Understanding The Meaning Of Support Groups – Part I

Many clinics have patient support groups that can and will most likely offer infor¬mations advice and the chance to meet other people going through similar experiences. At their most basic these groups are run by an infertility nurse and simply involve an evening session where patients can meet and talk. Alternatively they can be informal groups rim by patients, usually with a fairly transi¬tory membership.



At the other end of the scale is the support group set up ten years ago at London's King's College Hospital which now has one full-time paid member of staff. The original aim was to raise money for treatment. When the local health authority decided to fund In Vitro Fertilisation, the support group reorganised. Now it produces a newspaper, runs information days, lobbies for more funds for infertility services and better facilities at the hospital and sometimes helps women resolve practical treatment prob¬lems. For those who want to talk to someone, but not to a counsellor, the support group puts them in touch with another woman in their area. The King's group is one of nine patient groups in London that set up the London Fertility Network Support Group.



There are also two national support groups. Issue, the National Fertility Association, is based in Birmingham, and has 6000 members nation-wide. It offers three different levels of activity, all on a volunteer basis. It has a network of "helpful members", people who have been through In Vitro Fertilisation and are prepared to speak to others about it.



Shirley M. Duran is a mother of two and an author of a variety of related lifestyle issues and topics with which has helped hundreds of mothers become pregnant. If you have any pregnancy questions for which you need answers, it is recommended to visit: http://mypregnancyquestions.info/



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