News
Welcome to my general news page.
On this page you will find information about new events, approaches and writings related to the work in which I am currently involved.
July 2015
From the HFEA:
Guys & St. Thomas Fertility Centre has been flagged up as a UK fertility treatment centre that provides the best possible care and which consistently achieves high standards.
June 2015
The HFEA has launched a new professional support service for people affected by donation which support includes: donor conceived people aged over 16 and pre-2005 donors on the issues of information relating to identification and non-identification of donors.
June 2014
Kirstie Allsopp recently commented that young women should try to ensure that they have children in their twenties rather than in their thirties and expressed concern for friends who had left having children later in life and found that it was then difficult for them to conceive successfully (www.dailymail.co.uk 2nd June 2014).
It’s understandable that she should feel this concern if she has seen how painful it can be for her friends who desperately want a family and who cannot seem to achieve this.
Kirstie warned of female fertility “dropping off a cliff” www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-27730752 and research has shown that, statistically, after the age of 34, a woman’s fertility can decline sharply. Kirstie had her two children in her early thirties. Kirstie is, of course, entitled to her opinion – particularly when considering the context in which it was expressed, but as many others have said in response, it is up to the women concerned to make such choices for themselves, although making them from an informed perspective would probably provide the best middle road between the two viewpoints. An informed perspective based upon calm and objective research rather than fear-driven anxiety which may have been partially at the root of Kirstie’s comments.
And it is important to remember that aiming to have children when you are young (late teens to mid-twenties) will not necessarily guarantee you will have them although, statistically, it increases the odds in your favour. Not all women are successful if they try to have children at a younger age as there are many factors to consider when assessing female fertility health issues, and age is only one of them.
I had my children when I was between 31 and 34 years of age. I didn’t plan it that way (I hoped to have them in my mid-twenties), I simply didn’t have them any earlier, although I was married at 23. I was fortunate not to have any identifiable fertility problems but, nevertheless, I still waited eight years for my children to arrive. In line with my research, I had my children when astrological factors indicated a high likelihood that I would.
March 2012
A new baby for Joanna. Little Jack, successfully conceived under astro-fertility directions, arrived to the great joy of his parents just in time to celebrate the new year! Click here to read the full story
Archive News for November 2011
IVF baby Caroline was born in the summer to her amazed and delighted parents. Mum, Terri, underwent IVF the previous year, during one of the astro-fertility windows that my continuing research has shown is significantly associated with increased likelihood of a successful outcome. Click here to read the full story
Archive News for August 2011
Welcome little Kiran!
My client, Sarah, gave birth to her little boy last month. Kiran was conceived under astro-fertility directions. He is a lovely baby and his parents are overjoyed at his arrival (click here for full story).
Archive News for July 2011
July 6th: College of Medicine holds a one day symposium on herbal medicine and its healing properties. The event brings together clinicians, practitioners, scientists, student sand patients and provides an opportunity to network at the end of the day. For more details visit the College of Medicine website at: www.collegeofmedicine.org.uk
PUTTING HERBAL MEDICINES INTO PRACTICE
WEDNESDAY 6 JULY 2011, The Jodrell Laboratory, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AB.
Archive News for June 2011
On June 3rd , at the Univesity of Southampton, Dr. Harris presented to medical students, details of her doctoral research and how the research has developed over the last three to four years. She also talked about the Research Grants Body that she runs (www.astrology-research.net) – an organisation which supports academic research in astrology – and how research into medical astrology and its potential value for health care approaches in the future might support currrent medical practices, in particular treatment of reproductive health provblems in women with a specific reference to fertility treatment issues.
Archive News for March 2011
Skype consultations are now available. If you would like to arrange one please email Dr. Harris for contact details. Skype to Skype call time is completely free (so the only charge is for the actual consultation) and Skype to landline is very economical at around 1.4p (sterling currency) per minute.
Archive News for January 2011
The HFEA (Human Fertilisation & Embryo Authority) has recently commented on a mother donating her eggs to her daughter so that her daughter can have children of her own (The Guardian, 17 January 2011 p9 “Fertility views sought on mum-grandmothers”). Surrogacy was also mentioned where one father had two babies born to different surrogate mothers. I’ve been asked by my clients if using donor eggs and/or surrogate mothers makes a difference to the effectiveness of the astrology I use, as some systems tie astrology in with the woman’s ovulation cycle. My approach does not rely on this link. It takes into account the whole woman, her biology and psychology and lifestyle and it applies to whoever is donoting the eggs and/or carrying the pregnancy and giving birth to the baby. So, it does not matter if donor eggs or surrogate mothers are considered, my astrological approach should work just the same.
Archive News for December 2010.
Recent media coverage on astrology and fertility has re-kindled an enthuastic interest in thie are of astrology. Click Here to find out more (Can Astrology bring you a baby?)
Archive News for November 2010.
With decreasing fertility treatment options astrology may, more than ever, have the answer
Just this week (13.11.10), the board of NHS Surrey has stopped all new IVF treatments with immediate effect. The excuse offered/reason given is simply that they are stopping “doing things which aren’t clinically necessary.”
The blunt choice facing women in Surrey, right now, is that they must consider funding their own IVF treatments, which makes maximising their chances of success with a minimum number of attempts absolutely paramount.
My research has shown that time indicators (astrology) can be of crucial help in this.
Archive News for October 2010.
Emma Thompson has revealed that she has not been able to succeed in further attempts to have another child through IVF in www.dailymail.co.uk Mail Online 28th October 2010. Her first IVF baby, daughter Gaia, was successfully conceived through IVF treatment under astro-fertility contacts operating in Emma’s life, at the time (click here to read Emma Thompson’s IVF baby)..
Click Here for more details!
Archive News for September 2010.
Michael Dooley, UK NHS consultant gynaecologist and author on fertility health issues for women, uses integrated medicine to help women increase their chances of succeeding with fertility treatment.
Click Here for more details!
The 2010 Astrological Association Conference takes place from the 17th to the 19th September in Cambridgeshire. Dr Harris was scheduled to speak at the Conference but is now no longer able to appear, due to family illness. She will, however, be taking part in other presentations during 2011 and news of them will appear on this website when details are finalised.
Archive News for August 2010.
An astrological solution to “unexplained infertility”? Another astro-fertility baby success story!
Rachel had her first baby at the end of last year. Her daughter was conceived normally during an astro-fertility window, after she had been diagnosed with unexplained infertility. Rachel has given permission for her story to be told on this site
Click Here for more details!
Archive News for March 2010.
Meet Pat Harris at the Astrological Association’s 42nd annual UK conference (17th to 19th September 2010)
Dr. Harris is presenting a talk on the astrological birth chart as a model for developing effective ways of managing stress aggravated health issues. She will be drawing on the knowledge and understanding she has gained from her practice as a consultant astrologer where she uses astrology combined with health psychology with the aim of reducing impact of health issues and achieving a better overall sense of well being. The conference is at Wyboston Lakes, near Cambridge, from 17th to 19th September 2010.
Dr. Harris is the editor of the Astrological Association research journal in astrology, Correlation visit: www.astrologicalassociation.com for details of the conference, and the journal
Archive News for January 2010.
The February 2010 issue of the Infertility Network magazine carries an article by Pat Harris on her research into the links between astrology and infertility. A copy of the article will appear on this site later in the year.
Archive News for December 2009.
FANTASTIC NEWS!!! Click here to see the latest success story in Case Studies!!
Archive News for November 2009.
The Fertility Show was on in London from the 6th to 7th November with a focus on older women becoming mothers. My research has shown that timing fertility treatments to coincide with my scientifically research astrology factors works just as well for older women between the ages of 35 and 47 as it does for those under the age of 34. Click here to review my research.
Archive News for October 2009.
“Antidepressants to blame for baby’s heart defects, American jury rules” (The Guardian newspaper, UK, 15 October 2009, p 8)
This article reports that the British-made antidepressant Seroxat was ruled responsible by a jury in Philadelphia for a three year old baby’s heart defects. The drug was prescribed for the mother, after panic attacks and she later found that she was pregnant. She was assured that the drug was safe to use but she eventually stopped taking it because of possible risks of side-effects. Unfortunately, when her son was born, he was found to have serious heart problems. The company responsible for the drug has appealed against the decision.
In my article “Astrological counselling – a drug-free antidote to depression?” I discuss the problems that have been associated with this drug and describe how astrological counselling can be the safe alternative for understanding the problems that give rise to depression and stress related conditions, and how this insightful and supportive approach can help support sufferers to manage and resolve the problems that are at the root of the depression, itself.
The risks that are associated with some drugs used for depression that is linked to psychological stress such as anxiety do not exist with the astrological counselling method. See “Astrological counselling – a drug-free antidote to depression? ” for more details click here.
Archive News from September 2009.
Astrology – a drug -free alternative for the treatment of depression?
Mark Oaten, UK member of parliament for Winchester, was reported in the Hampshire Chronicle (20 August 2009, p2 “Do more to help depression sufferers”) calling on the UK government to do more to help “the millions of people who suffer from depression”. He believes that the Government needs to “offer a wider range of treatments than CBT alone”.
NICE recommends only Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) as an alternative treatment for depression and Mr Oaten suggested that psychotherapy should also be included in the NICE guidelines. Research shows that astrological counselling can be as effective as other psychological approaches (Click here to a PDF file ‘Astrological Counselling – a drug-free antidote to depression?’ (4Mb) by Pat Harris) and so should also be considered as an effective therapy for depression sufferers.
Archive News from August 2009.
National Institute for Clinical Guidelines (NICE) and astrology: increasing your likelihood of success from around 1 in 4 attempts to 1 in 3
In the UK, where you live and your baseline expected level of success can be critical deciders in the level of help you will get through fertility treatment in order to have a child.
The HFEA states that:
“NICE recommend that it is appropriate to fund IVF treatment when the chances of success are more than 10%.”
My research has shown that timing embryo implants to coincide with times in a woman’s life when my researched astrological conditions are present will increase her chances of conceiving successfully (birth of a baby) by as much as 21%. Astrology, in my research, was tested against many other factors, including age of woman and whether or not she and/or her partner had a history of reproductive problems, and only astrology was shown to be significantly associated with successful outcome. In theory, then, if fertility clinic consultants would be willing and were able to time embryo implants according to my researched astrological indicators, the chances of a success would go up from 1 in four to 1 in three, reducing the number of attempts needed, on average to produce a baby. According to NICE guidelines, this additional boost would then mean that many more couples should become eligible for help through the NHS.
Archive News from July 2009.
Continuing research into astrology and fertility suggests importance of male partner’s astrology
I am continuing to research and refine the astrological model I developed for identifying times in a woman’s life when her chances of having children are likely to increase. My early research focused only on the woman in the couople but I have found some initial evidence to suggest that her male partner’s astrology could also contribute to the successful outcome.
I am now collecting data for this: i.e., birth time, date and place of male partner in the couple who are hoping to become pregnant and have a child.
You can visit:
Click here for Interfility Network UK
to find out more about how to take part in this ongoing research or, on this site, click on the contact button at the top of the home page and then on “research” and you can contact me for further details about how your experiences can help others.
Archive News from May 2009.
Currently I am in the process of writing a new book about fertility and astrology which will present and discuss the findings from the research that I continue to carry out into links between astrology and fertility and possible theories behind the relationship.
I have recently completed an exploration of astrological factors in the conception of Queen Victoria’s children, which you can find published here.
An article I have written on astrological counselling as a drug-free alternative treatment for depression will be published in the June/July 2009 issue of The Mountain Astrologer mountainastrologer.com
This article also discusses how I have used astrological counsellling to help women who experienced depression and anxiety when trying to conceive either normally or through assisted reproductive techniques like IVF, GIFT and IUI.
Dr.Julian Kenyon of the Dove Clinic, Twyford, Hampshire (consulting rooms also in Wimpole Street, London)has generally doubled the IVF success rate (normally 20%) through the use of traditional Chinese medicine and nutritional medicine for women hoping to have babies. It may be possible to improve on this by timing your treatment to coincide with fertility astrology contacts and raise the likelihood of success further (by an additional 21%).