Pre-treatment assessment

Before starting any fertility treatment, there are a number of important steps to go through.

Medical consultation and treatment planning

You and your partner will attend to see one of our infertility specialists for a specialist medical consultation. At this interview, your full medical history will be assessed and any necessary physical examination will be performed. Any tests that you have had done by another doctor will be reviewed and any extra tests will be arranged.

By the conclusion of this process, we should have a good idea of what factors may be preventing you from falling pregnant. However there are some further tests that are necessary to carry out before you start IVF even if these tests have previously been carried out elsewhere.

Semen analysis

It is important that this is studied carefully in our specialised laboratory, as the findings will help decide what form of IVF may be needed. Laboratories that do not specialise in infertility often do not carry out a sufficiently detailed assessment for this purpose.

Ultrasound scan

This is also very important. There are a number of conditions such as ovarian cysts or collections of fluid inside your fallopian tubes that can affect your chances of a successful outcome to IVF. It is therefore important that these are checked before treatment. If one of these conditions is present, your doctor may recommend that you postpone treatment until you have had a small operation to correct the problem. By doing this, we can help ensure that your chances of achieving a baby from IVF are maximised.

Blood tests

Both you and your partner will be asked to have blood taken for a final hormonal assessment and to screen for Hepatitis B, C and HIV. Pregnancy may be detrimental for you or your baby's health if any of these tests are positive. Both partners may also be screened for anti-sperm antibodies and females are tested for Rubella (German measles) immunity.

Consent forms

The treatment plan will be discussed with you both at this stage, and any further questions answered. Before commencing treatment, both of you must sign the required consent forms. At this stage, you should indicate what you wish to do with each of the oocytes collected and the embryos which may develop (read on for more details of options available).

Nurse interview

All couples starting IVF at Westmead Fertility Centre will be asked to attend for a nursing interview. This is a very valuable session where you receive information and advice about the practical details of the sometimes complicated treatment that is planned.

Starting the treatment cycle...

Now you are ready to start. After this interview, when you are ready to start treatment, you should telephone the Centre (9845 7484) on the first day of established bleeding - day 1 of your cycle. At this point you will be asked to commence the oral contraceptive pill. (Your doctor will have given you a script for this at the last consultation).

The pre-treatment lasts in total for over six weeks. This means that when you phone in for Day 1 of your cycle, the actual egg collection and replacement of embryos will take place not that month but during the following month.