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| | | Dr听Mark Porter听gives listeners the low-down on what the medical profession does and doesn't know. Each week an expert in the studio tackles听a particular topic and there are reports from around the UK on the health of the nation - and the NHS.
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"I spend half my week practising medicine and the other half writing and talking about it as a GP in Gloucestershire. Working on Case Notes has been a boon for both me and my patients. One of the principal aims of the programme is to keep our listeners up-to-date with the latest developments in healthcare, and to accomplish that I get to interview a wide range of specialists at the cutting edge of medicine. A rare privilege that ensures our listeners aren't the only ones to learn something new."
Mark Porter
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Fertility
 Full programme transcript >>
We all know where babies come from, yet how aware are we of our fertility? More and more people are using medical interventions in order to conceive but most fertility experts feel that a little lesson in biology would help a lot of people stop worrying about getting pregnant.
When are you fertile and for how long?
Case Notes takes a look at the signs that show your most fertile periods 鈥 and it鈥檚 a bigger window than the ovulation kits will lead you to believe. So goodbye to the feelings of听 鈥渋t鈥檚 tonight or tomorrow morning dear鈥 and hello to 鈥渨e鈥檝e got the next three days, so lets make the most of it!鈥 Ovulation kits will tell you when you are ovulating, but for the sperm to have the best chance of fertilizing the egg, they need to be in there before you ovulate. Sperm will last up to 72 hours in the vagina and the egg will only last 24 hours 鈥 so making sure there鈥檚 plenty of sperm available at the time of ovulation is key, not getting it in there after the egg has been released.
When should you seek medical help?
But what happens if you have been trying to get pregnant and it鈥檚 not happening? How long should you try until you seek medical help? The conventional thoughts are if you are under 30 then try for 12-18 months but if you are over 35 then visit your doctor sooner.
Fertility clinics
What can the NHS provide? Most GPs will be able to refer you to fertility clinics where you can have tests to find out sperm counts and hormone levels that could give some indication to the problem. However, you should be aware that once you go down this route, it鈥檚 a long and arduous journey full of pokes and prods and not at all fun.
Fertility options
GP Dr Mark Porter takes a look at fertility, finding out what the NHS does provide, and what you will need to pay for, plus how the most recent guidelines from the Department of Health will affect you if you are planning a family. That鈥檚 Case Notes on Fertility on Tuesday 20th April 2004.
Next week's topic is: Genetic Screening | | |
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