At Fertility Associates we understand the major impact and distress infertility can cause. Our counsellors are available to help with: Coping strategies Decision-making strategies Information about infertility and emotional responses Support during and following treatment Relaxation techniques Other difficulties that may arise because of infertility Pregnancy loss Conception involving donor eggs, sperm or embryos, and also surrogacy. Who are the counsellors? Andy Leggat, Auckland Maggie Fung, Auckland Jenny Eaton, Auckland Kimberley Gamet, Auckland Margaret Stanley-Hunt, Wellington Caren August, Hamilton Anne Ott, Christchurch More information on our counselling and support services and our counsellors is available here.

Often, all couples need is a little help. Rather than undertaking a complex treatment like IVF, we will try lower technology treatments such as Ovulation Induction (OI), Intrauterine Insemination and Donor Insemination. Ovulation Induction (OI) Medications used to induce ovulation in women with irregular or absent cycles Medications used to increase the number of eggs maturing, ideally two or three Artificial Insemination (AI) Insemination close to the time of ovulation of sperm from the recipient's partner (IUI) Insemination close to the time of ovulation of sperm from a carefully screened donor (DI) Please click here for more information from Fertility Associates on Non-IVF Treatment.

Please click here for information on IVF-Related Treatments including IVF, ICSI, embryo freezing and assisted hatching.

PGS checks the number of chromosomes in each blastocyst and can be useful for: women 36 and older with good ovarian reserve, people who have had recurrent miscarriage, people not pregnant despite the transfer of several embryos – PGS may uncover a higher than expected chromosome abnormality rate patients who are willing to go through more than one egg retrieval cycle to obtain a normal embryo

When there is significant male infertility, the embryologist injects a sperm into each egg using a technique called ICSI. IMSI is a variation of ICSI using high magnification. ICSI can be useful for: Men with poor sperm morphology. Poor morphology makes sperm more susceptible to oxidation damage Men with a higher level of DNA fragmentation in their sperm. DNA fragmentation is a sign of oxidation damage People with few embryos developing to the blastocyst stage People not pregnant despite the transfer of several reasonable quality embryos.

TiMI photographs embryos every 10 minutes to capture developmental milestones in the embryo’s life that are missed when embryos are only inspected once a day. TiMI can be useful for: people who expect to have several good quality embryos people who have had low quality embryos previously may experience better embryo development or learn why embryo development is poor. More info can be found here.

Understanding the key factors that affect a couple’s chances of conception and delivery of a healthy baby are important. These include: Age, Diet, Body Mass/Weight, Exercise, Smoking, Drugs. Please click here for more information on Key Factors Influencing Fertility. Additionally, the Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) test for women and a semen analysis for men provide important indicators in diagnosing any fertility issues. Please call Fertility Associates on 0800 10 28 28 to organise for these tests to be done.

About 25% of infertility is calculated to be directly due to the male partner and another 15-25% probably also has a male contribution. Please click here for information on Male Infertility.

Donor Eggs Donor eggs can be used for women with premature menopause, women who have not become pregnant after many IVF cycles and women who no longer have viable eggs of their own because of their age. Donor Sperm Traditionally donor sperm is used when a man has few sperm or poor quality sperm. Rarely it is used if the man's sperm carries a very high risk that any child might have a serious congenital abnormality. It is also an option for single women or women in a same-sex relationship. Donor Embryos Some people, having undergone successful IVF treatment and completed their families, may still have frozen embryos. They will need to make a decision about what to do with their remaining embryos. One option is to donate them to people for whom this may be the only option of experiencing parenthood.

Genetic carrier screening gives individuals and couples information about their risk of having a child with a genetic condition. It will tell you if you are a carrier for three common inherited conditions: Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Many people are carriers of Cystic Fibrosis, Fragile X Syndrome and Spinal Muscular Atrophy even though they do not have anybody in their family who has the condition.

Egg freezing is a form of fertility preservation for women about to undergo treatment for cancer or for women who have concerns about their ability to conceive longer term. Egg freezing may also be an option for couples with religious, moral or ethical objections to creating embryos that won't be used immediately. Please click here for more information on Egg Freezing and Storage.

There are a number of reasons why people may look to preserve their fertility. These reasons may either be health related or possibly for social reasons such as wanting to leave having children until later in life. This section is also for people who are about to have chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery that may affect their fertility. Facing a diagnosis of cancer is a traumatic and difficult time, and there will be many tough decisions to make. Treatments to help fight cancer may also affect your ability to have children. Fortunately, if you want to be a parent following treatment you still may be able to fulfil that dream. For Women, the options are: Egg Freezing and Storage - Egg freezing may be useful in a number of clinical scenarios, such as a woman who is about to undergo treatment for cancer or when a single woman wishes to preserve her fertility more. Ovarian Tissue Freezing and Storage - This technique may be used to help women at risk of losing ovarian function due to radiotherapy or chemotherapy as treatment for cancer. For Men, the options are: Sperm Freezing and Storage - Long-term storage of sperm is almost always possible before various types of medical treatment that can damage sperm production more. Testicular Tissue Freezing and Storage - The freezing of testicular tissue is recommended when testicular tissue is obtained for diagnostic purposes

Ovarian and testicular tissue can be frozen and stored before surgery or cancer treatment. To date, some babies have been born following the storage, thawing and fertilisation with the eggs or sperm that come from these pieces of tissue.

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) involves taking one or more cells from embryos to test the cells for genetic disorders or for the number of chromosomes present. It requires IVF to provide the embryos for testing.

Surrogacy is the term used where a woman bears a child for another woman. It is used in cases when a woman cannot bear the child because the uterus is absent or malformed or when a medical condition exists making pregnancy a threat to her and/or her baby's health. Please click here for more information from Fertility Associates on Surrogacy.

Long-term storage of sperm is almost always possible before various types of medical treatment that can damage sperm production occurs, for example, chemotherapy, irradiation therapy or surgery (including vasectomy). Please click here for more information from Fertility Associates on Sperm Freezing and Storage.

MESA, PESA, TESA and TESE are acronyms for various techniques to obtain sperm from the testes or epididymis to use in ICSI. These procedures are usually done under local anaesthetic, and extra sperm can be frozen for future use.