Fertility First

Hi guys,

Has anyone been to or heard of Fertility First in Hurstville. I heard that they have a good success rate for IVF in Syd?:confused:

I have not been through them but have close friends who have been with Fertility First (although not 100% sure it was Hurstville clinic). They had several unsuccessful cycles with them and left as they felt unhappy with the investigations (or lack of).

That is all I have heard about them. HTH.

Hi Kim.b - I too am looking into Fertility First, have been with Sydney IVF for 2 years and don't get me wrong I think they are terrific, however I have heard some very good report about Dr Ann Clarke the only doctor there. I also heard the same as you that their success rate is high but yet again most of the top ones have the same statistics.
I think into comes down to what doctor you like and trust etc.
Good luck and hope all your dreams come true.

Lissie

Thanks guys,

I went to see Anne Clarke. Its a tough decision to make as you embark on your first cycle of IVF. Im with IVF Aust at the moment so don't know what to do? Both are giving me two very different stories about my Fertility- one is saying that my infertility in unexplained although my DH has low morph/high SC so its not a prob and a natural preg could be achieved although I could do IVF to speed it along.
The other disagrees and says the only way Im going to fall preg because of low morph is ICSI and a natural preg is highly unlikely because of this....Im very confused and dont know who too believe...I know speaking to more than one dr can leave you confused but you need to be well informed if you are going to do IVF!
What would you guys do?:help:

Hi Kim

My DH has same thing, 0% morp / high SC and motility. I am attending SIVF and I was told that the because the sperm where the wrong shape the either wouldn't have the correct 'acid cap' to be able to get in, or they wouldn't be able to fit down the little tubes surronding the egg. They said it may be possible but ICSI would be a better way to go.

I did actually fall pg just before I started my first cycle of IVF but m/c at 5 weeks. We decided to give IVF / ICSI a go anyway cause I didn't want to wait another year or two for one to finally get through again (in the 2ww wait now).

Another thing with the results from DH test was from a normal lab is morph came back as normal. SIVF make you do one at their lab and they have higher standards of 'normal' which is where he got the 0% morph.

Anyway thats my story.....

well with low morph it is still possible to fall pg naturally, however it could take a while and its true the chances are much lower. I would imagine usually doing ICSI would be the best option in that case because they can select the better quality sperm. I guess both are right, it just depends on which way you prefer to go and how long you are prepared to wait before trying IVF..

ETA: Im sure my friend did not go with Anne Clarke, so perhaps it was not the Hurstville clinic..

I have a friend who went through Fertility First, and raves about how great they are. However, she went there because she is in a same sex relationship (requiring donor sperm) and over 40, not for any other known fertility issues.

Anne Clark has a lot to do with the Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Association of Australia (POSSA) and I know of many women on their website that have spoken of their experiences with Anne & Fertility First.

Hi Kim,

I've heard a lot about Fertility First and Dr Anne Clarke... everyone raves about her!

I've heard she is very thorough and works v. hard to help you improve your chances of success. She is also committed to further research, and has discovered a number of things that affect your fertility that most other clinics or docs won't tell you about - ie. drinking coke reduces your chances of conceiving by 50% per cycle, so avoid it if you are ttc.

All the best :)

Wow Shell,

How does coke affect fertilty this much?
I never knew that, is it the caffeine?

This is from the Fertility First introductory booklet (it says it a bit differently from what I remember Dr Anne Clarke saying at a presentation I went to, but anyway):

"Except in moderation (1-3 glasses per week), alcohol appears to have a negative impact on fertility. Caffeine should be restricted to a maximum of 1 cup of "real" coffee or 2 cups of weak instant coffee per day. Cola drinks should be avoided altogether. Women who take higher than these amounts can reduce their chance of getting pregnant by up to 50% in that month and increase the risk of miscarriage". (emphasis is mine)

I remember Dr Clarke saying that they don't know why cola drinks do this, but they think it may be something in the cola itself. I remember in the presentation she said drinking cola drinks reduced your chances of conceiving by 50% per cycle - I don't know if this is just for women, or if it applies to men as well.