Assess your fertility

What should I know about infertility treatment and clinics?

     

Part 1 of 5

 
  • One in six couples in Australia has difficulty conceiving.
  • Infertility is classified as not having conceived after 12 months unprotected intercourse in females less than 35 years of age and 6 months if over 35 years.
  • There are many medical conditions resulting in infertility (e.g. endometriosis, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), pelvic inflammatory disease, poor semen parameters, genetic conditions - Klinefelters; Turners Syndromes).
  • The chance of conception decreases with both female and male age but in particular with a woman's age.
  • Infertility treatment involves a team of specialists, not just doctors. Unlike other areas of medical care where your doctor is solely responsible, infertility treatment requires scientists, nurses and counsellors. The quality of the embryology laboratory will play the most significant role in success.
  • As infertility treatment is a journey, it is essential to have confidence in the team guiding you through the process. At Repromed our goal is to successfully escort you along the path and help you achieve your dream of a baby. Your feedback and suggestions on how to help you are welcomed. Repromed has a rigorous quality management system in place and as such a complaints and incident reporting procedure. All areas of infertility treatment must be monitored and reviewed regularly to ensure the quality of care provided.
  • Infertility treatment is supported financially by Medicare and by capped Safety Net reimbursements. Australia is one of the few countries in the world where the government supports infertility treatment, thus making it affordable to the majority of people. As with most medical expenses there are additional out of pocket costs and with infertility treatment this relates to highly labour intensive activities and state-of-the-art technology. For example one In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) cycle may require over 140 hours of work by numerous highly qualified staff.
  • Be warned about cost comparisons between Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) clinics. Costs are often presented in different ways, a little like optional extras on a car. You may not be aware of all of the costs until preparing for treatment. Always ask about additional drug costs, other treatments cost such as blastocyst or extended embryo culture, assisted hatching; or EmbryoGlue for embryo transfers, to mention a few.
  • ART clinics must be certified by the Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee (RTAC) to ensure the highest quality of care and access to Medicare rebates. Infertility treatment is one of the most highly regulated areas of healthcare in Australia. ART clinics must comply with the RTAC Code of Practice.
  • ART clinics in Australia must report their data to the National Perinatal Statistics Unit to allow compilation of annual reports. This is a requirement of certification. The data is combined but does provide success rate data as a benchmark. The latest report is 2007 (data includes birth outcomes so lags for this reason). View the 2007 Report