Author: emmads

The Surrey Park Clinic Donating To Sands – Helping Grieving Families

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SANDS

This June, The Surrey Park Clinic is donating 5% of all revenue from pregnancy scans booked at the clinic to Sands, a charity that helps grieving families following the death of a baby. This is part of our ongoing commitment to support local communities and families on their journey to parenthood.

Sands provides vital support services to parents and families who have lost a baby through stillbirth or neonatal death. Their work is essential in helping these families rebuild their lives and come to terms with their loss. We are proud to be supporting them this year, and we hope that our donation will help them continue their important work.

Our team has the pleasure of being part of the entire journey for many women every year as they begin to start or grow their families. From fertility to pregnancy, recovery and beyond, we see the toll it can take on people’s mental and physical health. 

If someone loses a baby, they can experience an incredibly isolating and life-changing period of grief. No matter the journey they went through to conceive, this is a  pain that no parent should have to suffer through alone. This is why we feel it’s so important to support Sands, and other organisations like them, who provide invaluable support to families in their darkest hours.

Fertility 

Neonatal Death

Even from the start of family planning, many couples go through tough times and difficult decisions.

Fertility services make up a really important part of what we do at The Surrey Park Clinic. From the very first consultation to discuss options through to rehabilitation after pregnancy, we understand that trying for a baby is not always easy. It’s a process that can be full of hope and excitement, but also worry and anxiety.

The Surrey Park Clinic has a dedicated team of Consultant Gynaecologists, who specialise in Fertility. There has been shown to be an identifiable reason for 80% of infertility cases, with 30% of cases being attributed to female factors, 30% to male factors, 20% to a combination of male and female factors leaving only 20% unexplained. 

To combat this we can run hormone and reproductive immunology tests, semen analysis, hycosy and more. Following an initial consultation, if deemed relevant, you (and your partner) will likely undergo tests and investigations to determine any root causes of infertility. 

Our diagnostic infertility tests help couples who are having problems conceiving. Understanding what is hindering your fertility will enable your consultant to recommend the most successful course of action. This means we can begin to undergo your journey. 

We know that for many couples, fertility treatment is their last hope of having a baby. And while we are lucky to have seen beautiful success stories time after time, there are going to be cases in which it may not turn out as people may have hoped. If this happens, it’s important to have support available to get through it. 

It’s charities like Sands that people rely on to get all of the information, advice and comfort they need. 

More Information

If you too have been touched by the work SANDS are doing and would like to know more, please visit their website for more information.

Similarly, if you’d like to find out how you can donate through the services here at The Surrey Park Clinic or would like to book in for a scan, get in touch today. 

Thank you for working with us and we hope to hear from you soon.

  Category: Screening
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Why We Need To Break The Stigma Around Counselling & Therapy

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Counselling and therapy

Mental health has often been viewed as a taboo topic, and many people feel uncomfortable discussing it. This is especially true when it comes to counselling and therapy. There are many misconceptions about these services, and people often think that they are only for “crazy” people. This could not be further from the truth!

In this blog post, we will discuss the importance of mental health support, and why we need to break the stigma around counselling and therapy.

Stigma Around Counselling (2)

First up, Mental Health is really important.

Mental health is an important part of our overall well-being.

Just like physical health, it is something that we should all take care of.

Unfortunately, mental health is often seen as a taboo topic, and many people feel uncomfortable discussing it. This is especially true when it comes to counselling and therapy.

Counselling and therapy can be extremely beneficial for everyone, not just those with mental illness. These services can help us to deal with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, relationship issues, and much more. Counselling and therapy provide us with a safe space to explore our thoughts and feelings, and to work through our problems. They can also help us to develop healthy coping mechanisms, and to learn more about ourselves.

Breaking the stigma around counselling and therapy is important. By doing so, we can encourage more people to seek out these services, and to take care of their mental health. We need to normalise the idea of seeking professional help, and make it clear that there is nothing wrong with doing so. Counselling and therapy are vital tools that can help us to live happier, healthier lives.

Why do we feel so judged?

Therapists are human beings, too. It is natural for us to feel apprehensive about being observed and judged during therapy sessions. Feeling vulnerable may bring with it a slew of other emotions, including the sensation of being condemned for exposing ourselves. This is why many of us may avoid confessing to loved ones and friends that we’re going to therapy because we believe they’ll see it as a sign of weakness or that we’re being evaluated or don’t want to be seen as weak.

In actuality, we are the ones who are often in denial about our strengths because we have reached out for assistance and going to therapy is generating a more positive and healthy mentality for ourselves.

It may be helpful to increase our openness and honesty about seeking therapy and feel more confident in telling others and how it’s assisting us. It may be possible to reduce the stigma if we were more open and honest about going to therapy, felt braver in telling others, and how it helps us. It can definitely be difficult to feel at ease discussing psychotherapy with those around you because of the stigma. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who could benefit from therapy but don’t seek it out due to prejudice.

Here are 3 ways to help fight the mental health stigma

1. Don’t buy into the stigma.

You may feel that mental illness is a sign of weakness and that you or the individual dealing with it should be able to manage it on your own. You or others might treat themselves or one another harshly as a result of these ideas. Education, compassion, being caring to oneself and others, and finding support from people who suffer from mental illnesses can all aid in increasing positive self-esteem, perspective, and overcoming harsh judgment.

2. Choose empowerment over shame.

If you’re having trouble, accept your story and don’t let others persuade you otherwise. Encourage those seeking assistance and support by being encouraging. Be truthful with people around you. Let them see the real you by sharing your strengths, abilities, and objectives. Encourage those who are struggling to do so as well. Remember that how you behave and treat others may have an impact on others’ opinions of you and mental illness in general. In this process, be nice to yourself as well as others. Acceptance is a tough road that takes time to travel.

3. Actively speak up against mental health stigma.

Whether you’re speaking with a group of pals or in front of a large audience, exude confidence and assertiveness while expressing your views. To aid in the advancement of mental health awareness, encourage others to educate others respectfully about mental illness. Remind people that they wouldn’t make fun of someone who has heart disease, diabetes, or cancer. Speaking up will not only educate the public and help reduce stigma, but it could also give courage to others facing a similar challenge.

Let’s start breaking the stigma today!

Why Is The Pelvic Floor So Important?

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pelvic floor

I’m sure you’ve heard of the pelvic floor. If you’ve had children, you were probably told, in passing, to ‘do your pelvic floor exercises’, maybe without any other instruction or explanation. It’s not just after babies that the pelvic floor is important, however.  Women, and men, can experience pelvic floor issues at any stage in life and it can have a wide range of implications. So let’s look into it a bit further and see why the pelvic floor is so important.

What is it?

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles and connective tissue that attaches to the bottom of your pelvis, like a sling between your legs.  This sling supports your pelvic organs, including your bladder, uterus and rectum. 

The pelvic floor is part of the core muscle system, working closely with your transverse abdominus, multifidus and diaphragm to support your trunk.  This is your ‘core’ and contributes to back stability, postural strength and function.  

What problems can it cause?

Common problems arising from pelvic floor dysfunction are:

  • Stress urinary incontinence – this is the name for leaking pee when you cough or sneeze and is often the reason that mums don’t go trampolining!  The pelvic floor can also be a factor in overactive bladder and urge urinary incontinence.

 

  • Pelvic organ prolapse – this is when your pelvic organs are not supported fully and drop down into your vagina, and can sometimes protrude.  Women typically notice a heaviness in their pelvis on weight bearing activities and may notice a bulge from their vagina. 

 

  • Sexual dysfunction – this could range from an inability to orgasm to discomfort during penetration to not being able to have sex due to pain.

 

  • Pelvic pain syndromes – conditions such are vulvodynia, vaginismus and Bladder Pain Syndrome (interstitial cystitis) often have involvement of the pelvic floor muscle complex, which can contribute to pain and dysfunction.  

 

  • Back pain – core weakness is a common factor in chronic or recurrent back pain. Working on core activation and strength have been shown to help reduce the severity of chronic back pain and reduce the incidence of episodes. 

why the pelvic floor is so important

  • Diastasis rectus abdominus – this is the separation of abdominal msucles, usually due to pregnancy.  The pelvic floor is part of the core, and together they work to support your trunk.  The balance between your core muscles and external abdominals is what helps to improve this issue. 

What can go wrong?

The pelvic floor is a complex system of muscles.  Any muscle in your body needs strength to contract, flexibility to function and the ability to fully relax.  The pelvic floor needs to be able to balance its power and contractibility, with its relaxation and length in order to function comfortably and effectively.  

This muscle system can be weak or inactive.  This could be due to pregnancy, exercise, occupation, weight, age, the list goes on.  If the muscles are weak they will not be able to counteract downward forces through your trunk.  This may lead to bladder or bowel leaking, pelvic organ prolapse or sexual dysfunction (for example, inability to orgasm).  Weakness in the core muscle system can cause or be a factor in lower back pain and perpetuate diastasis rectus abdominus. 

The pelvic floor can also be overactive or shortened. This can be due to overtraining, stress or anxiety, infection, or as part of a trauma response.  Tension in these muscles can cause pain related to urination, sex, or defecation; even sitting down or wearing tight trousers can be problematic for some people. It can contribute to urinary retention or incontinence, overactive bladder, or bladder pain syndrome. Tension or pain in your pelvic floor can also influence the surrounding structures and can be felt in or contribute to hip leg or back pain. 

On examination, it is very routine to find that the pelvic floor muscles are both overactive and weak at the same time. If someone perceives a pelvic floor problem, for example a bit of leaking, the common advice is to ‘do your kegels’. Kegels are essentially strengthening exercises.  The problem with this arises when people don’t know if their pelvic floor is actually weak, how to do an effective pelvic floor contraction and how to relax the muscles in between.  The muscles need strength, but even more important is range (i.e. the ability to fully relax and then fully contract).  Without working on the length and full relaxation in your pelvic floor, you will never get an optimal contraction. 

What to do about it?

The research says that 65% of people who think that they’re doing their pelvic floor exercises correctly are in fact doing it incorrectly.   This may be due to an ineffective contraction (reduced fibre activation or reduced range for example) or it could be that they are working to bear down with their pelvic floor muscles, which is the opposite to what we want to achieve and can make problems worse. 

The only way to find out if you are contracting your pelvic floor correctly is to have an internal vaginal assessment with a specialist Pelvic Health Physiotherapist.  A vaginal assessment is very routine for those of us in the trade.  A pelvic floor examination involves feeling the muscles just on the inside of your vagina – feeling them contract, relax and what happens during a cough.  This should be entirely comfortable and pain-free.  We would also assess for signs of prolapse, in lying but also in standing if necessary.  

NICE Guidelines (NICE 2022) recommend supervised pelvic floor retraining as a first-line treatment for stress or mixed incontinence and for pelvic organ prolapse.  This means assessment and treatment with a specialist Pelvic Health Physiotherapist. 

If pain is your issue, please don’t be put off by talk of internal examinations.  They can be very helpful in diagnosis and treatment but are not imperative.  Pelvic pain issues are very complex and lots of progress can be made ‘hands off’.  It might be something to discuss and revisit during a subsequent appointment.  You are always welcome to say no at any point.

In a nutshell, we all have pelvic floors, and they can impact every aspect of life.  If you think you might have an issue with your pelvic floor, or would just like to check, do something about it and see a Pelvic Health Physio!

  Category: Gynaecology
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Why You Should Be Celebrating International Women’s Day 2022

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International Women’s Day 2022

Tuesday 8th March is set this year for International Women’s Day 2022. It is a worldwide event that celebrates the achievements of women. Since the early 1900s, we have been recognising the political, economic and social accolades of women all over and using this as a time to strive for gender equality. 

As specialists in fertility and women’s health, we feel very strongly about empowerment and fulfilment. That’s why we will be celebrating the accomplishments of our own clients and staff as well as women from all other walks of life.  We would love for you to join us in doing the same. 

On Wednesday 9th March, we will be hosting a special event focusing on Women’s Health. If you’d like to come along, join us at the Hub on the Park cafe in Guildford.

Hosted by our very own Katie Biddiss, Clinic Director, we’ll also be joined by:

  • Dr Alex Standring: Menopause Specialist
  • Emma Menzies: Coach and Fertility at work coach
  • Annabel Cussen: Physiotherapist, Specialist in women’s health

You can register for tickets on Eventbrite. We’d love to see you and it will be a great way to celebrate.

Women’s Health

Our mission and one that is shared amongst others during International Women’s Day 2022 is to assist women towards a position of power. This will give them the opportunity to make informed decisions about their health. 

Reproductive health conditions affect women’s health and emotional wellbeing on a daily basis and can range in severity in terms of the impact their condition has on their everyday life.

We want them to disregard the stigma around gynaecological treatments, fertility and other areas such as menopause where patients may feel particularly anxious or embarrassed. Only by doing so can women get a clear and personal understanding of their needs.

The aim of this will be to encourage them to make the decisions that benefit their body and wellbeing – without being influenced by external factors. Our friendly team will always champion your individual health pathway and lead you towards a fully supported and educated outcome. 

All of this is a constant factor within our clinic but will shine particularly brightly in partnership with the #BreakTheBias theme of International Women’s Day 2022.

As well as creating a safe environment for patients and offering the best standards of care and information – we want people to start talking about their worries, concerns and asking questions about all areas of women’s health. 

Once this becomes a daily occurrence in our lives, the bias around these topics will begin to dissipate. While keeping them behind closed doors is necessary for many personal cases – the broader topics themselves should be spoken about. 

#BreakTheBias

A focal point for this year’s celebrations is the push towards gender equality. This means campaigning for a world free from discrimination and stereotypes. 

Whether deliberate or not, bias has always made it difficult for women to be heard and move forward in their lives. Despite celebrating this day for many decades, the aim to achieve equality has still not been fully realised. 

Amongst the gender pay gaps, fewer business opportunities and lack of belief when women begin speaking out – there are many other areas in life where women are set back due to bias. 

Many people have been through the struggle of approaching professionals with questions about their mental and physical health and it is overlooked. All over, women have missed out on important testing or examinations for serious conditions simply because they are accused of overreacting or worrying about nothing.

As our clinic specialises in the complex areas of women’s health, we understand the signs and symptoms of these issues. We also run a consultant-led initiative that ensures women see the same consultant for the duration of their communication with us. 

This allows us to provide expert services with complete and specialist information provided by those who understand the topics the best. It is our aim to eradicate this bias and tackle the issues of late diagnosis and misunderstanding symptoms. 

Not only will the push for gender equality help to achieve this, but simply by listening to our patients and the women in our lives – we can increase understanding of these issues and educate more people. 

How Can You Get Involved – International Women’s Day 2022

Everyone can celebrate and show their support for this cause. It’s important that as many people as possible get involved in the day and are becoming more aware of the problems women still face in today’s society.

Spreading Awareness

This year, the campaign is calling for people to post images on social media and around the internet of themselves in a #BreakTheBias pose. People will be crossing their arms in front of their chest to represent that enough is enough. 

It’s time to stop, take a stand and approach the issue of equality head-on. So one thing you can do is be a part of this movement – post to all your social media platforms and use the trending hashtags on Tuesday 8th March. 

International Women’s Day 2022

Join Our Event

As we mentioned at the start of this blog, the team at The Surrey Park Clinic are hosting an event in Guildford to celebrate this day. 

As women, we often put everyone else’s health and wellbeing before our own. It is second nature to many and can lead to us neglecting our own bodies. We’re hosting this relaxing afternoon to offer a chance to network and ask questions. We can then realise the importance of putting ourselves first and taking the time to understand our own needs. 

The event will take place at Hub on the Park Cafe in Guildford and is hosted by our very own Clinic Director, Katie Biddiss. There will be talks from some amazing specialists who will be shedding light on certain areas of women’s health.

Dr Alex Standring will be sharing her expertise in hormones, menopause and other gynaecological concerns. Her personal experiences have led her to strongly advocate for informed medical advice and personalised treatment for women. 

Emma Menzies will also be speaking. As a professional coach for women experiencing fertility challenges – her aim is to empower those to manage their careers and find fulfilment on the road to motherhood. Fertility is an incredibly important topic that has been classed as taboo in the past, so speakers like Emma are shining a light on the issues surrounding it. 

Furthermore, Annabel Cussen is a physiotherapist specialising in women’s health. Pre and postnatal symptoms as well as pelvic floor rehabilitation are just a couple of reasons women may need physiotherapy treatment during their lives. These pains can often be seen as part and parcel of a journey through motherhood – but this does not mean they should go unnoticed or untreated. 

You can register for our event, free of charge through this link. Spaces are limited though, so get in quick to enjoy the expert panel and networking for International Women’s Day 2022.

Celebrate And Empower

The message and mission of this day is something we should be exploring throughout the year. But this one day around the world gives us an opportunity to gather as allies and celebrate all the amazing achievements of women around the world. 

The message is always louder in a crowd – so a dedicated day helps to draw bigger teams together to promote this one goal in unison. The benefit of this is a collective understanding and education of the bias, discrimination and struggles women go through every day. 

Now is the time to speak out and #BreakTheBias – pushing for gender equality. So why not post to social media, join us in Guildford or manage your own campaign to show support and celebrate.

The Surrey Park Clinic 

Whether you require fertility assistance to conceive, treatment for gynaecological conditions, help and advice for managing menopause or pregnancy scans, the clinical team will ensure your time with us is tailored to your individual requirements.

Our services are consultant-led and our specialists are available for daytime, evening and weekend appointments, in which they consciously take the time to fully understand and listen to your needs.

It’s time to ask questions and be confident that you will be heard.

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Can I have more than one embryo put back during embryo transfer?

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fertility

We promoted the ‘One at a Time’ in 2007 to tackle the high multiple birth rate following IVF treatment.

We aim for a single embryo transfer with our patients to reduce the risk of multiple pregnancies as this can come with increased risks to mother and baby.

We discuss the single embryo transfer policy where possible. Although exceptions may come about in terms of the quality of the embryo, age of the patient, previous treatments and number of previous cycles.

With IVF/ICSI, the risk of multiple pregnancies is related to the number of embryos transferred. At The Surrey Park Clinic, we will comply with the Policy for Kings Clinic and The Lister Hospital as per HFEA guidelines.

Consent for embryo transfer is taken at Kings or The Lister and The Surrey Park Clinic will support the clinical decision made at the relevant HFEA registered unit.

The patient is to be provided with the information so they are able to make an informed choice to treatment and provide consent for the embryo transfer.

Harmony screening / NIPT

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Harmony Screening / NIPT

Harmony screening is a non-invasive screening test for certain Chromosomal abnormalities (Downs syndrome, Edwards syndrome and Patau’s syndrome) and can be performed as early as 10 weeks gestation and up to 21 weeks 6 days.

It has a high sensitivity of detecting an anomaly (98-99%) and therefore many ladies opt to have it performed for additional reassurance.

Ladies expecting Twins may also have this test performed. Harmony screening itself is a maternal blood test, however, all ladies coming for this test will also have a scan on the day to ensure their baby is doing well and measures 10 weeks or over. Results of this test are normally available after 10-14 working days, and one of our lovely Nurses will talk you through your results.

 

Pregnancy Scan – Full Bladder or Not?

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ultrasound

Many patients coming for pregnancy scans wonder about preparation. From 6- 8 weeks gestation we would normally recommend having a transvaginal (internal) scan to see the baby clearly.

For this type of examination, the patient is asked to empty their bladder. For scans 9+ weeks we can often do the scan abdominally (across the tummy) and a full bladder can help in getting a good view of your baby. Don’t worry though: if you’re not sure of your dates, or don’t feel you would be happy with an internal scan, just come to your appointment with a full (ish) bladder and we can discuss it all with you on the day.