Finding the best clinic to perform your In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment is a crucial factor in determining your success rate. You want to choose a clinic and group of doctors that have a high success rate with IVF. There is no rule stating you have to stay within a certain kilometer radius of your home or country to have this procedure done. Traveling is often necessary when having IVF treatment, because some areas do not have clinics available.

Regulations

Even though you do not have to have the IVF procedure done near your home, there are regulations that may be valid in one country, but are not required in another country. For instance, Australia limits the number of embryos that can be transferred during IVF, but the United States does not. Australia is one of the countries that encourages a single embryo transfer limit, because multiple embryos could lead to multiple births, which could be risky or cause your IVF cycle to fail. The number of cycles you can have are not limited.

Pre-Cycle Process

The treatment typically takes 3 – 6 weeks to conduct, but this will vary from clinic-to-clinic and doctor-to-doctor. Before you begin the procedure, you will need to have counseling sessions with your doctor, followed by a financial consult. After you have had those two consults, you will undergo a number of pre-requisite tests to complete the pre-IVF cycle process. Some of those tests include: semen analysis, blood tests, a uterine assessment, and any other necessary lab work.

After the Pre-Cycle Process

After you have completed the pre-cycle process, the typical schedule for a long down regulation IVF cycle is:

• Week 1 – Begin The Oral Contraceptive Process (the pill may or may not be used)
• Week 2 – Continuing Taking the Pill (if prescribed)
• Week 3 – Blood test to assess ovulation if not on the pill or starting a nasal spray (Synarel) or injection (Lucrin) to keep your female hormones low so you can commence the FHS injections that stimulate the ovaries to produce eggs once you get a period)
• Week 4 – First Week of Injections Begin
• Week 5 – Second Week of Injections, Ultrasounds and Blood Testing (common for
• Week 6 – Third Week of Injections, Only Two Injections, Progesterone Process Begins
• Week 7 – You Can Take a Pregnancy Test Two Weeks After Week 7

If your IVF cycle fails, you will need to repeat this procedure over and over, until your treatment is successful – or you decide to choose another option to have a child. During this procedure – and if you need multiple cycles – you will need to travel to your doctor’s office each week, sometimes multiple times during the week.

When you want the best IVF treatment, you may have to travel to another city, state or country to find the best clinic. We often have couples who travel from Brisbane for IVF. This travel is necessary if you want to ensure your procedure is done by a clinic that specializes in the procedure, and a clinic that has a high success rate. Traveling should not stop you from achieving your ultimate goal: having a healthy birth!