The decision to undergo IVF treatments, whether with a partner or as a solo parent, is the beginning of an exciting and empowering journey. While most of your friends and family will be vaguely familiar with IVF these days, there is still some confusion around the actual ins and outs of the process – especially for advanced IVF in Australia services like gender selection!
For example, many people don’t know that your IVF cycle has to be meticulously aligned with your natural cycle for your precious embryo to implant in the uterine lining and result in a pregnancy. That’s why we’ve created our new informational video to help parents to be and their families understand more about the gender selection IVF process. Our goal is to ensure you’re kept informed every step of your IVF journey and to demystify the process.
Our friendly team at GSA understands what a personal decision it is to pursue reproductive assistance, especially in the case of single parent IVF, to create the family you’ve been hoping for. Our patients come to us for a wide range of reasons for wanting the chance to parent a child of a specific gender, whether that be a sweet baby girl or a bouncing baby boy. This drive is completely normal – and we are here to help.
Step 1: Initial Consultation with GSA
Your initial consultation is the perfect opportunity to ask all of those initial burning questions. Our warm and understanding team will take the time to speak with you and your partner (if applicable), explaining what to expect in the process and learning about your unique family situation. We pride ourselves on a personalised approach, where your care is handled professionally and thoroughly from your first experience with your team.
There are no silly questions, so take this time to learn about how the gender selection IVF process can fit in with your life and schedule.
Step 2: Pre-Treatment Assessments
Following your initial consultation, you’ll be set up as a patient of Dr. Daniel Potter. It’s important to our team that your IVF journey is in the hands of a world-class specialist team – that’s why we’ve specifically chosen to partner with Dr. Potter, a Los-Angeles-based reproductive endocrinologist, renowned for his success rates and high standards of patient care.
Dr. Potter and his team will order the required testing to get a clear view of your overall medical situation, reproductive health, and IVF requirements. AMH, a hormone test, helps assess ovarian reserve (the number of eggs in your ovaries), informing your medication levels. “Antral Follicular Count” is an ultrasound scan of your ovaries to count the resting follicles that contain the eggs we would be looking to harvest at egg collection. A semen analysis evaluates sperm count, motility (how well sperm is moving), concentration, vitality (number of alive sperm) and morphology (number of normal sperm to abnormal sperm), and will indicate what is needed for ICSI, where sperm is directly injected into the egg to maximise fertilisation rates from healthy sperm.
These orders from Dr. Potter will be rewritten by a doctor here in Australia. Our team will follow up with you during the testing phase to ensure all necessary testing is completed and the results have been forwarded to Dr Potter’s team. These thorough assessments allow us to provide a completely tailored approach to each case, setting our patients up for their best chance of success.
Step 3: IVF Procedure with Genetic Testing
Now for the exciting part—ovarian stimulation begins! This involves medications to encourage the ovaries to produce more eggs than usual, giving the best yield for embryo creation.
You’ll travel to Los Angeles for the collection of your eggs. This occurs under twilight sedation. The eggs are then fertilised with sperm in the laboratory.
Your embryos will be carefully nurtured and monitored until they reach the blastocyst stage. For healthy, viable embryos, this process will take five to six days.
Dr Potter’s team will take a cell from each embryo for Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT), which screens for chromosomal abnormalities. We will check every chromosome and screen each embryo for over 200 known genetic diseases. This is also when we will learn the gender of each embryo. Our goal is to transfer a healthy, viable embryo of your chosen gender. At each step, stringent safety and ethical protocols are followed by our team to ensure you are getting the best care available.
Step 4: Embryo Selection and Transfer
You’ll now be informed of the number of baby boy and girl embryos. Based on the PGT results, the desired embryo will be selected by Dr. Potter’s team for transfer. This is a straightforward and quick procedure with minimal recovery time. For many of our patients, transfer day is the most exciting step in the IVF process!
Your embryo transfer will be conducted on a separate trip to Los Angeles. The timing of this procedure will be coordinated by our team at GSA and Dr Potter’s team. This will take place approximately eight weeks after your initial egg retrieval. Many patients find that this time is invaluable to help their bodies return to an equilibrium following the ovarian stimulation process.
Step 5: Post-Procedure Support and Follow-Up
Following the transfer, you’ll receive in-depth care and support from our team at GSA. Your hormones will be carefully monitored via blood tests and ultrasounds to confirm and assess the pregnancy. Although exciting, the two-week wait between transfer and pregnancy testing is often filled with anticipation. We understand that the emotions of hopeful parents can fluctuate during this time. That’s why our team is on hand to provide information and support when it’s most required. You will graduate from Dr Potter’s and GSA’s care at 10 weeks into your pregnancy, when you are ready to be a typical patient in the Australian healthcare system.
At GSA, we’re honoured to support families in creating the balance they’ve been dreaming of. Our approach centres on safety, precision, and personalised guidance, making sure you’re comfortable and informed every step of the way. If you’re considering gender selection or simply want to learn more, feel free to reach out! Our team is ready for a friendly chat to answer your questions and guide you through your options, helping you feel confident throughout the journey.
Find our informational video here!