around with things thinking “this could be smoother”. By the time we used our second kit, things felt so much easier.
IVF comes with a whole host of side effects and problems, it’s a whole level of intervention you don’t need, and there are things you can do at home. We just really like how we could use Béa at home, in our own time, with no pressure.
How do you feel about Béa now that you’re pregnant?
I feel the same way when I found out about Béa and got pregnant - it’s an inexpensive solution to a painful problem, and I’m really grateful I found Béa. A lot of people in this country are heading into IVF, and for those who aren’t eligible for NHS IVF, it could mean that they potentially could not have a family.
We wouldn’t have our family if it weren’t for Béa.
"Nobody talks about the effects of infertility on men, but it’s really gutting when the test results come back and they feel it’s on them. There’s a sort of peacefulness to using Béa - he could do everything in his own time"
How did your partner feel about Béa?
For my husband, Béa was a relief. Nobody talks about the effects of infertility on men, but it’s really gutting when the test results come back and they feel it’s on them. The pressure is on, and it feels like there’s nothing you can do about it. Béa really took the performance pressure off him – he could do everything in his own time.
There’s a sort of peacefulness to using Béa.
Would you recommend Béa to others that are TTC?
Yes, definitely. I would use Béa as a first step, and would say to people to try Béa first, because the treatment other options are all surgical, and create big physical and financial overheads.
"If I’m being honest, I got better information from Béa than from my first midwife appointment"
Is there anything we could have done to help support you better?
No. If I’m being honest, I got better information from Béa than from my first midwife appointment. Béa’s pregnancy guide was better than the information I got in my appointment.
If you met someone going through a similar TTC journey as yourself, what top tips would you give them?
My first tip would be change your diet. We read the book ‘Ultraprocessed People’, and did a lot of research into the chemicals in foods that impact our health and fertility.
My second tip would be to do your research and decide what’s right for you. Everyone I spoke to told me I was too old to conceive without IVF, but so much of that news from a clinic is a sales pitch. On the other side, the NHS has so many rules and restrictions. Private clinics will give you so much statistical information about your chances of getting pregnant at various ages, but that really is only part of the picture. Don’t rush into those procedures, try other options that are available to you first.
The clinic I went to told me that IUI would be a waste of time and money, but honestly, if Béa’s ICI worked, then IUI definitely would have worked.
Clinics will make you feel fear, then sell you hope. I only really realised this after I got pregnant, after realising that everyone was telling me I wouldn’t be able to get pregnant after reaching age 37 or 38. It’s just not true.
Any final words?
There’s a saying at home, “you can’t score if you don’t shoot”. That was really true with Béa. We took a chance buying a very early version of the product, and here we are. My baby is 11 weeks old today.
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