Thrive Wellbeing Centre Partners With Orchid Fertility Clinic

February sees the launch of a very valuable partnership between Thrive Wellbeing Centre and Orchid Fertility Clinic; working together to support individuals through infertility and IVF.

A team of 11 mental health professionals, Thrive Wellbeing Centre is also home to the UAE's first maternal mental health unit which will be offering free psychological screening to patients that Orchid refers. Similarly, Orchid will provide free initial consultations to any recommendations from Thrive Wellbeing Center.

The fertility journey is invariably a stressful one that shoulders an intense range of emotions; hope, expectation, excitement, and often, disappointment. Now that we are in a pandemic, there is the additional stress caused by environmental issues around us; job and financial concerns, the lack of physical support from families and friends, the lack of routines – all of these factors can have a negative impact on our minds and bodies.

"Infertility or a frustrated desire for a child can affect a couple psychologically in a multitude of ways. Couples often find themselves devoid of the resources necessary to cope with this type of challenge, and more so in the current context of the COVID19 pandemic. As an infertility expert, I bring my understanding of fertility treatments into my clinical work with women and couples. My role is to accompany and support them while they are going through the rollercoaster of emotions triggered by the treatments, from hope to despair and everything in between. Identifying what is happening for them emotionally and in their bodies, helps them make informed decisions, stay connected with each other and with their desire for a child, and cope better with the complexities of the treatments," said Dr Vassiliki Simoglou, counselling psychologist at Thrive, whose doctoral research in the University of Paris focused on infertility and IVF.

"The journey of trying to conceive can be long with lots of ups and downs. The IVF process itself can be associated with increased anxiety, depression and stress, which can have a negative impact on the confidence and self-esteem of patients.  This has been aggravated with the new pandemic, as many patients either had to postpone their fertility journey or stressing about getting infected with COVID-19 while pregnant or trying to conceive. At Orchid, we strongly believe that a holistic approach can aid during a fertility treatment and can lead to a balance of patients' spiritual, emotional, physical and mental aspects. We feel committed to delivering healthy babies to healthy parents and this is the reason why our patients' mental health is important to us. We are very excited about our partnership with Thrive Wellbeing Centre, which aims to help our patients cope with their fertility treatment", said Maria Banti (MSc, BSc) Laboratory Director and Clinical Embryologist.

For further details please visit: https://www.thrive.ae/infertility