Infertility & IVF
Infertility is defined as the inability to conceive a pregnancy after 12 months of unprotected sexual intercourse. Infertility currently affects approximately 1 in 6 Australian couples of reproductive age.
There are many factors involved in infertility and it may involve male, female or a combination of factors.
Causes of female infertility may include:
- A woman’s age
- Structural abnormalities
- Ovulation disorders
- Endometriosis
- Fibroids
- Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
- Pelvic inflammatory disease
Causes of male infertility may include:
- Dietary and lifestyle factors such as smoking, recreational drug use and alcohol intake
- Environmental factors
- Chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment
Testing for infertility may involve:
- Female: blood tests and ultrasounds
- Male: blood tests and semen analysis
Options to address infertility include:
- Ovulation cycle tracking — helps confirm ovulation and identify the fertile window.
- Ovulation induction — the use of medication to encourage ovulation.
- Artificial insemination and intrauterine insemination (IUI) — involves inserting the male partner’s or donor sperm into the uterus at the time of ovulation.
- In vitro fertilisation (IVF) — a procedure where an egg and sperm are joined together outside of the body in a laboratory. The fertilised egg is then transferred into the uterus to increase the chance of pregnancy.
- Fertility surgery — such as laparoscopy, tubal surgery or microsurgery to investigate infertility further or address underlying causes.
IVF
Below is a brief overview of the IVF process:
- Egg stimulation — daily injections of FSH are used to stimulate the ovaries and encourage egg development.
- Ovulation trigger — once enough follicles have developed, HCG is injected to trigger ovulation and release the eggs.
- Egg retrieval surgery — a day procedure performed under general anaesthetic to collect viable eggs.
- Fertilisation — eggs are taken to a laboratory and fertilised using partner or donor sperm.
- Embryo transfer — once the embryo develops, it is transferred into the uterus via the vagina.
- Pregnancy testing — a pregnancy test is undertaken afterward to determine whether the process was successful.