I am really pleased in 2023 to be an Ambassador for Joys & Beginnings, a new initiative powered by Apollo Fertility in India to help people who want to have a family.

I supported the launch of Joys & beginnings on my 45th birthday with Dr Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director of the Apollo Hospitals Group, broadcasting online across India.

People need to know where to get reliable help and how to begin to find out how they can have a family. There is a lot of advice online, but not all of it is reliable. I always say to patients that the first step is talking to a doctor with their partner to work out what the problem might be and how they can get help.

Having travelled throughout the world I understand that in many countries – India being one of them – persuading men to seek help is more difficult so I am pleased that Apollo Fertility are supporting men and women with good quality information.

My Mum and Dad tried for nine years before they sought help. Mum was told by a doctor that there was only a million to one chance she would get pregnant. Thanks to the new technique being developed that million to one chance came along.

She was very determined and always believed she would get the help she needed and start the family that meant so much to her. She went on to have a second child through IVF.

I am proud to continue to be an ambassador for Bourn Hall, a place very close to my heart. As well as being the world’s first IVF clinic it is also where my parents had further IVF after they had me, which resulted in the birth of my sister Natalie.

Soon after I was born some of the top scientists and doctors in the world gathered at Bourn Hall and it was from here that the pioneers passed on their expertise so that the whole world could benefit from their work in developing IVF.

The IVF pioneers behind my birth, Bob Edwards, Patrick Steptoe and Jean Purdy, who set up Bourn Hall, have all now sadly passed away but the work they started continues and it is always a privilege to meet the dedicated team at the clinic in Cambridge and others they run in the East of England.

Dr Thanos Papathanasiou, Medical Director and CEO of Bourn Hall is following in the footsteps of the pioneers by continuing to innovate.

The clinic provides a wide range of fertility services for NHS and self-funded patients, from investigating subfertility through to the planning and delivery of individualised fertility treatments.

My mum and dad, Lesley and John Brown, always spoke of the way that Patrick Steptoe and Bob Edwards always put patients first – Dr Papathanasiou follows that and is always looking to do more to support those on a fertility journey.

The clinic is currently working with the patient charity Fertility Network UK to support workplaces to adopt a Fertility Policy and to encourage clinics to sign up to the Clinic Pledge. These measures would improve the emotional wellbeing of employees by making it easier to balance work and treatment.

Dr Papathanasiou is also working closely with the NHS to introduce a more joined-up approach to fertility care that would provide earlier resolution with minimal intervention.

I have been visiting Bourn Hall ever since I can remember and it feels like home. I am delighted to be an ambassador for all the Bourn Hall clinics and keep alive the link with the pioneers of IVF and my parents, who were so grateful for the help and support they got from Bourn Hall.