In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF)

IVF stands for in vitro fertilisation, meaning “fertilisation in glass.” It refers to the process of fertilising an egg with sperm outside the body in a laboratory setting. The resulting embryo is then transferred into the uterus to establish a pregnancy. IVF is not a single procedure; it is a multi-step treatment process involving hormone stimulation, egg collection, fertilisation, embryo development, and transfer.

IVF may be recommended for individuals or couples who are unable to conceive naturally or need assistance to achieve pregnancy. You might consider IVF if you:

• • • Difficulty conceiving (infertility)
    • Reduced egg quality or quantity
    • Male factor infertility (sperm quality or count)
    • Endometriosis or ovulation disorders
    • Same-sex couples or single patients using donor sperm
    • Genetic considerations requiring embryo testing

Your Stellar Fertility specialist will assess your fertility history, hormone levels, ultrasound findings, and overall reproductive health before recommending treatment.

Initial assessment

This is where your journey begins. During your consultation, your Stellar Fertility expert will take the time to understand your health and fertility biology, your personal goals and what you are hoping to achieve. This information is used to create a tailored treatment plan, specific to you.

Pre-treatment Phase

This phase ensures you feel informed, prepared, and confident before starting treatment. During this time, you will:

• Attend a nurse education session to go through your treatment plan, medications, and schedule
• Meet with a fertility counsellor (a VIC legislative requirement) to discuss outcomes and implications
• Receive your treatment costs and Informed Financial Consent (IFC)
• Complete all medical consent documentation

Treatment phase

This is when you are actively undergoing treatment (typically around 2 weeks). During this time, you will be supported closely by the Stellar Fertility nursing team, who are your main point of contact while undergoing treatment. The treatment phase includes

• Take hormone medications to stimulate your ovaries
• Attending 1–2 pelvic ultrasounds at our Fitzroy clinic to monitor progress

Your treatment will lead to your egg collection procedure (EPU). This a 30-minute procedure performed under sedation at Frances Perry House private hospital. Your egg collection will be performed by a Stellar Fertility specialists.

Laboratory phase

Immediately after your eggs have been collected, we securely transport them to our Fitzroy laboratory. Sperm will be collected on site at our Fitzroy laboratory, assessed and washed, or thawed if previously cryopreserved. The eggs and sperm are combined, or the sperm is injected (ICSI) into the egg. The embryo is closely observed by Stellar Fertility embryologists over 5 – 6 days to the blastocyst stage. At this stage your embryos will either be cryopreserved for future use or returned to the uterus for a fresh embryo transfer.

Cycle Conclusion

Once the fertilisation (day 5 – 6) stage has passed, an embryologist will call to share your results. You may have a brief post-cycle call with your Stellar Fertility specialist to review your outcome and discuss next steps. At the end of your cycle there are 4 common pathways:

• • Subsequent cycle to “bank” more embryos
  • Prepare for a frozen embryo transfer cycle
  • Await pre-implantation genetic testing results
  • Await a pregnancy results, if you have completed a fresh transfer cycle.

Success rates are one of the most important, and most personal, considerations. IVF does not guarantee pregnancy, but it can significantly improve the chance of conception compared to trying naturally in certain circumstances. Success depends on:

• Age (most significant factor)
• Egg and sperm quality
• Embryo quality
• Uterine health
• Number of embryos available

Some people achieve pregnancy in their first cycle, while others may require multiple cycles. Your Stellar Fertility specialist will provide personalised success estimates based on your individual circumstances.

One of the most important things to understand about embryo development is that not every egg collected during the egg collection will become an embryo suitable for transfer. This can be difficult emotionally, particularly when you start treatment knowing that a certain number of eggs have been collected and then receive smaller numbers at each stage.

IVF is a process of biological selection. Not every egg is mature, not every mature egg fertilises and not every fertilised egg continues developing to the blastocyst stage. Fertilisation and embryo development require both a healthy mature egg and viable sperm. Even with IVF or ICSI, fertilisation is not guaranteed. Factors including egg maturity, age-related changes in egg quality, sperm factors and natural biological variation can influence what happens at each stage.

The below image provides a visual of this phenomenon often called the IVF funnel. Understanding the IVF funnel can help you approach your embryo results with more realistic expectations and, importantly, understand that a reduction in numbers is not something you have caused or failed to prevent.

Out of pocket fees begin from $5,400.

For further information on Stellar Fertility’s IVF fee, visit our fee page or call 03 9123 8200 to speak with one of our delightful team members.