Find information about what you can expect from your care at our centre, including links to important information about us, plus: 

• Confidentiality 
• Governance
• GPDR and data 
• Patient Experience
• Making a complaint 
• Your responsibilities as a patient 
• Inclusion 

See our welcome letter here 

 

 

 

 

Please see a list of organisations and contacts for further information and support. 

ACE Babes
Support Following Successful Fertility Treatment
P.O. Box 6979 Derby DE1 9EY
Tel: 0845 838 1593
Website: www.acebabes.co.uk

Alder Centre Baby Loss Support Group
Royal Liverpool Children’s Hospital
Alder Hey Hospital Eaton Road Liverpool L12 2AP
Tel: 0151-252 5391

BICA
(British Infertility Counselling Association)
111 Harley Street London W1G 6AW
Tel: 01372 451626
E-mail: info@bica.net Website: www.bica.net

COTS
(Childlessness Overcome Through Surrogacy)
Moss Bank Manse Road Lairg IV27 4EL
Tel: 0844 414 0181
E-mail. cots@enterprise.net Website: www.surrogacy.org.uk

Donor Conception Network
PO Box 7471 Nottingham NG3 6ZR
Tel: 020 8245 4369
E-mail:enquiries@dcnetwork.org Website: www.dcnetwork.org

HFEA
(Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority)
21 Bloomsbury Street London WC1B 3HF
Tel: 020 7291 8200
Website: www.hfea.gov.uk

Link Support Group
The Hewitt Centre for Reproductive Medicine
Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust
Crown Street Liverpool L8 7SS
Tel: 0151-702 4075

National Childbirth Trust
Alexandra House Oldham Terrace London W3
Tel: 0300 330 0770

NGDT
(National Gamete Donation Trust)
PO Box 2121 Gloucester GL19 4WT
Tel: 0845 226 9193
E-mail: info@NGDT.co.uk Website: www.NGDT.co.uk

Progress Educational Trust                                                                                                          140 Grays Inn Road
London WC1X 8AX
Tel: 0207-278-7870
E-mail: admin@progress.org.uk Website: www.progress.org.uk

SANDS
(Stillbirth & Neonatal Society) 28 Portland Place
London W1B 1LY
Tel: 0207-436-5881
E-mail: support@uk-sands.org Website: www.uk-sands.org

The Turner Syndrome Society
c/o The Child’s Growth Foundation
2 Mayfield Avenue London W4 1PW
Tel: 0208 995 0257
0208 994 7625
Fax. 0208 995 9075
E-mail: cgflondon@aol.com Website: www.childgrowthfoundation.org.uk

BAAF
Saffron House
6-10 Kirby Street London EC1N 8TS
Tel: 0207-421 2600
E-mail: mail@baaf.org.uk Website: www.baaf.org.uk

Infertility Network UK
Charter House 43 St. Leonard’s Road Bexhill-on-Sea
E. Sussex TN40 1JA
Tel: 0800 008 7464
E-mail: admin@infertilitynetworkuk.com Website: www.infertilitynetworkuk.com

The Daisy Network
Premature Menopause Support
PO Box 183 Rossendale Lancs BB4 6WZ
E-mail: membership&media@daisynetwork.org.uk Website. www.daisynetwork.org.uk

Foresight
(Association for the promotion of pre-conceptual care)
178 Hawthorn Road Bognor Regis
West Sussex PO21 2UY
E-mail: andrea.payne@foresight-preconception.org.uk Website: www.foresight-preconception.org.uk

Multiple Births Foundation
Queen Charlotte’s & Chelsea Hospital
Ducane Road London W12 0HS
Tel: 0208-383-3519
E-mail: MBS@IMPERIAL.NHS.UK Website: www. multiplebirths.org.uk

National Endometriosis Society
50 Westminster Palace Gardens
Artillery Row London SW1P 1RL
Tel: 0808 808 2227

NIAC
(National Infertility Awareness Campaign)
Charter House 43 St Leonards Road
Bexhill-on-Sea East Sussex TN40 1JA
E-mail: Clarelewisjones@infertilitynetworkuk.com

TAMBA
(Twins & Multiple Birth Foundation)
2 The Willows Gardner Road
Guildford Surrey GU1 4PG
Tel: 0800 138 0509 
E-mail: enquiries@TAMBA.org.uk Website: www.TAMBA.org.uk

The Miscarriage Association
c/o Clayton Hospital
Northgate Wakefield W. Yorkshire WF1 3JS
Tel: 01924-200-799
E-mail: info@miscarriageassociation.org.uk Website: www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk 

The Miscarriage Support Group
Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust
Crown Street Liverpool L8 7SS
United Kingdom
Tel: 0151-708 9988
Fax: 0151-702 4028
Crown Street
Liverpool, L8 7SS
Tel: 0151 708 9988
www.liverpoolwomens.nhs.uk 

You may often hear medical and clinical terms used. Please see this summary of terms explained to simplify some of the language used in the world of fertility.

Abandoned Cycle

When a treatment cycle is stopped before egg collection.

Andrologist

A doctor who specialises in treating male fertility problems.

Baseline Scan

This is an ultrasound scan to check that down regulation drugs have worked. It is usually a vaginal scan.

Blastocyst

An embryo when it is 5 or 6 days old.

Chromosome

Small bodies within the nucleus of every cell in the body, which contain the genes.

Clinical Pregnancy

Ultrasound evidence of a fetal heart

Clinical Pregnancy Rate

This is calculated as a proportion of pregnancies with beating heart for every 100 treatment cycles commenced.

Congenital Abnormalities

Deformities or diseases which are present at birth or show themselves soon after birth.

Cryopreservation

The freezing of eggs, sperm or embryos and their storage in liquid nitrogen.

Cystic Fibrosis

A disorder of the mucus-secreting glands of the lungs, the pancreas, the mouth and the gastro-intestinal tract. The commonest serious genetic disease in Caucasian children.

Cytoplasm

The material between the nucleus and the cell surface.

Day 9/10 Scan

This is an ultrasound scan to check the response of the ovaries to the stimulation drugs. It is usually a vaginal scan.

Donor Insemination

The insemination of a woman with donor sperm.

Down Regulation

This means that the pituitary function has been ‘switched off’.

Ectopic Pregnancy

A pregnancy that occurs outside the womb.

Egg Collection

The procedure to remove eggs from the ovaries, usually performed under sedation.

Embryo

A fertilised egg up to eight weeks of development. At two weeks it is approximately 1-1.5mm in diameter.

Embryo Transfer

The transfer of one or more embryos to the womb.

Embryologist

A scientist who cultures and studies embryos in a clinical or research laboratory

Female Factor

This term covers any reason why a woman is subfertile, such as ovulation failure or damage to the fallopian tubes.

Follicle

A fluid filled sac in the ovary, which hopefully contains an egg.

Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET)

A treatment using embryos that have been frozen then thawed.

FSH

Follicle stimulating hormone - one of the hormones that controls the menstrual cycle.

Gamete

A reproductive cell such as a mature egg or a sperm.

GIFT

Gamete Intra Fallopian Transfer. Sperm and eggs are mixed together and transferred to one or both of a woman’s fallopian tubes.

Gynaecologist

A doctor who specialises in treating women.

Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)

A micromanipulation technique. A variation of IVF treatment where a single sperm is injected into the inner cellular structure of the egg. This technique is used for couples in which the male partner has severely impaired or few sperm.

Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)

The insertion of specially prepared sperm through the cervical canal into the uterine cavity.

In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF)

Sperm and eggs are collected and put together to achieve fertilisation outside the body.

Karyotype

A test on a sample of blood to check chromosomes.

LH

Luteinizing hormone - one of the hormones that controls the menstrual cycle.

Live Birth

The delivery of one or more babies from a pregnancy.

Live Birth Rate

This is calculated as a proportion of live births for every 100 treatment cycles commenced.

Male Factor

This term covers any reason why the male partner’s sperm may be less effective or incapable of fertilisation, including the absence of viable sperm and a failed reversal of vasectomy.

Miscarriage

Spontaneous loss of a pregnancy before 24 weeks.

Multiple Birth

Birth of more than one baby from a pregnancy.

Multiple Birth Rate

This rate is calculated as a proportion of all births.

Neonatal Death

The death of a baby within 28 days after the birth.

OHSS

Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome - a condition in which the ovaries over-respond to fertility drugs. It can range from mild/moderate to severe.

Oocyte

Another name for an egg.

Perinatal Death

 The death of a baby either in the womb after 24 weeks of pregnancy (stillbirth) or within 28 days after the birth.

Prolactin

A female hormone

Pronuclei

The small round structures inside an egg that contain the genetic material. Two pronuclei are visible in an egg that has fertilised normally, approximately 24hours after insemination.

Seminologist

A scientist who specialises in examining sperm.

 Spermatid

An immature sperm cell.

Stimulated Cycle

A treatment cycle in which the woman’s ovaries are stimulated with drugs to produce more than one egg.

Transport (or Satellite) IVF

An arrangement whereby IVF is carried out at a primary centre (HFEA licensed) but other parts of the treatment (eg ovulation induction or egg retrieval) are performed at a secondary centre (not necessarily HFEA licensed). The embryology and embryo transfer take place at the primary centre.

Treatment Cycle

1. a) IVF/ICSI with fresh embryos: a cycle begins with the administration of drugs for the purpose of superovulation, or if no drugs are used, with the attempt to collect eggs

1. b) With frozen-thawed embryos: a cycle begins with the removal of the stored embryos in order to be thawed and then transferred.

1. c) A Donor Insemination (DI ) treatment cycle begin when the first insemination with donor sperm takes place.

Uterus

The womb

Patient Experience - How to feedback about your care

We aim to provide the highest standards of care to our patients, and we are thrilled to receive positive feedback everyday about the difference we make. We enjoy sharing this with all staff across the service. 

We encourage you to tell us when something goes well, or if a member of staff stood out to you, this helps assure us we are getting it right. You may receive a text message following your visit to ask about your experience, so be sure to fill in the short questionnaire and submit your feedback. 

We recognise that there may be occasions when patients have concerns that they wish to bring to our attention and we invite patients to be open and honest if they feel we didn't get it quite right. 

Comments and suggestions of how we can improve help us grow, learn, develop and implement changes where required.

If you wish to discuss a concern or recent visit with us please contact our Quality Team on 0151 702 4380 Monday to Friday 8.30am - 4.30pm. 

Alternatively you can leave feedback, comments, suggestion or make a complaint in the following ways:

• Via a patient feedback form when you are texted a link to complete (usually after a visit)
• Using a contact us form on our website 
• Via Liverpool Women’s Hospital PALS (Patient Advice Liaison) Department.

You can read the Liverpool Women’s Hospital Trusts process for complaints here 

 

Open our flowchart here