

Millions of couples around the world experience fertility struggles and need IVF to conceive a longed-for baby. Family, friends and the wider community often have no idea just how complex and challenging their baby-making journey can be.
According to world leading fertility experts Genea, 40 IVF babies are born in Australia each day, proving there is definitely more than one way to make a baby.
Watch Where Babies Come From below. Post continues after video.
To mark the release of Genea’s taboo-breaking Where Do Babies Come From book and short film, Mamamia spoke to 11 women about the most surprising things they found about IVF. From the emotional to the physical effects, the joyful to the devastated feelings; these 11 women detail their rollercoaster journey of trying for a baby.
1. Tracey – Connections, hormones and the joy of ‘the phone call’
“Firstly, I was surprised by the connections I made with the other women in the clinic. It’s a strange environment and you see many other couples on quite a regular basis. You have early morning blood tests and screenings and if you are on the same cycle as someone, you may see those same people on the day of egg pick up and transfer. It’s a weird feeling, a silent sort of knowing. I met one of my nearest and dearest friends (who also has a seven-year-old) in an IVF acupuncture clinic.
“Secondly, the hormones. I was caught very off guard by how emotional I was and how completely irrational I became over little things. I remember my very first cycle; I was on a really high dosage of the hormone injections and one day I was waiting in line at a café to buy my lunch. There was a man beside me reading the paper and the noise of him turning the pages of the paper was really irritating me – so much so that I asked if he could read the paper ‘more quietly’. I look back on that and I’m so ashamed.
“Finally, I was surprised by the complete and utter joy of taking the phone call (cycle number 10) and being told I was pregnant. To this day, I can think of where I was standing, what I was wearing and the absolute terror, joy and relief I experienced!”
2. Nicola*- Insensitive comments
“We went through eight years of IVF and there were so many surprising things along the way. For me it was all-encompassing. We planned EVERYTHING around cycles, wouldn’t book holidays to exotic destinations ‘in case’ we got pregnant.