An IVF patient’s journey with Biowell Health’s support

Fertility support treatments, By Peter Scrivener, founder of Biowell Health, and Dr Shabana Bora, MBBS, MRCOG, Consultant Gynaecologist and Fertility Specialist, Alma Fertility

As someone who has personally been through the emotional highs and lows of fertility treatment, I understand how much strength it takes to keep going when things feel uncertain. My own journey to becoming a father involved IVF, and it was that experience that inspired me to explore new ways to find fertility support treatments for others facing similar challenges.

At Biowell Health, we are committed to offering therapies that complement traditional fertility treatment, with the aim of helping people feel stronger, more supported and more in control. That is why I was so moved by Rowann’s story, and why I am sharing it here, with her permission.

Earlier this year, Rowann came to Biowell on the recommendation of Dr Shabana Bora at Alma Fertility and LIPS in Battersea Power Station. What followed was a carefully considered plan to support her during her latest IVF cycle, and, for the first time, a result that gave real hope.

A history of hope and challenge

Rowann came to Biowell with a challenging IVF history, two unsuccessful IVF cycles, with her eggs consistently struggling to reach the blastocyst stage, and a day 5 embryo ready for transfer. Her eggs had previously not progressed beyond the M1 stage, making fertilisation and implantation impossible.

After years of emotional and physical strain, Rowann sought a different approach.

Alongside a change to her IVF protocol, Dr Bora recommended nutritional support, supplements, and, understanding the potential of complementary regenerative therapies, Dr Bora referred Rowann to us. 

Together, we implemented a bespoke plan, supporting her through the ovarian stimulation phase of her next IVF cycle.

A fertility support treatment targeted treatment plan

Rowann’s fertility support treatments plan included:

• 9 sessions of red light therapy (photobiomodulation)
  
• 9 sessions of compression therapy
  
• 7 sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT)
  

This was no quick fix, but was instead a carefully considered plan to work alongside her new IVF protocol and nutritional support, designed in consultation with Dr Bora. The goal was to optimise mitochondrial function, circulation and cellular recovery, supporting the environment in which eggs develop.

The result is a significant milestone

Last week, Rowann shared incredible news. For the first time in her IVF journey, she had successfully developed blastocysts, a milestone she had never reached before.

While she is not pregnant just yet, this is a crucial step forward. Previously, her cycles did not even reach the embryo transfer stage. Now, not only did she have fertilised embryos, but several had matured to the blastocyst stage, ready for transfer.

We do not claim miracles. We respect the complexity of fertility and the profoundly personal nature of every journey. But when a patient goes from no viable embryos to multiple blastocysts, it is something to pay attention to.

Reflections from Dr Shabana Bora

“Working with Peter at the Biowell team and Rowann to support her on her IVF journey has been a pleasure. Despite being exceptionally fit and healthy and of a young age, we at Alma Fertility found it challenging to understand why Rowann had suffered multiple failed attempts at IVF, failing at one of the most difficult hurdles of not being able to achieve suitable embryos for transfer. 

With emerging research around red light, oxygen and compression therapy as fertility support treatments, Rowann was keen to consider all avenues, hoping it would provide a brighter response. In the absence of good evidence for improvement in reproductive outcomes, but with no evidence of harm, we talked about how to apply Biowell’s complementary therapy as an adjunct. 

We are delighted with the outcome of Rowann’s most recent cycle and feel very confident for the future as we are now a couple of steps away from achieving her dream of a family.”

We are currently speaking with Dr Bora about similar patients who might benefit from this kind of support. If we can gather five patient case studies with similar outcomes, we believe there is a strong foundation for a formal paper that could shift how IVF clinics view the role of adjunctive therapies in egg quality improvement.

A word from Rowann following her fertility support treatments

“This has been our best IVF round yet, and for the first time, we’ve ended up with some frozen blastocysts. We didn’t get anything from my first two rounds, so this feels like a big step forward. I’m still very nervous, as there’s more to come with the transfer process, and I know a pregnancy is not guaranteed, but I’m so grateful for the support I’ve had from Biowell Health. In conjunction with all the changes recommended by Dr Bora, I feel the fertility support treatments at Biowell Health were a beneficial addition to this third IVF round, not only for my physical but also mental well-being. I’m hoping to come back before my embryo transfer to help with the next stage.”

Where we go from here

Rowann’s story is not about a guaranteed outcome, but about empowering the process. At Biowell Health, we believe that high-quality care is collaborative, evidence-informed, and always centred on the person. If complementary therapies can play even a small role in increasing success rates, particularly in egg quality and embryo development, we want to explore that further, transparently and responsibly.

We extend our thanks to Dr Shabana Bora for her partnership and to Rowann for sharing her story.

We look forward to welcoming more patients like her and contributing meaningfully to the future of fertility care.

12 Months On: An Update from SCRIVS

When we first shared Rowann’s story, we made a point of not promising an ending, because no one can. Fertility journeys don’t come with guarantees, and that’s part of what makes them so hard.

But twelve months on, I’m so glad to be writing this update.

Not long after this article, she went ahead with her embryo transfer. It was successful. What followed was nine months of pregnancy, and in July this year, Rowann gave birth to her daughter – happy, healthy, and very much loved.

We were honoured to have been a small part of Rowann’s journey and support network at such a pivotal point in her journey, and to see her come out the other side with the family she’d hoped for is exactly why we do this work. It’s a reminder that behind every treatment plan and every appointment is a person, hoping.

Congratulations, Rowann. From all of us at Biowell Health.