IVF
Infertility is the inability of a couple to fall pregnant after 12 months of unprotected intercourse, or the inability to carry pregnancies through to a live birth. It is believed that up to one in six Australian couples suffer infertility.
Research into human reproduction now means that many of these couples may achieve a successful pregnancy with medical or surgical techniques, or lifestyle changes. IVF is one of the options open to these couples.
IVF stands for in vitro fertilisation, which literally means ‘fertilisation in glass’ although IVF procedures today involve an egg and sperm being placed together in a plastic dish so that fertilisation might occur. The fertilised egg then develops into an embryo which is implanted into the mother’s uterus between day 7 and day 14. Babies born as a result of IVF are often referred to as ‘test tube babies’.
The term IVF is now commonly used to refer, in general, to any form of assisted conception.
There are a number of new methods of assisted conception and different forms of assistance are suitable for different couples depending on the cause of their infertility.
The first test tube baby, Louise Brown, was born in Britain in 1978. Australia’s first IVF baby was born in Melbourne in 1980. Many thousands of children have since been born through IVF procedures. Australia has always been at the forefront of research into reproductive technologies and 12 of the world’s first 15 successful IVF babies were born in Melbourne!
For more information on IVF procedures and research in Australia, go to:
NHMRC Regulation of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Clinical Practice: http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/embryos/information/art.htm
Sydney IVF: http://www.sivf.com.au/leaflets.htm
Monash IVF: http://www.monashivf.edu.au/basics/index.html
The Fertility Society of Australia: http://www.fsa.au.com
ACCESS, Australia’s National Infertility Network: http://www.access.org.au