Women warned not to rely on IVF as more give birth in their 50s
Melissa Davey, Philip Ly The number of Australian women giving birth in their 50s has more than doubled over five years, despite doctors warning against relying on IVF.
Discount IVF can come at a cost
JULIA MEDEW It has a lower success rate than the usual IVF process, but a new stripped-down version of the fertility treatment can cost less than half as much as the full service.
The baby makers
Melody McCabe There are some very special people who have an incredibly important, highly stressful occupation: they are the baby makers, also known as embryologists.
"I yearned for a daughter": Meet a family who travelled overseas for IVF gender selection
COSIMA MARRINER After seven boys, one mum turned to a US clinic to conceive daughters.
Our IVF journey: Taking care of each other
I'm sticking up for the boys here a little bit here, but throughout our IVF experiences we can sometimes overlook our partner's feelings. And that's not fair.
Our IVF journey: What does this mean?
As the two week wait comes to an end, our blogger experiences a few unexpected twists and turns.
Our IVF journey: The waiting game
Our blogger has undergone egg collection; next comes the embryo transfer and the stressful waiting game.
IVF: the great leveller
JEN VUK There's one thing women going through IVF can rely on: each other. And this even applies when the women in question is the controversial UK columnist Samantha Brick, writes Jen Vuk.
Freeze eggs early to boost pregnancy chances later
AMY CORDEROY Women who freeze their eggs in their early 30s are more than six times as likely as older women to be able to successfully use them later, a fertility conference has heard.
Elusive ingredient a roadblock to fertile ambitions
Jacob Atkins As technology makes IVF more viable for many women, new laws have resulted in fewer men wanting to be sperm donors. What can be done to change the trend?
Egg donation
What to do with excess embryos?
Claire Thompson At the beginning of their IVF journey, EB blogger Prue Corlette and her husband planned to donate their leftover embryos to another family in need. Now they’re not so sure.
US eggs shipped to Australian women
JULIA MEDEW In a new deal that will provide hope to thousands of infertile women, Australians can pay to have eggs imported from American women.
A man's guide to IVF
CHRISTOPHER SCANLON If you ever wanted proof that God is a man, just have a look at IVF, says a man who has been through the process with his wife.
Why I donated my eggs
AMY GRAY It's an amazing gift to give, and puts the donor - as well as the receiver - through the wringer. A mum explains why she donated her eggs to strangers.
The IVF myth
Harriet Alexander with staff writers What should become of remaining embryos after the death of a partner?
Flying solo: more single women choosing IVF
COSIMA MARRINER Single women in their late 30s are increasingly giving up waiting for "Mr Right", instead turning to IVF to have a baby alone.
Why we just can't let go of our last embryo
JEN VUK In the same week I read about a soaring demand for donated embryos, we received our quarterly storage invoice. There are more than 100,000 frozen embryos - including ours, our last one - in storage in Australia and yet demand is now ''outstripping supply by about 20 to one, meaning hundreds of people are on waiting lists at IVF clinics hoping for an embryo'', as Fairfax reported earlier this month.
The debate on IVF for older woman
Mianna Lotz Should older women - including those who are menopausal, or even post-menopausal - be able to access infertility treatment? And is age really the biggest concern?
Lara and her 53 half-siblings
Eileen Ormsby and EB staff writers Gail Pascoe's daughter was conceived using donor sperm. How much does she need to know about her biological father and 53 siblings?
Giuliana and Bill Rancic welcome baby
Celebrity couple are expecting their first child via gestational surrogate.
State challenges sex offender's IVF plans
After a registered sex offender was given permission to try IVF with his wife, a patient review panel is pushing to have the order overruled.
New IVF research questions whether fresh is best
Amber Robinson Do frozen, rather than fresh embroyos lead to better IVF outcomes? That’s the theory being tested by Sydney fertility clinic Genea in a new study announced this week.
Better results for frozen embryos
Dione Hodgson Freezing embryos can significantly decrease the risk of birth defects in assisted reproduction, a new Australian study has shown.
Fashion designer Leona Edmiston welcomes twins
Staff writers Veteran Australian designer uses surrogate to have babies with husband Jeremy Ducker.
Clinics' next challenge is to deliver for all
IVF science has come a long way, but it still favours the wealthy, writes Julie Robotham.
Double bubble: doctors concerned over IVF twin births
Julie Robotham WHEN her pregnancy scan revealed two tiny heartbeats, Melinda van Leeuwen felt mostly relief. ''My first thought was, 'I'm glad it's not triplets','' said the 39-year-old, who was already the mother of a toddler.
Too old
IVF mum admits: I was wrong to have a baby at 57
Graeme Paton A woman who became one of Britain’s oldest mothers after IVF treatment has called for an age limit to be placed on the procedure.
Cutback
IVF cuts result in 1500 fewer babies
Julia Medew Thousands of Australians missed out on assisted reproductive treatment since the federal government changed funding.
The ethical minefield of 'pregnancy reduction'
Kylie Orr Is it right to destroy 'extra' foetuses when pregnant with twins or more?
When parents select baby's sex
Cosima Marriner Parents should be able to choose the sex of any babies after their first child to ''gender balance'' their family, says a leading Australian obstetrician.
Shopping online for a well-dressed baby daddy
Jenna Clarke Women will soon be able to choose sperm donors based on their fashion sense from an online catalogue.
Raising a child alone - is it unethical?
Being a parent is tough. But we love our children so exceedingly, that life without them would become an empty, worthless, nothingness and, being a single parent is a spinning world of insanity.
Should people be able to use the sperm or eggs of their dead partner?
The Question Four experts consider the arguments on forming a family in a harrowing situation.
Questions over sperm donors' legal rights
Natasha Wallace Parenting plans developed before a child is born should not be legally enforceable and sperm donors should not have an automatic legal right to be on a birth certificate, the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby says.
Legal loophole could identify sperm donors
Amy Corderoy Health Men who donated sperm anonymously many years ago could have their identities revealed after the surprise introduction of a legal clause giving the government power to demand access to the information.
Hey, babe, it's just you and me: more singles choose to go it alone
Sarah Whyte Di Morgan considered herself ''a catch'' at the age of 30. She was at the top of her marketing career, was dating a nice man and was ready to have children. But when that relationship ended she says her dreams of a happy family were shattered.
'I never thought there would be leftovers'
Rachel Browne When Prue Corlette started IVF four years ago, her focus was on conceiving rather than making a decision about leftover embryos.
Clinics accused of stopping cheap IVF
Jill Stark Owners of private IVF clinics are putting profits ahead of progeny by not offering cheaper treatments that would give more Australian women access to reproductive therapy, one of the world's leading fertility experts has claimed.
IVF doctor backs right to choose sex
Tim Barlass A leading Sydney in vitro fertilisation specialist has backed a couple's request to be allowed to choose the sex of their next baby.
It's a boy, again - how IVF is skewing the gender balance
Kate Benson After six agonising years of fertility treatment, Iliana Ilieva named her son after her "personal victory" of becoming pregnant. But to researchers, eight-week-old Victor Valeri is among an alarming surge in the number of boys being born using in vitro fertilisation techniques.
Assisted Conception terms
Here's a run down of the familiar terms you will hear on your IVF assisted conception journey...
When baby makes two
Liz Porter For the first time, single women can access IVF in Victoria even if they are not infertile.
Multiple births to surge as cost of IVF treatment rises
As treatment costs go up, more women are asking for several embryo implants at once. Jill Stark reports.
Designing principles at birth of a new era
Advances in gene technology are creating a host of ethical dilemmas, writes Rachel Browne. Genetic screening of human embryos may eventually eradicate inherited diseases ranging from breast cancer to cystic fibrosis.
Who's Ivy F?
Katrina Logan Who is Ivy F? And so begins the adventures of young Preston Lee as he dons his best detective outfit and goes on a quest to find this baby his parents keep talking about: “Ivy F”.
Forums
Assisted ConceptionForum
When trying just hasn't worked, find information, support, advice on assisted conception from our EB members here.
Blogs
Needles and natural killer cells
I thought I would do a bit of a run-down on what is involved with a fresh IVF cycle, because unless you have done it, why would you know? It's easy for some, difficult for others, both emotionally and physically.
