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Monday, November 7, 2011

10 Things People are Surprised to Learn about IVF.

I was lucky enough to have no trouble getting pregnant with either of the Little Hueys. And as I have since told many a young woman, remember in many cases, it only takes one go!

This is not the case for many of my friends including the fabulous @KerriB

As she embarks on her next attempt to have a child (her second after the super cute Master Max), using IVF, I wish her and her husband much luck, but along with lots of other people I really have very little idea what they are about to go through.

Kerrib sent me a list that I found pretty interesting, and if you have a friend or family member, you might find some of the IVF lingo helps when chatting to them about how they are going.


10 Things People are Surprised to Learn about IVF.




1.     First step is to go on the ‘pill’ while not necessary in every case; often the first course is to start on the pill so the females cycle can be regulated.
2.     In Victoria the Victorian Police need to give you the all clear first. (Edited to add: This disgusts me, but that is a whole other issue)
3.     Babys first name is blastocyst
4.     Fresh or Frozen? Yep that is really the lingo they use when talking about a transfer of embryo that has not been frozen verses treatment from a thawed (yes they use that lingo too!) embryo.
5.     AFT, IVF, ICSI, IUI, PCOS, GIFT...  Infertility centres are the masters of the acronomyn
6.     7 weeks is benchmark for being ‘truly’ pregnant
7.     Plastic fantastic. IVF stands for in vitro fertilisation, sure you already knew that, clever you! What you may not know is that ‘in vitro’ actually is actually from Latin origin meaning ‘in glass’, these days the science of assisted reproduction is not cultivated in glass beakers and test tubes but rather in plastic Petri dishes but we think IVF has a nicer ring to it than Plastic dish fertilisation.
8.     Boy or Girl? In Australia, legislation exists to prevent embryo sex selection during IVF treatment except if it is to avoid a genetically inherited disease that affects a particular sex.
9.     40/40/20 in 40% of cases the cause is Male related, in 40% its female related and in 20% it is unexplained (also called ‘idiopathic’ infertility)
10.  You pay rent! Frozen embryos are stored in a very high tech freezer. I’m pretty sure it’s not just beside the frozen peas. Rates vary but keeping the embryos ‘on ice’ costs and annual fee of $100+



Did you know most of these things, or if you are on/or have been on the IVF trial, what other things were people surprised to learn about your IVF?







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12 comments:

  1. We found that going on the pill is what surprised most people.

    Other than that, people ask if you've hd the embryo implanted, it's not actually implanted, it's transferred & the body has to do the implanting part.

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  2. I know very little about IVF, which i guess, makes me really lucky!! When you say people didn't not know to stop taking the pill to try to get pregnant - do you mean the contraceptive pill, surely they know to stop taking a pill which prevents pregnancy is the way to start??
    We were one shot wonders each time, stayed pregnant & had a smooth run every time. We did think we'd have a boy the 2nd time round & got twin girls, that was funny. Good luck to your friends, it would be an incredible roller coaster ride, especially with the addition of hormones. Love Posie

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  3. Re-reading the bit about the pill (i'm tired & my 2 science degrees are dusty Ok??) that is to regulate periods right?? I'm a robot, even after 4 babies & periods for 20 years, i still get them to the hour, every 4 weeks. Love Posie

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  4. How interesting! Thank you for sharing. At present I don't know anybody going through IVF to get pregnant, but I'll sure keep this knowledge handy for the future.

    Out of interest, why do Victoria Police need to give the all clear? Is it something to do with avoiding pedophiles having kids of their own or some other ridiculous reason?

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  5. Ok, I just googled it and answered my above question. It is ridiculous, definitely most couples undergoing IVF are just desperate to have kids to love them.

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  6. The police are involved? Bizarre!? And some of those acronyms are goobleydook to me... I feel compelled to google them right away!

    Good luck to you, Kerry!!! x

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  7. I know people who have been through IVF (some successfully and some not) and others who are going through the process now. I know from talking to them that it is physically and emotionally draining. And expensive. Did not know you had to get police approval in VIC!

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  8. The police are involved - wow. That I definitely did not know!

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  9. Hey Claire, check out my blog, you're a giveaway winner, love Posie

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  10. Glad you all found it interesting :)

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  11. I definitely found this interesting as I'm someone who had no problems falling either,and my heart truly goes out to women that do have to face the challenges of IVF (and the men too for that matter). I even considered being an egg donor at one stage, which I would possibly still be open to doing I guess if I ever met the right couple in need. Good luck Kerri!

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  12. That is truly amazing!

    As for the police check, that is NOT!

    Fascinating Claire! xx

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