When Fifi Box announced her pregnancy on Monday, fans celebrated the radio host’s incredible news, sharing in her “absolute pure joy”. For there was something extra special about this announcement. It was one that didn’t look like most.
By sharing she’d used an anonymous sperm donor, Fifi, who is a single mum to five-year-old daughter, Trixie, reminded us that not all families look the same, and that “miracles” can happen in a number of different ways.
Speaking on The Project on Tuesday night, the 41-year-old shared more about what it took to expand her beautiful family, including how the odds were overwhelmingly stacked against her.
“It’s just so good to be able to talk about it. It’s been a really private journey,” she told the panel. “A few years ago, probably three years ago, I made the decision that the right path for me and our little family was to go through IVF with the help a donor.
“I think most women in their late 30s would know that when you walk in to see an IVF specialist and you’re shown the graph that gives you a very rude shock about your chances. From then on it was a case of fingers crossed. I had my eggs retrieved, and all of this is happening. You don’t share it necessarily because you don’t know if you’re going to have any success.
“I was given a seven per cent chance of having a baby. It’s still a bit of a shock to me, it’s still sinking in.”
According to a report released in 2018 by the National Perinatal Epidemiology and Statistics Unit, success rates for IVF are climbing. In 2016-17, there were 13,500 IVF births in Australia, with the method now responsible for one in every 25 babies. Still, the report also found that just under 18 per cent of all initiated IVF cycles resulted in a live birth.
In announcing the pregnancy via Instagram, the Fox FM broadcaster acknowledged that not all women who undergo IVF are as fortunate as her.
“I know the value of this miracle because I have seen first hand the heartbreak, tears and sacrifices so many women and couples suffer on their IVF journeys and my heart goes out to those who are facing that pain and struggle. It is not lost on me that I am one of the lucky ones,” she wrote.
“I will cherish Trixie and this little angel forever, and hold them so close for the rest of our lives.”
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Top Comments
I honestly believe it's the scare-mongering from doctors and media that stresses women to the point they have trouble conceiving. You never see anything mentioned about men's fertility.
Both my grandmothers and great-grandmother had children in their mid to late forties... and it wasn't considered a "miracle" back then.
Mens' fertility rates worldwide are also dropping, but it is scientific fact that a woman's fertility decreases as she ages - and IVF clinics full of older women are a testament to this. Every time there is a story advising women about fertility rates, there will be a raft of anecdotal stories of someone's mother or grandmother achieving a successful pregnancy in their late 40s, early 50s. It is not for me to say they are not true stories, but any gynae will tell you that those cases are more the exception than the rule.
Oh, for heaven's sake. Doctors aren't out "scaremongering" - it's SCIENTIFIC FACT that conceiving children after a certain age becomes more difficult than it is in your late teens and twenties. There is no grand conspiracy amongst doctors to scare and lie to people for sh*ts and giggles. The extraordinary fecundity of your grandmothers and great-grandmother doesn't invalidate simple biology, and anecdotal evidence means jack in this context. All you're doing is quoting statistical outliers.