A new low-cost IVF clinic has opened in Berwick to help give the local community access to affordable IVF and fertility treatment.
Dr Myuran Ponnampalam, fertility specialist, The Fertility Centre (TFC) Berwick, says the clinic’s opening comes at a much-needed time.
“With soaring cost of living pressures, we believe it is even more important to offer a low-cost IVF service in the South East,“ he said.
“The region has seen a boom in growth and is becoming increasingly popular with young couples moving here to start their families.“
The Fertility Centre (TFC) Berwick offers local patients fertility treatments, complete fertility plans and IVF services.
Haidee and her partner Steve started trying to conceive when Haidee was 35 years old.
When they weren’t getting pregnant after a year of trying to conceive naturally, Haidee visited her GP and was referred to fertility specialist Dr Myuran Ponnampalam.
Dr Myuran Ponnampalam ran fertility tests on the couple and found that Haidee’s results were fine, but Steve’s male assessment discovered a non-aggressive form of testicular cancer.
Steve underwent surgery to remove the cancer, and the couple started their IVF journey.
The couple’s first round of IVF was successful, creating their now 4-and-a half-year-old daughter, Ivy.
The couple wanted to have a second child, but their journey to conceive the second time round was more challenging.
It was having access to lower-cost treatments that made all the difference, as Steve was out of work due to Covid and Haidee was on maternity leave.
“If we weren’t able to have that, we wouldn’t have been able to have Mav, because I wasn’t working, Steve was out of work, we have a mortgage and we had spent our savings on our first IVF,“ Haidee said.
“The experience was amazing, everyone was supportive and caring, there’s no difference between seeing a specialist and going through a fertility clinic- everyone was great.“
The Fertility Centre provides the option to see a female gynaecologist and offers consultations via telehealth, helping busy people fit appointments into family life.
Dr Ponnampalam has worked in the South East as an experienced fertility specialist, obstetrician and gynaecologist for the past 15 years and has helped bring around a thousand IVF babies into the world during this time.
“Unfortunately, about one in six Australian couples experience fertility difficulties,“ he said.
“It’s important we offer low-cost IVF as infertility doesn’t discriminate.
“We are proud to offer state-of-the-art fertility treatment at an accessible cost, helping the local community fulfil their dreams of starting their families, and making it easier for them to receive treatment locally.“
Patients have most of their care looked after by a highly skilled and dedicated team of fertility nurses.
“We offer an innovative low-cost concept while providing high levels of IVF technology and patient care by following a unique nurse-led IVF model,“ Dr Ponnampalam said.
Nurses assist with the initial patient consultation, helping patients learn how to administer the important IVF injections, and perform the IVF monitoring blood tests and ultrasounds.
“The egg collection procedure and embryo transfers are performed by a specialist fertility doctor, and the whole team is overseen by the clinical director,” said Dr Ponnampalam.
The Fertility Centre was the first private clinic to introduce the nurse-led low-cost IVF model In Australia.
TFC now has eight clinics across Australia in Berwick and Werribee, along with clinics in New South Wales and Queensland.
