Meeting Nicola Salmon,
a fat-positive fertility coach,
the author of “Fat and fertile” book
Harley Street Fertility Clinic is proud of its approach to being a non-selective clinic. We treat everyone seeking fertility treatments, including those who have a lower chance of a successful pregnancy. Our dedicated team of specialists will work with you to help you find the right treatment to help you start your family, no matter your situation.
This includes providing fertility treatment to patients who have weight issues and are classified as overweight or obese. Since fertility issues can be complicated for people weight issues and they may have less than average success rates, finding the right fertility care may be difficult. Harley Street Fertility Clinic, being non-selective has worked with a number of patients with higher body mass index (BMI) and helped them with their fertility needs to improve their chance of getting pregnant.
In one of our previous podcasts, a patient mentioned a book that inspired her to hope for a baby and seek a fertility clinic. The book “Fat and fertile,” written by Nicola Salmon, helped our patient in her fertility journey (the patient is now expecting -read the blog here.)
We are pleased to have met Nicola Salmon, the author of the book “Fat and fertile,” the book that has been an inspiration to many!
Who is Nicola Salmon?
“I am a mother and that’s all I wanted to be,” Nicola starts her story. “My boys are 4 and 6. I conceived my babies, naturally, in my body, which is a fat body, although I thought I would never be able to do it.” Being diagnosed with Polycystic ovarian syndrome at the age of 16, Nicola was told that she will not be able to have children, so she expected a difficult journey to become a mother. Surprisingly for her, she fell pregnant and her pregnancy was normal, despite the fact that she expected it to go wrong.
Why did she write the book?
“My experience made me realise there aren’t many books our there who support fat people in their pursuit,” says Nicola. Being self-published meant that she wasn’t pressed by any deadlines and the book was a real “nurture of love,” she confesses. “I hesitated when pressing the ‘publish’ button because I was a bit afraid of being a fat fertility coach. One of the myths circulating is that you cannot be happy if you are fat, we are constantly being told by Mass-media that to achieve dreams and hopes, and happiness, you have to be a certain weight to be happy. I didn’t struggle to get pregnant myself, but in a parallel universe, that person would be me, not being able to find a clinic who support fat people, there are people exhausted by the countless diets. I wrote this book for people, to realise that they are not alone. The book is a mixture of personal stories, scientific research into diet and fertility, and coaching.”
Using the word “fat” in her book
Nicola says that she chose to use the word “fat” in her book intentionally. “It’s about owning the word ‘fat’. Obese or overweight is stigmatising for people. Obesity is a very medicalised word and comes back as a disease, and overweight means you are over a certain weight. The word ‘fat’ has been used in the past to bully people. For me, the word doesn’t mean anything about my body other than it’s fat.”
Background, research and understanding of the subject
Nicola has an undergraduate degree is in Physical Sciences at UCL and an MSC in Medical Engineering in Physics at Kings College. She also trained as a fertility acupuncturist for 4 years and went to study fertility coaching for another year. She worked in a scientific institute and has 10 years of experience working with fertility clients, so she was able to use her expertise in medical background, research and personal experience.
The book and how it was received
Nicola published the book a year ago and the reaction was “overwhelmingly positive,” says Nicola. “People who read my book and are in a fat body are so relieved that they are not alone. Gratitude and relief are the reactions. I have had negative comments, as expected. Peers and trolls, asking why am I glorifying obesity?” Nicola continues, “I was diving deep into research about fat body and fertility, and I understand why people are reticent, especially I am in a fat body myself, and I might look delusional.” Nicola says that she is trying to help people, because shaming “doesn’t work, and it has a negative effect. There are other ways of supporting people, and this is what this book is about.”
A special message
Nicola’s message is that “so many people were told that, if they lose weight, they will have a baby and we know this is not the truth. No one is to blame for the struggles to get pregnant. It’s ok to want to be pregnant in your body. You don’t have to diet and lose weight to have a successful pregnancy. It’s ok to want to get pregnant in your body right now.”
Nicola’s next book is for medical professionals only and how to support people, about spreading the message wider, so more people are able to support people struggling with weight issues and are hoping to get pregnant.
Nicola hopes that many people will be further inspired by her book and seek fertility treatments. “There are clinics out there who do not shame you and are ready to support you.”
We are happy to be one of them! A clinic that helps everyone with their fertility journey and get closer to their dream of starting a family. And, we are still one of the top fertility clinics in London with some of the highest success rates in the country.
Listen to Nicola's podcast below.
[audio mp3="https://hsfc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Nicola-Salmon-Fat-and-fertile-1.mp3"][/audio]
Find Nicola’s Instagram page here.
If you are thinking of starting your fertility journey with HSFC, we are happy to help you with any information you need. Please call us on 020 7436 6838 email us on info@hsfc.org.uk – we are looking forward to hearing from you!
To look at all fertility options available, please click here.
