IVF Sunshine Coast is excited to introduce 4 of our doctors to the Gympie region.  Dr James Moir, Dr Petra Ladwig, Dr Jeff Tarr and Dr Bodgan Benga are all now consulting in Gympie once a week on a roster basis.  They will be providing a full range of gynecology, obstetrics and fertility services.

The roster will be starting from the week beginning Monday the 4th of April with Dr Jeff Tarr to be the first doctor to visit.  The doctors will be consulting at Gympie Specialist & Diagnositc Centre found at 78-82 Channon Street, with a view to the doctors having a regular list at the Gympie Private Hospital in the future. 

To make an appointment for one of these specialsit at the Gympie Specialist Centre please call the individual doctor directly on the numbers below:

•   Dr James Moir: 07 5444 0799           Dr Petra Ladwig: 07 5437 7244
•   Dr Jeff Tarr: 07 5444 0369               Dr Bogden Benga: 07 5452 6926  

 For more information on the doctors and their particular interests visit the Gympie page by clicking here.

MEDIA RELEASE

31 January 2010

First successful surrogacy announced on the Sunshine Coast

This month local Mum Lucy Delzia celebrated the end of the first trimester in a unique pregnancy, achieved in a surrogacy arrangement with her sister Joanne as the birth mother, the first successful case of its kind on the Sunshine Coast.

When the legalisation of altruistic surrogacy in Queensland was announced on the 1 June last year Lucy chose local fertility clinic IVF Sunshine Coast, to begin the surrogacy process.

Lucy’s journey started a few years ago in 2007 with plans to move to New South Wales where laws already existed, however she held out for Queensland to pass the legislation so her sister could attempt getting pregnant in their home state without the complications of relocating.

With the pregnancy only three months along, Lucy’s baby is showing strong heart beat and vital signs in the scans she shares with her sister in the lead up to their due date at the beginning of August.

When pregnant with her first daughter Luca in 2007, it was discovered that a pre-existing heart condition was in fact life-threatening and cardiologist recommended that she not have any further pregnancies, however Lucy was determined to give little Luca a brother or sister.

IVF Sunshine Coast was confident Lucy could give Luca a full genetic sibling, as she had frozen embryos during her first pregnancy, and Lucy initiated the surrogacy process as soon as possible.

‘‘When I asked my sister Joanne to be my surrogate, she was quick to say yes and with four children of her own she just took it in her stride,’’ Lucy says of her sister’s willingness to help.

Dr James Moir of IVF Sunshine Coast says the legalisation of surrogacy in Queensland is a historic milestone, giving Sunshine Coast couples the chance to start families and experience the joy of becoming parents.

‘‘Altruistic Surrogacy offers an opportunity for parents that was never before possible in Queensland and in the case of Lucy, it was the only way she would ever be able to give Luca siblings,’’ Dr Moir says.

The recent news of Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban having their second child through surrogacy has sparked surrogacy debates around the world, but Lucy says it’s fantastic for people to be able to see surrogacy as an accessible option.

‘‘There are so many ways to have a baby, whether it be through surrogacy or adoption it should be accepted, for those wanting a child, surrogacy is really just another way to do what you can to start a family,’’ Lucy says.

Lucy’s sister Joanne says the IVF Sunshine Coast team have been such a strong support throughout the pregnancy, ‘‘In particular our nurse Brenda made the process so much more enjoyable,’’ Joanne says.

‘‘It’s very exciting after having so much trouble in my previous pregnancy to report smooth sailing so far and share this with my sister,’’ Lucy says about the pregnancy.

‘‘I am proud to be one of the first people to experience surrogacy in Queensland and am counting down the weeks until I can hold my baby in my arms,” she adds.

Lucy and her sister are documenting their experience and hope to provide useful information to others contemplating this journey and aim to publish their story later this year.

Couples struggling to conceive may be more likely to have a child if the man takes certain vitamins or other antioxidants, according to scientists.

Male subfertility affects 1 in 12 men in the UK and between 30 percent to 80 percent of cases are considered to be due to the damaging effects of highly reactive particles called free radicals, which circulate the body and can adversely affect the health of sperm. The damage can be reduced by the body's own antioxidant defences. These defences may be boosted by our diet or by taking supplements.

The trials assessed the potential benefits on fertility of many different types of oral antioxidants, including vitamin E, L-carnitine, zinc and magnesium. They compared the pregnancy and birth rates in couples when the man took one of these supplements compared to those that took no treatment or a placebo.

On average, the chance of couples becoming pregnant increased from 3.1 percent to 11.8 percent when antioxidant treatment was taken. Three studies assessed how antioxidants affected the number of live births. The results revealed that antioxidants increased the likelihood from 2 percent to 8 percent. Both results were statistically significant.

Lead author of the study, Dr Marian Showell, who works in obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Auckland, said: 'When trying to conceive as part of an assisted reproductive program, it may be advisable to encourage men to take oral antioxidant supplements to improve their partners' chances of becoming pregnant'.

Dr Allan Pacey, senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield described the research as 'encouraging' but added that: 'To date, the research has been controversial with some studies showing evidence of benefit and others showing no improvement. This meta analysis seems to suggest that there is an increased chance of pregnancy in the partners of men who took antioxidant therapy, although the numbers are still small. Clearly more research is needed'.

For the full article please click here.