Baby dream source of heartache
prospect of fertility struggles than in other developed countries.
However, Righarts said it was important to note the difficulty in comparisons.
Other studies conducted overseas used different definitions of infertility.
The current study Righarts is leading would be comparable with a recent study in the United Kingdom.
Infertility is defined when conception is unsuccessful after 12 months Gaby Reid says the most challenging part of infertility is that no one talks about their struggles.
“It’s an awkward conversation,” she says.
But that doesn’t put people off from asking questions.
Reid says after she had been married to her husband, Jonny Gabriel, for a certain amount of time, people started asking questions around her plans and commenting on the dreaded “timeline”.
“You start getting people saying, ‘tick tock, tick tock’.”
The 35-year-old says this has been challenging. She tended to keep her and Gabriel’s battle to herself, so outsiders’ comments have made her feel quite alone in their struggle.
Reid and Gabriel, both Aucklandbased high school teachers, began trying for a baby in 2015.
When nothing initially happened they went to see a doctor. They went through the usual tests — for sperm count, and endometriosis, but all the results were clear.
The couple wound up in the large and murky bracket of “unexplained infertility” — a label Reid said was as frustrating as it was painful.
“Because there’s no reason
of trying or medical help is needed to achieve it.
Along with specific sexual health data, the research also considered general living conditions — income, education and age.
Juanita Copeland, vice president of Fertility New Zealand, indicated New Zealand was “up there” in the world in terms of the number of people requiring treatment for infertility. for it, there’s no public funding for us until we’ve been infertile for five years.”
The funding for government subsidised IVF and fertility treatment was based on a points system. It takes into account age, previous experiences with infertility and the length of time a couple had spent trying to conceive.
Although March 2020 — the month Reid and Gabriel become eligible for funding — is on the horizon, Reid is a realist about their chances.
She believes there would be around a year-long wait list for those eligible, and she knows IVF
The initial study highlighting infertility rates down south showed the issue “didn’t discriminate”, Copeland said.
“It seems to affect every aspect of our community in terms of socioeconomic situations, levels of education, ethnicity — all of that stuff.”
Copeland hoped the research would increase the level of discussion around infertility, as well as boost funding for treatments such doesn’t have a positive outcome every time.
In the meantime, Reid is considering trying intrauterine insemination — a fertility treatment with a higher success rate than the natural process.
This treatment comes at a cost of about $900.
In an attempt to ensure optimal conditions, Reid has quit smoking and is working on losing weight.
Research linking acupuncture and conception prompted her to spend hundreds of dollars on weekly acupuncture sessions — but after months the treatment was too costly.
She and Gabriel are taking the journey one step at a time, she says.
“It changes week from week. Like this week I’m like, ‘Okay it’s all good.’
“But then other weeks it will be really horrible, and you don’t want to see pregnant women and you don’t want to talk about children.”
Reid said it was good to hear there was research going on in this space.
“It might give some answers; it might highlight why people are struggling or why there is such a high infertility rate in NZ.
“It’s so hard when you don’t know, when there isn’t a reason for it.” as IVF in the future.
This would raise some important questions around why so many Kiwis struggled to conceive, she said.
“People are leaving family building until much later than is biologically ideal.”
Fertility New Zealand was working in conjunction with Righarts’ team and would release some data established through the study in Fertility Week next month.