The one-in-six Australian couples who are unable to fall pregnant naturally face a range of treatment options from ovulation stimulation, corrective surgery, to IVF and adoption. There is no right or wrong decision, but every option is going to be a life-changing experience.
The number of babies born through IVF in Australia increases every year, with a report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) released in September reporting a 45 percent increase from 2004 to 2008. In 2008, 10,500 babies were born after successful IVF treatment.
The AIHW reported that the number of treatment cycles has also doubled to 57,000 a year.
IVF, however, is an expensive and often invasive process with mixed results, while adoption can be equally as expensive and means parents do not get to see their own offspring grow and develop into adults.
Adoption rates in Australia have dropped drastically over the last 35 years from 10,000 adoptions a year in 1971 to 1972 to just 568 in 2006. The vast majority of children adopted in 2006 were from overseas, according to a 2008 report by Adoptions Australia.
This was attributed to fewer unwanted pregnancies due to increased awareness and access to birth control methods, better sex education programs in schools, greater acceptance by society of children born out of wedlock, as well as the increasing success of IVF treatments.
