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Your local Fertility Support Group

We have been lucky enough at Yorkshire Fertility to be affiliated with a local fertility support group. This group was founded by Sarah Banks, who is an ex-patient of ours. Sarah wanted to give something back after she felt the struggle of finding peer support whilst undergoing fertility treatment. She wanted to make support available to those struggling to conceive or going through treatment. We understand that some patients find it difficult to talk to family and friends and that sometimes the only people who can really identify with what you are going through are those who are going through the same process.

Introduction from Sarah

Hi, I'm Sarah. I run the Yorkshire Fertility support group and wanted to introduce myself and the support available while you are going through treatment.

I've been with my hubby since we were 18, and we got married when we were 25. We started trying for a baby a year later and thought we'd be like all our friends who got pregnant as soon as they started trying. Unfortunately, that was the start of a heartbreaking 6-year journey for us, a time where I felt unbelievably lonely, sad, overwhelmed and out of control.

My first IVF cycle resulted in OHSS (after having 45 follicles, 30 eggs and ovaries the size of oranges) and my remaining two embryos being frozen. My first frozen transfer wasn't successful, and that was the lowest point in my journey - I just assumed it would work, and I felt heartbroken and lost when it didn't, because I suddenly realised that this may never happen for us. It was after that that I knew I needed some support from a Life Coach to help me pick myself back up and keep going.

A family posing for a photo on a wooden tactor at a woodland/woodchipped park.

We were one of the lucky ones; our 2nd embryo transfer resulted in our amazing son, our little miracle, something we thought would never happen for us. When he was 15 months old, I found out that we were pregnant naturally with our second miracle, our daughter, and I still feel guilty for talking about her in this space.

After having my son, I knew I wanted to do something to help those who were still going through the struggle I'd been through. I knew how tough it was and how little support there was.

I retrained as a life coach because I wanted to help people make changes to help them feel better whilst TTC and going through treatment, and I set up online support groups to give people the peer support that I desperately wish I'd had.

For years I knew I wanted to create something that would give people support whenever they needed it and that helped them to take back some of the control we feel we've lost when having to go through treatment.

That was how my IVF Positivity Planner was created!

I run the Yorkshire Fertility Support Group over on Facebook in my spare time, as well as my national groups TTC Support UK and IVF Support, for whatever stage you are at on your journey.

I'm always here for you and will always reply, so please email me if you need me (sarah@sarahbanks.coach) xx

Helpful links and Information

Yorkshire Fertility want you to feel supported through your treatment journey, and we know that support looks different for everyone -“ we are all on our own individual journeys and may need different levels of support at different times; it can't be one size fits all!

So, we wanted to create a page where you can find the support that's right for you and the different resources available to support you through treatment.

Fertility Network - Find a local support group:

Black women's fertility group and South Asian fertility group:

Male Fertility Support

Donor support

Same Sex Couples Support

Support After Loss or after a negative cycle

I'm so sorry that your cycle has ended in a negative result. I understand how heart-breaking it is, and I wanted to provide some support resources for you.

Other paths to parenthood