Letter, first printed in Foresight Summer 2002:

Newsletter Dear Foresight ….. What a difference a year makes! We lost our son in January last year (born silently at 20 weeks), and felt we would never recover. Having two children of 3½ and 1½ years, we had to, so we looked at ways of ensuring it never happened again. We discovered Foresight, and had hair analysis and several courses of vitamins, followed by a second sample. Our levels were almost up to strength, so we decided to try again.

My wife became pregnant within a month, and had almost no sickness, unlike the previous three pregnancies - the vitamins perhaps? After a very stressful pregnancy, with lots of hospital visits, our daughter, S. was born 4 weeks early, but healthy and chubby (7lb 10oz), a miracle!

We just thought you might like to know of a success story - all the best, and thanks!

Yours faithfully … [name omitted]
February, 2002
 

Letter, first printed in the Foresight Autumn 1999 newsletter:
 
Dear Foresight ... you asked me to put some background information down for you to include … I wasn't sure how much detail you wanted, so please use as much as you feel appropriate.

We wanted to follow the Foresight Programme and despite no Foresight 'GP' in our area, we put into practice as much as we could - hair analysis and vitamin programme, no alcohol, no smoking (already!) and we already had a wonderful homeopath. We'd had two miscarriages in 1994 and were delighted to find at the end of 1995 that I was pregnant again, with the baby due in June 1996.

My pregnancy generally went well although I was very sick at first, losing half a stone, and I had very low haemoglobin levels at 34 weeks (6.3), needing a transfusion of 2 pints of blood. I refused the routine ultrasound scan at 18 weeks and the consultant, to his credit, accepted my position that I would have a scan if medically indicated, but would prefer not to risk any chance of neurological damage to my baby at such an early developmental stage.

In the later stages, the baby was thought to be breech although some midwives thought it was head down. So, at 37 weeks, we met the consultant to discuss delivery options and agreed at this stage to have a scan to determine how the baby was lying. We went in and the consultant said 'Well, is this baby breech or not?", and the ultrasound operator uttered the immortal words, 'well, one is, but the other isn't!' We had thought we were prepared for the birth, but now had to have a very rapid re-think!

Our baby daughters, J. and R. were born at 39 weeks, eventually by caesarean section. My waters broke, then labour didn't really progress and even after 9 hours of an oxytocin drip I had still only got to 4cm dilated and R.'s heart rate was starting to fall. J. weighed 4lb 14oz, and R. 61b, both scored 9/10 at one minute Apgar, and 10/10 at five minutes. J.'s paediatrician was very upset that he couldn't find any reason to send her to the Special Care Baby Unit!

I fully breast fed both babies until they were 14 months old. They shared J.'s cot until they were 6 months old and then had one each. R. was always a very cuddly baby and couldn't settle alone once she woke in the night, so her cot was hardly used!

The girls are now nearly 3 years old now and are very healthy - even when J. contracted pneumococcal meningitis at 8 months old, giving us a dreadful few days of worry, she made a very rapid recovery. We put their good health down to the combination of Foresight programme and our homeopath during my pregnancy and the similar approach we take now with an almost 100% organic wholefood diet and care to minimise other harmful chemicals in their lives (bedding, clothing, toys etc), together with ongoing homeopathic care. I hope this is of use to you. With best wishes ... [names ommitted]
 

Letter, first printed in Foresight Summer 2002 Newsletter:

When my husband and I got married at the age of 30 we were both keen to start a family almost straight away. I had a feeling that it would not be straight forward for me to conceive because I had always had extremely irregular periods of anything between 27 and 80 days and when I had been to see a doctor about this in my teens he suggested that it might be necessary for me to have hormone treatment if I had difficulty having children in the future.

I was therefore delighted and quite surprised to fall pregnant within 3 months of being married. However this and a further 3 pregnancies ended in miscarriage after 8 to 11 weeks. After the first 2 miscarriages I was referred to the recurrent miscarriage unit of our local hospital and my husband and I had all the blood tests to try to discover what the problem was. The only thing they discovered at that point was that I had a blood condition which meant that my blood clotted too readily and they suggested that this could be a cause of my miscarriages. I was therefore advised to take low dose aspirin to ensure that my blood did not clot too much, endangering the tiny blood vessels that enable the placenta to work during any future pregnancy. During the course of these investigations I fell pregnant again, but this time I miscarried extremely early on. In fact, the pregnancy was only detected by one of the extra sensitive tests that they have at hospital and was clearly over almost as soon as it had begun.

All this was pretty traumatic and left us feeling battered. We had suffered these miscarriages within just over a year of being married. My husband and I then did not conceive for a long while. At our request we were referred to the Infertility Clinic at our local hospital and saw a lovely doctor to discuss what we should do next to help us on our way to having a baby. Before he would lay out the possibilities he asked if I might possibly be pregnant and suggested I have a pregnancy test. It was discovered that I was pregnant again which delighted us no end. This was just before Christmas but we were cautious not to announce our news to anyone after our previous disappointments. It was fortunate that we made this decision, because in January I miscarried again. It was difficult to understand what was going on. I had been careful to take folic acid and the aspirin and yet still I was unable to maintain a pregnancy. The same doctor we had seen just before Christmas suggested we try acupuncture as we had asked to have as little intervention as possible in our effort to conceive. The hospital at the time was hosting a Chinese doctor to investigate the use of acupuncture to help women with pelvic pain and ovulation induction. I tried 2 cycles of this without success and it was suggested that this was perhaps not the way forwards for us. Instead we embarked upon ovulation induction using hormone treatment. This involved me having to inject myself with hormones to control ovulation so that my husband and I would know the best time to aim for conception. We went through 3 or 4 unsuccessful cycles and it was discovered that I had polycystic ovaries which was probably another reason why it was so difficult for us to conceive. The treatment we received during this time was superb and each time the nurses looking after me were as disappointed at our failure as ourselves.

It was in the autumn of 2000 at my grandmother's funeral that I was told about Foresight. Funnily enough, that very week I had heard Foresight mentioned on the 'Food Programme' on BBC Radio 4. However, a second cousin whom I had never met before had heard that we were having difficulty having children and took us aside to tell us in more detail about Foresight. To be honest, we did not instantly think this it was the answer to our problems, but we thought that it was worth a try. I told the hospital that I wanted to have a 6 month break before trying another cycle of ovulation induction while I sorted out my diet and had all the tests done. My husband and I went and had ourselves checked out for urinary tract and sexually transmitted diseases which were all clear, we had our hair analysed and began taking the vitamin and mineral supplements. We were not too careful about avoiding pregnancy during this time, partly because we thought it would be highly unlikely for us to conceive and partly because we didn't want to lose any more time. I realize this is not strictly following the Foresight guidelines, but it was the way we wanted to do it. At this point I must add that I had also just changed jobs and we had decided to move house. We deliberately chose a house which needed a lot of work doing on it so that I could get stuck into DIY and take my mind off wanting to have a baby. Most importantly in our view, we also had a very supportive group of Christian friends and members of our family who were praying on our behalf that we might have a baby. We learned later that one group of friends started a secret pact to fast as well as pray for us.

We had just had our hair analysed for a second time when we discovered that I was pregnant (2 weeks before we were due to move!). This was 4 months after having started the Foresight programme and happened completely naturally. I had no sickness during my pregnancy, and only felt a little nauseous during the day, usually brought on by my boss's aftershave! (I never did have the nerve to ask him to avoid 'splashing it all over'). I was very careful not to overexert myself in the first few weeks, but after 12 weeks or so walked the 2½ miles to work every day (catching the bus home). I carried on with the Foresight programme throughout my pregnancy. The only thing I was unable to give up completely was chocolate. I kept very well and the only discomfort I had was from piles (which I had prior to my pregnancy anyway) and heartburn at night in the last trimester. The birth itself was long and I ended up having an epidural and a ventouse delivery, but the end result was a beautiful baby boy with a full head of blond hair.

We are not certain that Foresight made all the difference, but we are convinced that following the programme helped us to do something creative, rather than having things poked and prodded at hospital, enabling us to do something for ourselves. I am sure that the change in diet and the vitamins and minerals improved our health and I am equally sure that the love and support of our family and friends was also a vital factor. We give thanks to Almighty God who oversaw the whole process, sending us help and guidance through the kind health professionals at our local hospital, giving us comfort and emotional strength through our Christian friends and for leading us into contact with the work of Foresight. May He continue to bless all the work that Foresight does to help couples like my husband and myself.
 

Letter, first printed in the Foresight Spring 1999 newsletter:

I apologise for not writing sooner with photographs of my son, L. who was born underwater at Hammersmith Hospital in December 1996, weighing in a 8lb 6oz. With the help of the midwives in attendance, a warming atmosphere was created using dim lighting and essential oil of Neroli. I had decided beforehand that I would not have any form of pain relief because I knew the pain would not last forever. The water also helped to relax me.

Although L. suffered from eczema until recently (which was very mild) I kept him off cows milk products and wheat until now. I found the absolute best remedy for his eczema was to rub in evening primrose oil. The dry patches on his body disappeared completely within two weeks, unlike the topical cream that my orthodox doctor prescribed. Now the only time I feel any dryness on his body is when he is teething.

L. came into this world after a lot of disappointments and heartache. I didn't know until I lost the previous pregnancy at five and a half months (after which the hospital conducted a post-mortem) that I was suffering from systemic candida (monilia) which they found in the baby's lungs and in the umbilical cord. On top of this I had Hashimotos disease (Hypothyroidism). After being treated with orthodox drugs (which worked while I was on them) and then later, more successfully with herbal and homeopathic remedies for the candida, and taking a daily dose of Thyroxine, it was 18 months later that I fell pregnant with L. I had the usual hair and sweat tests which showed that my vitamin and mineral levels were generally good, although zinc and manganese were slightly low and (as had been the case with previous tests) my cadmium level was slightly raised as was my copper, although I wasn't too bothered about the copper because I knew that pregnancy can increase copper levels. For the first five months of my pregnancy I still had problems with spotting around the time of my normal period and I suffered badly until the fourth month with terrible nausea and sickness (24 hours). I took the Foresight vitamins and minerals for most of the pregnancy but unfortunately I couldn't take them during the period of sickness. The last 3 months were plain sailing with no problems whatsoever.
 

Letter, first printed in the Foresight Spring 1999 newsletter:

On 3rd January 1998 I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. C. finally came after four years of heartache and many tears. By writing my personal story, I hope that I can give courage and strength to those still trying for a baby. Miracles do happen.

In March 1994 my husband and I began to try for a baby. A year later, I had still not conceived and, therefore, saw my GP. Routine fertility blood tests were carried out. By the time my results came back, the blue line on the pregnancy kit was positive. We were ecstatic.

10 weeks later we told family and friends and I saw the midwife a couple of days later. I had no sickness and felt well. Later that evening, after the examination, my tummy began to ache and the following morning I started to 'spot'. Bed rest was advised but three days later on 10 June 1995, I began to experience 'period pains'. I can remember walking up and down the garden in floods of tears knowing that later that night I would lose my baby. I was admitted to hospital, a miscarriage was confirmed and I was taken to theatre for an ERPC.

I didn't sleep at all that night and the following morning the surgeon came to check on me and advised that I would need an injection of Anti-D as my blood group was Rhesus Negative B. No explanation could be given for the miscarriage and we were told to wait a month before trying again.

Five months later in November 1995, I conceived again. This time the pregnancy only lasted 6 weeks. I started to 'spot' again and an early scan at the hospital could not find a baby although a pregnancy test was still showing as positive. The hospital decided I should go home and see what happened and over the course of the following few days, the pregnancy ended naturally. I was given an injection of Anti-D once again. No explanation could be given for this second miscarriage and we were advised to try again.

In April 1996 I was woken up on morning with dreadful tummy pains. My period was only a day or so late but I felt so sick and faint and eventually passed several large blood clots. Two months later in June 1996, the same thing happened again. As I had never experienced pain at such a level as this nor had I ever passed blood clots during a normal period, I consulted my GP. It was concluded that I had probably experienced two further, early miscarriages. On paper, however, I had not had the 'standard' three miscarriages to warrant referral to a fertility specialist and so my GP carried out further routine fertility blood tests, all of which came back normal.

In the Autumn of 1996, my husband consulted our GP to undertake a sperm sample as we were both becoming concerned at our failure to conceive. His results showed a low sperm count, low motility and a high percentage of abnormal sperm. On this basis, our GP duly referred us onto the Fertility Specialist at our local hospital with an appointment for early January 1997.

This latest bombshell was totally unexpected and we seriously began to doubt our future as would-be parents. I, however, was determined to see if there was anything we could do on a self-help basis to improve our fertility and had read several articles on the work of the Foresight Association and their success in recurrent miscarriages. Realising we had nothing to lose, I arranged an appointment with a Foresight clinician at the end of January 1997.

At the beginning of January 1997 we saw the Fertility Specialist at our local hospital who was unconcerned about my husband's sperm count as we had proved pregnancy was possible. It was decided, therefore, that I would undergo various fertility tests including an x-ray of my tubes to see if a reason for miscarriage could be pinpointed. At the end of January 1997, we also saw the Foresight Clinician and decided to embark on the Foresight Programme once all my hospital tests had been concluded.

The Easter week of 1997 I was at home on leave and I cried all week. I had finished all my fertility tests and everything was normal. We had been advised to 'go away' for six months, forget about getting pregnant and if nothing had happened by September 1997, we would be referred onto an IVF Unit. The only positive thing I had to hold onto was that our results from the Foresight Association had showed that both of us were quite deficient in many vitamins, minerals, etc. and that by at least embarking upon this programme we would be doing something positive for our health.

Three weeks later, the blue line on the pregnancy test kit was positive. I informed the Fertility Specialist at the hospital immediately and was advised to take on 75mg aspirin a day. There was no medical reason for me to take the aspirin but the Specialist considered that there had been shown benefits in taking an aspirin a day in cases of recurrent miscarriages and in my case it wouldn't do any harm not to do so. I also advised the Foresight Association and they advised me to stay on their programme.

I didn't tell my husband until a week later when the pregnancy test was confirmed by my GP. I refused to undergo an early scan at 9 weeks which my doctor had arranged for me but I finally found the courage to go at 12 and a half weeks. My husband was so nervous about the scan in case it showed a blank screen that a very close friend of mine came with me instead. There for the first time in four years I finally met my baby.

I was terribly sick for the first 12 weeks, morning, noon and night but I wouldn't have changed this for anything. The rest of the pregnancy went smoothly albeit that we were extremely guarded and didn't announce it to surprised family and friends until we had reached 20 weeks.

I will never forget about the babies we lost but C.'s arrival into this world not only brightened up a very wet and windy January morning but showed us that there is always hope when times are bad. Miracles do happen.
 

Letter, first printed in the Foresight Spring 1999 newsletter:

After seven years in a stable happy relationship and much soul-searching, my partner and I decided to have a baby. We thought we were well prepared in that our child rearing ideas seemed similar and were thrilled and apprehensive when we discovered I was pregnant in November 1993. I experienced almost constant nausea and felt very tired and low for about thirteen weeks. On my birthday in late January I felt the baby was struggling to survive inside me - something 'felt' very wrong indeed but I dismissed this notion, as did everyone else, as first time nerves. At twenty one weeks, on the 22nd February 1994, slight bleeding occurred. Terrified, we called a doctor who sent me straight to hospital. A scan showed no foetal heartbeat. Our whole world collapsed; only those who have lost a child can know how bad the pain is. The next day I returned to hospital to have labour induced and after eighteen hours our little boy Joshua was born, tiny but perfectly formed. He had been dead for about four weeks, since, I now realised that dreadful time I felt something was wrong. The autopsy revealed no abnormalities and my own blood tests were clear. My consultant did not seem to understand my desperate need to know why this terrible thing had happened to our baby, and how fearful we were that it might happen again.

As the first dreadful grief stricken weeks dragged by, I discovered the existence of Foresight (I'm not sure how now!) and received the literature. I was stunned to find out how complacent we had been about pre-conceptual care; emotionally we were ready, physically we were not. As non-smoking, healthy eating vegetarians we had assumed we would get all the vitamins and minerals we needed from our diet. We hadn't banked on genito-urinary diseases, exposure to toxic metals, zinc and magnesium deficiency. I had been feeling quite smug for finding out about folic acid five weeks into the pregnancy, not from my GP but a kindly pharmacist; now I realised that through ignorance (and not just on our part but that of the NHS, the media and society in general) how ill informed we had truly been.

Regrettably all this information came too late; I was pregnant again two months after the miscarriage', as it was officially termed, although to me it seemed more like a stillbirth, and in fact I gained a lot of support from SANDS. However, I tried much harder to maintain reasonable mineral levels in my diet, attended yoga classes to alleviate stress and visited a Shiatsu practitioner to improve energy levels. Luckily for us, the pregnancy went well and after a long arduous labour of several days Lily was born the day after my birthday, bringing us great joy.

We decided to be in optimum health for the next pregnancy and started Foresight's programme in 1996. Our hair sample analyses were incredible - I was low in zinc, magnesium, manganese, calcium and selenium and my partner's levels of lead and aluminum were alarmingly high. I now know that zinc and magnesium in particular are implicated in miscarriage and ordered the recommended vitamin and mineral supplements. Even though it cost nearly £500, we knew it was a small price to pay for peace of mind (we paid in instalments which made it easier). And the price was covering twenty six tablets a day for me, and 19 for my partner. At first, we actually felt worse, but this only lasted a few days, and I assume it was just our bodies reacting to the new regime. We soon felt full of energy with clear skins, strong nails and hair and brighter eyes. After three months, I fell pregnant and had trouble swallowing the larger manganese tablets due to my usual bouts of nausea so I switched to a liquid form which was more palatable. I sailed through the rest of my pregnancy and in August 1997, after a short and far less traumatic labour, gave birth to my baby son, L..

Being part of the Foresight programme gave us a confidence that all would be well because we had done everything in our power to optimise our own health and therefore that of our baby. I now recommend Foresight to friends, relatives, even acquaintances; sadly the majority have never heard of the Association or considered preconceptual care. I've been there. I only wish I had discovered Foresight before all our heartache.
 

Letter, first printed in the Foresight Spring 1999 newsletter:

As you will see from our records, following the birth of our son seven years ago, my wife has had three miscarriages. We sought NHS help, attended fertility clinics and paid for sperm count tests. In summary, no one could provide answers as to why the miscarriages had occurred.

My wife was put on several courses of fertility drugs and we were told that this had resolved production of the egg. However, we were then informed that my sperm count was so low, that I was basically sterile. Of those few sperm remaining, the majority were 'severely dysfunctional'! Our NHS treatment concluded with being offered IVF as the only possible option. We were refused the lesser option as they considered there was a zero chance of success!

By this stage we were both very depressed. Then one of my wife's friends read an article in a magazine regarding Foresight. The results shown versus peoples background of 'problems' seemed unbelievably too good to be true. We were both very sceptical, but with nothing to lose, wrote off to yourself for information.

On reading your book, everything suddenly seemed to make considerable sense. You are what you eat! Determined, we sought as much organic produce as we could. My diet in particular changed to a greater vegetable intake. We had the hair tests and were amazed at how far out our results were to ideal. As you will see, we took the vitamins as suggested religiously. Anyway, imagine our disbelief when in January, following a late period, a pregnancy test proved positive.

The first couple of months were extremely stressful, as each miscarriage had occurred during the first 3 months. Strangely, emotions were the opposite to those expected. Instead of huge excitement, neither of us would allow ourselves to 'buy in' to everything being OK. I guess its nature's way of trying to avoid being disappointed again if things do go wrong. My wife is now 25 weeks pregnant and the scan (at 22 weeks) determined everything at this stage is as it should be. Our son is so excited about his brother/sister to be, he has so much wanted a sibling!

For your information, my doctor arranged for me to have a further sperm count test when pregnancy was confirmed, as we had kept him informed and provided literature regarding your Foresight programme. Strangely, my sperm count had not increased vastly. Motility had increased slightly, but count is still very low. I guess it only takes one healthy sperm in the correct conditions to be successful and, whilst doctors had told us that due to my low count, it was virtually impossible to conceive, we had managed 3 pregnancies prior to Foresight but clearly, due to an imbalance of vitamins/minerals they were not healthy enough to do other than create a miscarriage.

Anyway, we're fully converted to your logical explanations to many couples' fertility problems. Somehow, the NHS must be educated to accept common sense! Purely from a financial perspective, millions of pounds could be saved through less miscarriages and other complications. More importantly, far less peoples' lives would be 'screwed up' emotionally if more successful pregnancies occurred. I know you know this, pity most of the NHS training does not recognise your research etc.

Footnote:- Baby J. arrived 2 weeks early weighing 6 lb 3 oz, dark with blond eyebrows and blue eyes.
 

I first became pregnant in December 1994 after three months of trying. When I was nine and a half weeks pregnant, I miscarried and was given an ERPC (Evacuation of Retained Products of Conception) at the Royal Berkshire Hospital. While waiting for this procedure to be done, I read about Foresight in a magazine left in the ward's day room. When I was discharged from the hospital I was given a few leaflets on support organisations, etc. and amongst them was a leaflet on which Foresight's number was printed. I decided to contact them.

The approach Foresight recommends was immediately attractive to me, since it seemed natural and non-invasive. My husband and I followed the approach closely for five months, after which time we were told that we could try for another pregnancy. I fell pregnant in the first month and gave birth to a baby boy in April 1995. My son is now nearly three and has a sister (five months), who was also conceived after following the Foresight approach. Both of our children are very healthy and (generally!) happy. I recommend the Foresight approach wholeheartedly to anyone who wants to start (or complete) a healthy family.