In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a common type of assisted reproductive technology (ART) used to help couples get pregnant if they have problems conceiving.

Infertility is defined as being unable to conceive after at least 12 months of trying. This could be due to problems with egg or sperm production, female or male reproductive systems, or underlying health conditions.

IVF combines eggs and sperm in a laboratory culture dish so fertilisation can take place. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) injects one sperm into one egg to fertilise the egg directly. The goal is to transfer a live embryo into the woman’s uterus so that it can grow into a healthy baby.

The first people born through IVF are now around 40 years old. The first ICSI babies are about 20 years. We can now study the long-term health and development of children, adolescents and even adults conceived by ART.

 

Who does it affect?

Who does it affect?

  • About one in six couples of reproductive age in Australia has trouble getting pregnant
  • Australia pioneered the use of IVF with the first Australian IVF baby born in Melbourne in 1980
  • Since then, more than 200,000 babies have been born in Australia with the help of ART
  • One in every 25 babies in Australia is now conceived using ART. 

Our IVF research

Our IVF research

In 2010, when Australia celebrated 30 years of IVF, we began a ground-breaking study of the first generation of IVF-conceived young adults, aged 18 years and over, comparing them with a group of similar-aged young adults conceived without the use of ART.

We conducted telephone interviews, saw them in a clinical setting and surveyed their health and wellbeing.

Recently we followed up young men conceived after ICSI, which is most often used when the intended father has fertility problems.

Our research has expanded to examine possible environmental and lifestyle risk factors for male infertility and effects this might have on their children.

Our vision

Our vision

We want to provide research evidence on the safety of ART procedures by measuring the long term health and well-being of any child born using these conception methods. This is important for current and future parents, as well as their health service providers, to have this knowledge when planning a family.

Where to next?

Where to next?

About 1 in 15 men have fertility issues yet not much is known about the causes of male infertility. This makes it hard for health professionals to develop new and more effective ART. Our future research will explore what environmental and lifestyle factors might be contributing to unexplained male infertility.

Babies conceived through ART are more likely than spontaneously conceived babies to be born too early or born small. We are exploring whether there is an influence of the parent’s infertility or ART on the genes of the embryo very early in pregnancy that led to these problems.