My IVF story

Emergency medical technician using her IVF experience to educate fellow colleagues.

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a type of fertility treatment where fertilisation takes place outside the body. It’s suitable for people with a wide range of fertility issues and is one of the most commonly used treatments available.

Lynsey McMahon, Emergency Medical Technician, is currently going through IVF. Lynsey’s IVF journey started in 2020. After two years of trying to get pregnant naturally, she went for some tests that concluded both her and her partner had unexplained infertility issues. They were advised to try IVF.

Since starting IVF they have done one cycle and unfortunately haven’t been successful. She explained: “Although I was disappointed at first, I discovered a failed cycle gives you more information due to them getting to see how your embryos develop after fertilisation and what’s going right and wrong. We now have a bit of a battle plan in place for round two!”

IVF can affect people differently, both mentally and physically. Lynsey told us, “I was quite lucky with how I felt during my first cycle. Physically I felt fine, there was just a lot of appointments to keep up with. Mentally I was a little up and down at times as the medication is hormonal and obviously, I had disappointment at the end which was hard. But I’m quite a mentally strong person so you take the positives and what you have learnt from round one and move on.”

With around one in six couples in the UK having difficulty conceiving, IVF is a common treatment. Lynsey said, “As IVF is very much an evolving journey, it can be a rollercoaster at times. It can affect your life in so many ways so it’s important to look after yourself. IVF isn’t a one size fits all process so it’s important to reach out if you need more support or someone to talk to. It can be a daunting process so just take it step by step.”

Lynsey is now using her experience to help NWAS staff. She is working with our health and wellbeing team to create a page on our wellbeing intranet site specifically for those going through IVF.

If you have any concerns or are experiencing infertility issues, please contact your GP who can advise and support you.