Having a baby with IVF

What is IVF?

IVF (in vitro fertilisation) is a way of bringing human eggs and sperm together outside the human body. IVF is a type of assisted reproductive technology.

IVF aims to start a pregnancy. It involves fertilising the eggs with the sperm to create an embryo. The embryo is then transferred to the uterus.

Before starting the IVF process, people usually need to have some tests to check whether IVF is suitable for them. This includes blood tests.

After these tests, IVF happens in ‘rounds’, and each round involves many steps. These are the main steps in an IVF round:

Ovary stimulation: if you’re a woman having IVF treatment, you need to have hormone injections to stimulate your ovaries so that you release more than one egg per menstrual cycle. This increases the chance of getting pregnant with IVF.
Monitoring: ultrasound and blood samples are used to monitor the development of your eggs.
Collection: eggs or sperm are collected from you and your partner, if you have one. An egg collection involves going to the hospital for a short procedure. You might use a sperm or egg donor, depending on your circumstances.
Fertilisation: the eggs and sperm are mixed using special equipment in a laboratory. If the sperm fertilises the egg, an embryo starts to grow. Several embryos can be made, and some can be frozen for later use.
Embryo transfer: the embryo is put into the uterus during a short procedure in hospital. This is usually 5 days after the egg collection.
Pregnancy test: a nurse or doctor checks for pregnancy with a blood test around 2 weeks after the embryo transfer.

A round of IVF can take several weeks. Some people get pregnant after one round. For others, it might take many rounds. And for some people, IVF doesn't result in pregnancy.

It’s best to have your pregnancy confirmed with a blood test through your GP or IVF clinic. A home pregnancy test isn’t a reliable way to confirm an IVF pregnancy.

Who is IVF for?

IVF is an option for:

heterosexual couples who’ve been trying to get pregnant for at least a year through sexual intercourse
same-sex couples
single women.

If you’re interested in IVF, the first step is to talk with your GP, who can give you information and refer you to a specialist or clinic.

You might also consider speaking to a specialist fertility counsellor about the process and experience of IVF. You can get a referral to a fertility counsellor through your GP or IVF clinic.

IVF can cost several thousand dollars, even with private health insurance and the Medicare rebate. Make sure you speak to your doctor or clinic about costs before you start any treatment. Different clinics might charge different prices for treatment.

Chances of getting pregnant with IVF

The chances of getting pregnant and having a baby with IVF depend on many things, including age and health. For example, the chance of getting pregnant through IVF is lower for older women.

Sometimes people need many rounds of IVF. And sometimes IVF doesn’t work at all.

Twins used to be very common in IVF pregnancies, because the process usually involved transferring at least 2 embryos. It’s now usual to transfer just a single embryo in each round of IVF.

Your feelings about IVF

When you’re going through IVF, you might have many and sometimes mixed emotions. For example, you might feel excited, happy, sad, scared or worried.

It’s hard not to get your hopes up about getting pregnant with IVF. If you don’t get pregnant straight away, it’s natural to feel disappointed. Your feelings can be even more complicated if you’ve gone through several rounds of IVF. You might start to wonder whether you’re ever going to have a baby.

The costs of IVF might cause you stress, especially if you’ve gone through several rounds of IVF already.

And if you’re the one trying to get pregnant, your feelings during IVF treatment might be affected by the hormones that you have to take, which can make you feel more emotional than usual. Some parts of the treatment might affect the way you feel about your body. And some parts might leave you feeling physically uncomfortable, which can affect your emotions too.

For all these reasons, IVF can be a challenging experience.

Although IVF is relatively safe, there are risks. For example, babies conceived through IVF are more likely to be born premature and have a low birth weight. It’s important to ask an IVF specialist or doctor about risks and take time to think about them.

Help and support for people using IVF

If you’re feeling stress or anxiety, this is normal during IVF treatment. But you don’t have to deal with it by yourself. Try talking to a trusted friend or family member about how you’re feeling. It’s also a very good idea to speak with your GP, who can help you get the support you need.

If you’re going through IVF, it’s important to look after your physical health with plenty of exercise, healthy food and rest. If you feel physically well, you’ll be able to cope better with stress.

If you’re in a relationship, the IVF experience can sometimes put a strain on your relationship. It’s often an emotional time for everyone. It’s important to keep talking and listening to each other as you go through the experience. And if things get tough, you could try talking to Relationships Australia, Family Relationships Online or a local relationships counsellor.

Some people need to use donor sperm or eggs. This can be a complex, stressful and emotional decision. If this sounds like your situation, it’s a good idea to talk with a fertility counsellor.

When you have an IVF baby

Looking after a newborn is hard work. But if you’ve had a baby through IVF, you might feel that you can’t complain and that you should just be grateful for having the baby you wanted.

It’s always OK to ask for help when you need it, and there are many people who can help you, including your GP and your child and family health nurse.

You can also get free parenting advice in every state of Australia by calling a parenting hotline. And you can read more about getting support for parenting.

And if you’ve had a baby through IVF, you might be wondering about your child’s health, growth and development. It might help to know that children conceived through IVF generally grow up as healthy as children conceived without assisted reproductive technology.