start and how to change them to make them less painful. Getting them under control increases your sense of coping as well as reducing the level of emotional distress you experience.

At an early stage I help you understand the real role of stress in infertility. When people talk about 'stress' they usually just think of emotional stress, such as those sad and negative thoughts, or the emotional stress of going through an IVF cycle. But its not just emotional stress which is a problem, there are other 'stressors' and it is important you know what these are, and how they all work together to reduce your chances of falling pregnant. This topic was the subject of my recent dissertation for Warwick University, so I feel I can really help you get this straight so that you make the right sort of changes in your life.

It is an absolute must to do a relaxation technique as well. 'Just relax and it will happen' is probably the next thing said by the people who breezily told you to 'think positively'! Again, good advice, but so hard to do. Ways to relax are everywhere but most people simply don't get them right. I will show you, using biofeedback software, a simple technique which really works and has been shown to reduce stress hormones such as cortisol.

This technique also boosts levels of another hormone, DHEA. DHEA tends to fall as we age (ageing in fertility terms is sadly a lot younger than what we generally think of as ageing) but a small pilot study in the States showed that increasing DHEA may improve egg quality. Practising this relaxation technique on a regular basis may help to improve egg quality, by doing it naturally without perhaps the risks associated with synthetic hormones.

MBM is a very practical approach, so if you are having IVF, I will prepare you for the big hurdles of egg collection and embryo transfer and suggest ways to survive the 'two week wait'. The differences between your needs and your partner's needs can cause conflict and distress between couples, and MBM helps you keep in touch with each other if this is a problem.

If you are having acupuncture with us you will be shown a simple way to top up the acupuncture effects between visits, using MBM, at home. This cuts down the number of treatment sessions you need.

Who is MBM for?
It benefits people who are OK and people who are struggling.

If you are having IVF/ICSI and are OK:
Many of you who are fine and coping well and have good support from your partner, family and friends, think you won't need MBM as you have no emotional or psychological problems, nor big anxieties about IVF. This is great so you could try a cycle without it and see how you get on.

It is important to point out though, that the research that showed that MBM increased success rates with IVF and in spontaneous pregnancies, was in those women who felt they had no psychological problems.

Also, the reality is that IVF very often turns out to be much more difficult than people expect. So whilst only 25% of people going into IVF think they might need support, 60% of the couples who drop out of treatment too quickly do so because of the unexpected degree of stress. This is a problem because