Frequently asked questions

If you have regular periods and are 35 years of age or younger, you should allow one year of trying naturally before undergoing any fertility investigations.

If you are over the age of 35 it may be reasonable to undertake some preliminary fertility testing sooner than this as your chance of falling pregnant, either naturally or with assisted reproductive technology, decreases with age.

If you have irregular menstrual cycles this can be a sign of irregular ovulation and it would be reasonable to have this investigated early on regardless of your age.

Age is the single biggest factor affecting a woman’s ability to achieve a pregnancy and have a healthy baby – either naturally or through IVF.

IVF and IUI Treatment through our Bulk Billed Program is therefore only available to women who are 45 years of age or younger (at the time of egg collection).

However, if you are over 45, you may be suitable for IVF treatment through our Full-Service Fertility Program (you can see costs here). In which case we recommend you book in for a consultation with our Medical Director Dr Glenn Sterling in Brisbane or Dr Rachael Knight in Melbourne to find out what may be medically suitable for you.

Please be aware that there have been no known IVF births in women aged 47 years or older who have used their own eggs in treatment. We do however have Donor Egg and Surrogacy Programs associated with our Full Service Fertility Treatment Program, and we recommend an appointment with Dr Sterling if you would like to discuss these alternative options.

Our Brisbane Bulk Billed IVF and IUI programs have a BMI cut-off of 40 (we will treat patients who have a BMI up to and including 40).

However, we do not have a BMI restriction on our Melbourne and Brisbane Full Service Programs. You can find the costs of Full Service IVF here.

Your menstrual ‘cycle’ is the time between day one of one menstrual period until day one of your next period, usually around 28 days. If you are undergoing any type of fertility treatment your treatment cycle will be based around your menstrual cycle.

Often when you have fertility treatment that will also be referred to as ‘a cycle’. For example IVF treatment can sometimes be call ‘a cycle’ or an IVF cycle.

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a procedure where eggs are removed from a woman’s ovaries and inseminated outside the body. Embryo(s) that result are then placed in the woman’s uterus where they may implant and grow.

Your treatment cycle is based around your menstrual cycle, so each treatment cycle takes roughly the same amount of time to complete.

However from your first appointment until a pregnancy result can take upwards of 9 weeks. You can download a PDF overview of the IVF Treatment Process and the associated timelines here.

The procedure of collecting eggs takes approximately 30 minutes and is performed under sedation or local anaesthetic. The procedure of embryo transfer takes about 10 minutes and requires no anaesthetic and is performed at our clinic.

Yes. A referral letter (provided by your GP) to your fertility specialist of choice is needed so that you can receive Medicare benefits for your appointments and any subsequent treatment.

Your Fertility Specialist will also provide updates to your GP.

Yes – results do vary quite a lot. It can be difficult to compare though because success also depends on the average age of women who go to that clinic and whether the clinic takes on more challenging cases. Check the fine print behind any rates quoted – if the figure is for women under 35, for instance, the figure will be much higher than where all women are included. Life Fertility has good success rates by any measure due to our comprehensive diagnosis, advanced science and individualised treatment plans. Our goal is always to find you the shortest Pathways to Parenthood.

We are happy to give you the most up-to-date Life Fertility pregnancy results and help you understand your chances of success when you discuss your individual history and treatment needs with one of our Fertility Specialists.

Absolutely, we are an inclusive clinic, welcoming all patients.

Absolutely, we treat all patients equally regardless of their marital status or gender.

Life Fertility Clinic has Queensland’s lowest out-of-pocket IVF and Insemination:

• Bulk Billed Insemination (IUI) Program – Brisbane – costs can be found here
• Bulk Billed IVF Program – Brisbane – costs can be found here
• Brisbane Full Service IVF costs can be found here.

Treatment at Life Fertility Clinic is always tailored to your individual needs and costs may vary accordingly. We will always provide you with a detailed estimate of fees prior to your treatment.

Dr Rachael Knight at Life Fertility Clinic Melbourne, is one of the most competitively priced Full Service IVF clinics in Victoria.

You can find detailed costs here.

Yes, Medicare covers some costs associated with IVF and fertility treatments (if you are eligible) but there will still be out-of-pocket costs.

However, for you to be eligible for Medicare Rebates for IVF treatment (or have your IVF treatment bulk billed), you will need to be diagnosed as medically infertile.

Your Fertility Specialist or Fertility Doctor will assess your fertility with the help of diagnostics tests and a thorough medical history. There are many factors which are assessed that can affect your fertility and may contribute to a diagnosis of medical infertility. These include:

– Unprotected intercourse for 12 months and no pregnancy – if you are female, 35 or under
– Unprotected intercourse for 6 months and no pregnancy – if you are female and over 35
– Polycystic ovarian disorder or syndrome (PCOD or PCOS)
– Endometriosis
– Low AMH relative to age
– Blocked fallopian tubes
– Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (previous history of STI’s)
– Male factor infertility
– History of failed fertility treatment

If you are in a private health fund and have the appropriate level of cover you may be eligible to claim a rebate for some medications, a portion of the fees for your treating doctor when treated in hospital, hospital accommodation, anaesthetist and theatre fees. Please contact your private health insurer to confirm the benefits that would be available to you.

It really does depend on so many individual factors that it is impossible to give an answer without knowing your details. We give you the best chances through our comprehensive diagnosis and advanced procedures and there are hundreds of Life Fertility babies to prove to prove it. Please book a consultation to discuss your individual chances in more detail.

A woman’s age is the biggest single factor in determining a woman’s fertility and chance of getting pregnant. Quality and quantity of eggs start to decline after 30 and your best chances of conceiving are before age 35. By the time you reach 40, your chances of a naturally occurring pregnancy have diminished very significantly and IVF success rates are also not as high as they are for younger women.

There have been no known IVF births in women aged 47 years or older who have used their own eggs in treatment.

We do however have Donor Egg and Surrogacy Programs associated with our Full Service Fertility Treatment Program. If you want to consider these alternative options, and find out if they are medically suitable for you, we recommend a consultation with our Medical Director Dr Glenn Sterling.

The chance of a successful pregnancy, using your own eggs with in-vitro fertilisation, is small if you are over 42 years of age. In our experience, a successful pregnancy using IVF in women between 40 and 42 years of age happens in only around 5-10% of cases.

If you are over 40, you can improve your chance of a successful pregnancy by using donor eggs from a woman younger than 35 as the success rate is then almost the same as for women of that age group.

The Life Fertility difference is about the knowledge and expertise of our Fertility Specialists and scientific team, our best-practice procedures – including a comprehensive pre-treatment diagnosis – and our values. It is important to us to welcome the diversity of potential parents, to see every person as an individual, to give really honest advice and to work with determination to explore all possible avenues for your success. Also, our billing structure can make IVF more accessible for many people as you can choose to reduce your upfront costs by only paying the gap between our fee and the Medicare rebate.

Yes, ask your GP for a referral to the specialist of your choice. See Our Team page for details of our specialists.

Life Fertility Clinic has 2 clinics, one located in Bowen Hills (central Brisbane), the other at North Lakes on Brisbane’s northside. 

We also have Fertility Specialists available for consultations at Everton Park and South Brisbane.

There are a number of hotels close to the clinic offering a range of accommodation options. Click here to learn more about the accommodation partners we are affiliated with. A Life Fertility staff member can assist with booking accommodation if you need.

Yes. Our nurse coordinators will be able to help you with the process of using a sperm or egg donor.

Life Fertility Clinic does treat patients who wish to use a surrogate, however, the arrangement must be altruistic and comply with current Queensland law. If you are considering undergoing fertility treatment using a surrogate our nurse coordinators will be able to assist you in understanding the arrangements that need to be in place before treatment can begin. Click here to learn more.

Egg donors cannot be paid in Australia so donation must be altruistic and usually involves a friend or relative. If you need donor eggs, we recommend you find your own donor due to the limited number of egg donors available in Australia. If this is not an option, you may add your name to our waiting list, however it could be a couple of years before a donor becomes available. Another alternative is to advertise and, if the recipient does not wish to be known to the donor, our IVF nurses can act as go-between.

Generally speaking, you will need to be in Brisbane for approximately two weeks during the active phase of the IVF treatment. Sometimes it is possible for some aspects of your treatment to be carried out elsewhere so you should talk to your fertility specialist and nurse coordinator about this.

We support our patients living in remote regions, by offering teleconsultations via skype or video link. At the time of booking your consultation, simply advise the Life Fertility receptionist that you require this service and the necessary arrangements will be made. Our receptionist can also check your eligibility for a Medicare Rebate for this service for you.

The ovarian stimulation phase of your treatment cycle usually takes around two weeks although the exact amount of time varies depending on how your body responds to the medications you are given.

Some bloating and breast tenderness is common during a treatment cycle. If you are concerned about any of these symptoms please contact your nurse coordinator.

Some cramping and discomfort is normal following egg collection. This should be reasonably mild and improve in the days following your egg collection. If you are at all concerned about any of the symptoms you are experiencing please contact your nurse coordinator.

It is normal to experience some bleeding following your egg collection and it is normal for the bleeding to persist the day after. If you are concerned about the amount of blood loss please contact your nurse coordinator.

It is quite normal to have some eggs that do not fertilise, regardless of which method of fertilisation is used. There are a variety of reasons for why this happens and these can vary between patients and/or treatment cycles. We suggest you discuss any concerns regarding your fertilisation results with one of our embryologists or your fertility specialist.

We typically transfer one embryo per treatment cycle. However, the number of embryos transferred in a treatment cycle will depend on a number of factors including the age of the female partner and whether or not you have had any previous success with any type of fertility treatment. You should be aware that Life Fertility Clinic is required to follow specific guidelines from our licensing authority regarding the maximum number of embryos that can be transferred in a given treatment cycle and these are based on the age of the female that the egg came from.

It is best to contact your nurse coordinator if you experience any spotting or bleeding while you are waiting for your pregnancy test following embryo transfer. Spotting or bleeding during this phase of your treatment cycle can have a number of causes but can potentially be due to the embryo implanting in the lining of your uterus.

For this reason it is very important to continue with your medications until you are advised otherwise by your fertility specialist or nurse coordinator.

At Life Fertility Clinic the most common stage that we freeze embryos for our patients is the blastocyst stage, this usually occurs on day 5 or 6 following insemination. We know that an embryo must form a blastocyst in order to go on to form a pregnancy, however, not all embryos are destined to reach the blastocyst stage. This is quite normal and is the reason why most patients find that not all of their excess embryos are suitable for freezing. If you are concerned about the number of embryos you have had frozen we suggest you discuss this with one of our embryologists or your fertility specialist.

It is best to check with your fertility specialist or nurse coordinator but as a general rule it is not usually necessary to have a break between cycles.

There is no clear scientific evidence that increased stress will negatively impact fertility treatment. However, at Life Fertility we believe that your fertility treatment is both a physical and emotional journey. Therefore, we offer continuous support as well as actual resources to help you deal with the stresses of fertility investigations and treatment through our health and wellness program.

We suggest that you avoid strenuous exercise while undergoing fertility treatment, although gentle exercise may be fine. If you are considering exercising during your fertility treatment we recommend discussing this with your fertility specialist or nurse coordinator first.

It really depends on the type of herbal product and your individual treatment plan. Many medications, including herbal medications, can have powerful biological effects and some may influence the safety and/or outcome of your fertility treatment. For this reason it is important for your fertility specialist to know about all of the medications you are taking (including herbal medications) so that your treatment can be planned with these in mind.

It is completely fine to continue having acupuncture during your treatment cycle; in fact some studies have suggested that acupuncture may be beneficial for fertility patients both in terms of how they feel during treatment and the outcome.

Yes you can have intercourse during your treatment cycle, however we do advise you abstain from intercourse for a minimum of two days prior to your egg collection and also for two days post egg collection. We also advise you to abstain from intercourse for 2 days after your embryo transfer. Your fertility specialist or nurse coordinator will discuss this with you.

A healthy lifestyle is recommended prior to and during pregnancy. It is also important to maintain a suitable diet and exercise program to optimise your reproductive health. We recommend discussing your own circumstances with your fertility specialist or nurse coordinator but there are some recommendations that apply to most patients:

• Start a folic acid dose of at least 500mcgs daily a minimum of a month before your treatment cycle and continue it for the first three months of pregnancy.
• Start taking a supplement with Iodine (150mcg). When you become pregnant your need for Iodine increases. It is helpful in regulating your thyroid and metabolic processes, and is an essential nutrient for the growth and development of the brain and nervous system for babies.
• We recommend that both partners abstain from alcohol while trying to conceive and that the woman doesn’t drink alcohol at all during pregnancy.
• We strongly discourage cigarette smoking for both partners as it has a negative effect on your ability to achieve and maintain a pregnancy.
• We recommend that women limit caffeine intake to 200mgs (one cup) a day.

We understand that this can be a difficult and stressful time. We offer a range of options – see our health and wellness page. Contact your nurse coordinator to begin with and she will be able to advise the best course of action for you.