For many couples facing infertility and even individuals choosing to walk down the road of parenthood alone, IVF and other ARTs have provided the chance to add to their families.
IVF is the most popular and well-known assisted reproductive technology for good reason. 1 out of every 18 babies born in Australia are conceived through IVF. With this miracle of reproductive medicine, an egg is combined with sperm in a specialised laboratory to create an embryo.
Though starting IVF can be daunting for some couples, we take care to properly prepare you for your treatment and are here to support you every step of the way.
Your IVF journey starts with a consultation with Elle, our experienced IVF fertility specialist, where she will discuss your full medical history, perform a physical examination, and assess your specific circumstances.
If you haven’t already had some basic tests, we will arrange these for you. Such tests can include a pelvic ultrasound for the female partner, sperm analysis for the male partner, and blood tests and genetic tests for both. By this point, Elle will have a good idea about whether IVF is the best option for you.
To increase the number of eggs available for collection and boost the likelihood of success, your dedicated IVF nurse will show you how to self-administer your hormone injections at home. Over this period, we will monitor the progress of your cycle with regular blood tests and pelvic ultrasounds, keeping you updated along the way.
The egg collection involves a quick 15-20min procedure. This can be performed while you’re awake with some pain relief or with light sedation. Using a small needle guided by ultrasound, we collect the fluid from each ovarian follicle, which contains the eggs.
Once your eggs have been collected, they are combined with sperm in a laboratory environment. This sperm can be provided by your male partner or through a sperm donor. We let the fertilised egg, now called an embryo, develop for several days in the lab under close monitoring before transferring it to your uterus to carry through pregnancy.
In some cases, a technique other than IVF may be more suitable for your situation. The results of your fertility tests and assessment of your overall health will help guide us in recommending the most appropriate solution.
Ovulation induction is a type of fertility treatment that uses medications to stimulate a woman’s ovaries to produce and release an egg during her menstrual cycle. This treatment is commonly recommended for women who have irregular ovulation or hormonal imbalances, and is often used alongside IVF and intrauterine insemination.
ICSI involves directly injecting a single healthy sperm cell into a mature egg to fertilise it into an embryo. This technique is typically used in cases of severe male infertility or to enhance the conventional IVF procedure, removing the need for the sperm to find and penetrate the egg itself.
This fertility treatment involves an injection of sperm directly into a woman’s uterus during ovulation to increase the chances of pregnancy. This treatment is minimally invasive and can increase the chance of conception in selected cases such as unexplained infertility or male infertility.
Unfortunately not, injections are a part of the IVF process. Most people are very anxious about this aspect of care, but after the first few days the process is normalised. If you are struggling, we recommend a support person giving the injections or you can attend the morning clinic and have one of our nurses assist you.
We commonly talk about the rare risks of IVF. This can include not getting any eggs, not getting any embryos, infection, bleeding, organ damage, ovarian torsion or ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.
This is up to you! Once the decision has been made that IVF is the right process for you, you can start as soon as you feel physically and emotionally ready, typically with the next menstrual period.
This is different for everybody, but typically injections take approximately two weeks prior to the egg collection.
Dr Danielle Robson, fertility specialist, consults at three locations across Sydney: the CBD, Chatswood, and Manly. A referral from a general practitioner is required for all initial appointments.
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Danielle is a fertility specialist and gynaecologist with an interest in fertility preservation, premature ovarian insufficiency, and menopause management. She is a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and a sub-specialist in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility.
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