Pregnancy & Planning

The cause of infertility will determine which treatment program you embark on. The type of program will affect your chances of pregnancy, as do a number of other factors including age and, if IVF occurs, the quality and number of the embryos replaced.

On average our pregnancy rates range from 15-50% per treatment cycle, depending on the type of treatment, unless a woman is above the age of 38 years, in which case they are lower.

This pregnancy rate may not seem as high as expected, but it is important to remember that humans are not particularly fertile as a species. If a couple with healthy fertility has intercourse at the time of ovulation, they still only have a 15-20% chance of having a pregnancy each monthly cycle. 

The basic reason why many embryos fail to continue to grow has been investigated and researched for a number of years. Not all the reasons are yet understood, but genetic studies have indicated that shortly after fertilisation, a number of embryos contain significant errors in the information that they use to control their early growth and development. As a general rule, the number of embryos with errors increases with the increasing ages of the couple. IVF cannot change the quality of your eggs or sperm but attention to lifestyle factors can.

We include a regular review process in our treatment programs, so that if a treatment cycle is not successful, we assess the need to modify your next treatment cycle to improve your chances of success. If a pregnancy has not occurred, your specialist will review that treatment cycle to see if any changes need to be made and have a consultation with you to discuss future options if appropriate.

Female infertility

Not many people openly discuss the difficulties falling pregnant, and there is certainly a lack of awareness about female fertility in Australia. Most people have no idea how common fertility challenges are for women or how daunting it can be to overcome these obstacles.

The latest statistics show that:

  • 90% of women under 40 will have a baby if they have fertility treatment
  • 80% women over 40 will have a baby if they have fertility treatment

Unlike other clinics, age is not a barrier at Fertility First. We have helped women up to 48 years of age have babies using their own eggs.

Fertility Calculator


Use our calculator to determine the fertile time for different cycle lengths (14-19 days before next period). 
A child’s gender cannot be influenced by the number of days before ovulation that intercourse occurs.

Male infertility

Also a topic that is rarely spoken about, male infertility accounts for up to 50% of all infertilities, and impacts approximately 7% of men.

Using donated sperm may be the best chance of achieving pregnancy for some couples. Each year about 4% of all children born in Australia are the result of Artificial Reproductive Technology, including Donor Insemination.

Improving fertility

There are many natural options to improve your chances of falling pregnant. Through our individualised approach, we assess any lifestyle or environmental factors that may be affecting your infertility, and work with you to modify these if necessary. Factors such as Vitamin D, folate and iodine deficiency, insulin levels, weight, alcohol and smoking can all impact on the health of the sperm as well as the egg and therefore the chance of conceiving. They can also impact on the chance of staying pregnant and normal development of the baby. 

Here are some general lifestyle changes that will help improve fertility in men and women.

  • Improving your diet, eating less saturated fat and more fibre
  • Limiting intake of alcohol and caffeinated beverages
  • Quitting smoking
  • Avoiding recreational drug use
  • Avoiding tight fitting underwear
  • Avoiding regular use of hot tubs, saunas and electric blankets
  • Avoiding environmental chemicals such as lead, pesticides and organic solvents, or wear appropriate protective clothing