The Development of Specialised Fertility-Enhancement Therapy Techniques.

Hospital Research into Chronic Infertility

The Fertility Enhancement Therapy Group (FETG) Therapy Programme to which this information refers evolved during a three-year research project at the West London Hospital, and was conducted by hypnotherapist Phillip D. R. Quinn in collaboration with Michael Pawson MB BS, FRCOG, a senior lecturer and Consultant currently based at the Academic Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London. The results of this research programme were presented at the 11^th International Congress of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Basle, Switzerland in May 1995 and published in the European Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, Vol.1: 4.

A total of 40 female patients aged between 26 and 42 years (mean 32 years) who had been experiencing either primary infertility (30 patients) or secondary infertility (10 patients) and who had been receiving standard infertility investigations and hi-tech treatments for between two and twelve years (mean 3.5 years) were referred from two hospital Fertility Clinics for a specially-designed hypnotherapy programme, which was to be employed in association with further standard medical treatments in applicable cases.

• 65% Live Birth Success Rates
  Of this group, 26 patients (65%) went on to achieve successful full term pregnancies after an average of nine sessions of hypnotherapy, giving birth to a total of 28 healthy children.

• No Further Medical Treatment Needed
  Two-thirds of the successful patients conceived naturally without further medical assistance. This confirmed the hypothesis that psychological factors played a major role in chronic infertility.

• Immediate Response to Further Medical Treatment
  The other nine successful patients received additional medical treatments for physical aspects of their condition, following therapy. The responsiveness of the patients to these medical treatments appeared to have been greatly enhanced as a result of the hypnotherapy course. All the patients who required additional hi-tech medical intervention for physical reasons (blocked fallopian tubes etc) conceived with one further treatment cycle. Only one of these patients suffered a miscarriage following GIFT, but achieved live birth success on the second post-therapy attempt. This confirmed the value of a dual psychological/medical approach in appropriate cases.

• Drastically-Reduced Miscarriage Rate
  There was a very low spontaneous abortion rate of seven per cent. This compares with medical expectations of 25-35%. These patients quickly went on to have a baby on the programme. All of the chronically infertile patients who had previously suffered one or more miscarriages achieved a baby, including one patient who had suffered 9 previous miscarriages. This tended to emphasise the importance of dealing with psychological factors as a priority.

• Other Benefits
  A further eight patients on the programme reported constructive outcomes in ways other than by achieving pregnancy. This was attributed to the therapy programme.

• Better Pregnancy, Easier Childbirth
  Successful patients generally reported a high level of satisfaction with their experience of pregnancy, labour and birth. Four to six hour periods of labour were reported as being typical. This was also attributable to an additional therapy programme developed during the project for those who had achieved pregnancy.

Reducing the Cancer Risk caused by Fertility Drugs

Limited as this study was through lack of funding, there was a clear indication that this was likely to be an effective programme for patients who had repeatedly failed to respond to medical interventions. It demonstrated that both the personal and financial costs, together with the health risks associated with medical fertility treatment, might be considerably reduced by combining this specialised hypnotherapy programme with medical procedures. In even more cases, the therapy programme proved its potential to make further medical treatment unnecessary.

Current Developments

Following the publication of the research results and their presentation at an international conference of gynaecologists, the Fertility Enhancement Therapy Group (FETG) has been formed to develop the therapy programme further and to make it more widely available. Additional diagnostic and therapy procedures are constantly being evaluated to further improve the live-birth success rates and the time taken to achieve them.

Improved results:

Since the publication of the above statistics, the overall live birth success rate has increased to 74% as a result of expanding the therapy programme to include new procedures. The FETG live birth success rate for women 42 years and over has increased to 42% (the norm for medical treatment alone being less than 7% for women in this age group). The oldest successful patients were aged 47 years, and it seems that the time taken to achieve these successes has also been reduced.

Self Help Manual:

Phillip Quinn has written a self-help manual based on his experience in this field, which will shortly be made available over the Internet (if you would like to be informed as to the launch of this manual, please register your interest by going to our News Page for details of this and the aah-ha.co.uk discussion forum)

Therapy:

It might be advantageous for those whose only medical option appears to be hi-tech treatment such as IVF or GIFT to have a course of FETG therapy beforehand. It could make such a course of action unnecessary for some, and greatly facilitate the chances of quick success for others. For those couples wishing to consider FETG therapy for infertility, menstrual or gynaecological problems that have not responded to medical interventions, an Initial Consultation is required to determine the suitability of the client for this therapy and to allow the client the opportunity to establish a relationship with the therapist before committing to a course of therapy. The Initial Consultation lasts for around 1½ hours and currently costs £125. To allow full use to be made of this time, you are requested to bring with you a comprehensive (preferably typed) list of all medical investigations, treatments and outcomes received by you and your partner.

Ante-Natal Programme - Happy Mothers and Happy Babies

If you have already achieved pregnancy and wish to take advantage of the special FETG ante-natal programme to assist you through your pregnancy and the birth of your baby; this is now available to women who have not been on the FETG Therapy Course. It normally involves two or three sessions, including the Initial Consultation.