Liza's Story

Ok, let’s start with the basics.

• Married heterosexual couple
• Carrier - F, 36, no conditions
• Partner - M, 36, slightly low sperm motility
• TTC - 6-9 months

First of all, where are you today?

• 16 weeks pregnant
• Pregnant on the 11th cycle
• Earlier pregnancy with a Béa Treatment that resulted in a miscarriage at 5.5 weeks

"Each month you’re thinking to yourself, “I need this to be our best try”. I really wanted to avoid stress on this journey"

Tell us about your TTC journey.

We have a bit of a longer story. My husband experienced a very rare reaction to the COVID vaccine. He was in hospital for a long time, and whilst he was recovering we both felt that it put a sharp focus on time. We didn’t want to leave starting our family too long, and we didn’t want to waste time. Honestly, the way I thought about it, the more time you have, the more choices you have, and so we decided to get started fairly quickly.

When we started trying to conceive, I had a sense of how stressful it can be, and the impact it can have on relationships. It can quickly become really stressful, each month you’re thinking to yourself, “I need this to be our best try”. I really wanted to avoid stress on this journey, especially for my husband.

We both got tests done when we started trying. My tests came back fine, and my husband’s test came back showing that his sperm motility was just on the lower end of ‘normal’.

Was there a reason why you hadn’t tried IVF before?

IVF felt very invasive to me. The hormones, the timings – I just didn’t want to put my body through that unless I really had to. Also, I had some qualms about the ethics of IVF. I have zero judgement, and everyone has to make the right decision for them. IVF just didn’t feel like the right decision for me.

How did you find out about Béa?

I read about Béa in the Telegraph, you were mentioned there. I went to Béa’s website and felt like it was really empowering.

"The Béa Treatment allowed me to maintain agency on my fertility journey. I could go at my own pace, and use the treatment at home"

How did you feel about using the Béa Treatment?

I mean, obviously when you first see the device, it’s actually quite a bizarre object. But honestly, I really liked using the treatment at home. In my own house, at the time I wanted to – it was a lot less intimidating than a doctors office.

The Béa Treatment allowed me to maintain agency on my fertility journey. I could go at my own pace, and use the treatment at home. It felt empowering to me, and I also liked that it’s not over-medicalised. Béa has an openness that I appreciate – I think you sent me an email after my 6th or 9th cycle to give me the data on success, and say that there is very little data to suggest that the treatment would work from that point. It was really sensitively worded, which was nice. I really appreciated the transparency, and being given the facts so that I could make a choice.

I’d had a pregnancy loss earlier in the year from an earlier Béa Treatment. By the time I received that email I was pregnant again, but even if I hadn’t been, I’d have really appreciated the transparency and agency, it has felt really important.

How do you feel about Béa now that you’re pregnant?

It was worth a go! I thought this before I tried Béa, and now I’m pregnant I think this even more.

"We recommend the treatment, but we also recommend the company. It’s unusual to find so much openness from a company"

How did your partner feel about Béa?

He was pretty relaxed about it. He liked that you got two tries each cycle with two applicators.

Would you recommend Béa to others that are TTC?

Yes, and in fact we often do. We recommend the treatment, but we also recommend the company. It’s unusual to find so much openness from a company.

Is there anything we could have done to help support you better?

Honestly, no!