Made in Fulham

It never fails to surprise us what a talented bunch you Fulham folks are. Each month Urban Village Ldn introduces you to THe Fulham face behind an idea, product or business and asks them what they love about being a local resident. This month we talk to Lucia Lambert, co-Founder of Baby Bird IVF

How long have you called Fulham home? 7 years. Same address, same apartment.

Tell us a bit about yourself/and your family I am originally from Slovakia but became a British citizen last year as my husband insisted we must wait in the same queue at the passport control. We have a gorgeous two year old girl and a Basset Hound named Fred that is quite the local celebrity.

What’s your favourite local haunt and why?  We try to attend Sunday service at St Eths as often as we can with the wonderful Father Ross. After we always stop in at Drink of Fulham, owned by Zara and Calum. They do a fantastic oat milk cappuccino or something a little stronger if you fancy! My husband loves their extensive options in the world of craft ale!  They both are so knowledgeable with food and drinks and just really friendly and easy going locals. I love the passion they put into everything they do. For a more decadent evening you will find us at Koji, hosted by Rob who now runs the restaurant started by his father many years ago. A true Parsons Green great when you’re looking for a bit more of a glamorous venue. I can dress up, call a nanny for the evening and do a date night with Edward or just catch up with girlfriends over cocktails. The wine list is pretty exciting and the rock n roll shrimp is delicious!

What is your slice of Fulham heaven and why? Heaven is taking Fred, our Basset Hound to Hurlingham Park, having lots of fun then a quick glass of something at the iconic ‘Sloaney’ whilst sitting next to the fire. With nothing to look forward to except more of the same.

What have you missed about Fulham life during lockdowns? I desperately miss Katka coming to Fulham and going for her favourite coffee at Local Hero. She adores Fulham and she can’t wait to be able to visit again. Also I think the sense of community that I missed from chatting to Mums at Maddison Nursery to fellow church goers at St Eths to catching up on all the latest gossip whilst at Aragon House. It was so reassuring hearing everyone out banging their pans etc and giving love to the NHS. It reminded me that we’re all still here together and we will get through it together.

What local shop/service/business has helped make life easier during the pandemic? I started following www.theacway.com. They’re food & lifestyle bloggers who follow an 80% plant based diet and believe in a healthy balanced lifestyle. The blog is a ‘lockdown baby’ and it made me reflect on the way I consume my food. As many others I started to cook more, enjoy not just the food but the process of making it too. It helped me pay more attention to what I put into my body as I became less active in lockdown. The ladies who started the blog are Fulham residents and use local suppliers for their ingredients so it's super easy for me to follow. They are fabulous!

If you could do one thing to improve Fulham what would it be? I would say remove those bollards in Peterborough Road as it gives me heart failure squeezing through everyday. Katka says there's not enough hotels in the Parsons Green area.

Tell us about Baby Bird IVF and how it came to be.  My best friend and I were unfortunately going through Fertility Issues and IVF at the same time. Katka in Prague where she lives and me here in London. We both were under 30, healthy, without any obvious cause for our infertility. 1 in 8 women have fertility issues in their lifetime. We FaceTimed several times a day just to compare where we are with IVF progress and it helped that someone was going through the same issues I was. But there were major differences in our experiences. That’s when I understood that the journey to IVF in the UK is so much more expensive and complicated.  IVF on the NHS was taking forever so we decided to fund it privately. I was quoted over ten thousand pounds easily and Katka barely a couple of thousand. Have you ever felt IVF envy? It’s when you envy an IVF treatment or a standard of care that you yourself are not able to afford. I know it too well now.  We decided to fly to Prague and do our IVF abroad.  We flew to Prague and Katka and I underwent the IVF together at the Prague clinic. It was such a great experience as I had someone there who showed us around and looked after us during our stay. She made it very easy for us and arranged everything. It felt like a mini city break. We have three IVF kids between us now and we set up Baby Bird IVF a friendly FREE support agency for couples wanting to travel to Prague for IVF.

What advice would you give to someone who's thinking about IVF?  There are so many support groups online that are 100% free and anonymous. You are not alone and there are so many women and men who can relate, help advise or just listen.  If you don’t qualify for IVF on the NHS and you can’t afford the IVF prices in a UK private clinic you could research IVF abroad. Better standards, no waiting time and fraction of the cost. Of course COVID makes travelling so challenging and very confusing so find a third party who will be able to help you navigate the constant changes.