About Monash Health Fertility

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• Overview
• Our sites
• The Fertility Team

Overview

Established in late 2022, Monash Health Fertility provides a full range of fertility care services to people in metropolitan and regional eastern and south-eastern Victoria.

Monash Health Fertility is committed to the provision of safe, evidence-based, high-value management and treatment options for those who would like to grow their family but have been unable to become pregnant, or, who have medical conditions that reduce their fertility.

In particular, the service is able to cater for people who need:

• Access to donor or surrogacy services
• Fertility preservation due to medical treatment
• Testing for monogenic conditions

Through its representation on the Department of Health Clinical Advisory Committee, Monash Health Fertility plays a key consultation and advisory role in state-wide fertility service policy and procedure development, access and waitlist management, and evidence-based care practices.

Public fertility care

Being a new public health initiative, fertility service provision will be progressively rolled out in accordance with the necessary infrastructure and resource development.

While construction of its own laboratory is underway, Monash Health will now partner with the Royal Women’s Hospital (the Women’s). Patients will continue to have appointments with Monash Health fertility specialists, however when it comes to procedures (egg retrieval, embryo transfers), it will be provided at the Women’s. All eggs, sperm and embryos will be stored at the Women’s until they are able to be transferred to the new laboratory facilities at Monash Health.

Monash Health Fertility Service Roll Out

Monash Health Fertility is committed to bringing publicly funded fertility services to regional Victorians as well as those in metropolitan Melbourne.

Initially, services will be delivered from Monash Medical Centre Clayton, Moorabbin Hospital, and from our partner laboratory at the Royal Women’s Hospital.

For patients from regional and rural areas, services such as pathology and radiology services will be facilitated through local service providers wherever possible.

Unless undergoing an essential onsite consultation or procedure, telehealth will be provided as an option to all patients.

Services will expand in early 2025 with a new purpose-built fertility centre at Monash Medical Centre, Clayton, comprising consulting, imaging, pathology, laboratory and day theatre space. This significant infrastructure development will precede the introduction of satellite clinics to other metropolitan and regional areas.

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Monash Health Fertility and service partner sites

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The Fertility Team

Fertility Specialist

A fertility specialist is an Obstetrician Gynaecologist who has subspecialised in reproductive endocrinology and infertility. Fertility specialists diagnose and treat fertility problems in both males and females, in order to help those who have been unsuccessfully trying to have a baby.

Fertility Nurse

Fertility Nurses, also known as Reproductive Nurses or IVF Nurses, care for those who seek counselling or treatment options related to reproductive health. They walk with patients through each step of the fertility treatment journey, working closely with fertility specialists, counsellors and other healthcare professionals. Fertility nurses are involved in patient education and counselling, perform follicle scans and blood tests, and assist in delivering fertility treatment.

Fertility Counsellor

Fertility counsellors are tertiary trained with a primary qualification in social work, psychology, or psychiatry. They have specific knowledge of the emotional /psychological experiences and needs of infertility patients and are able to support and counsel patients in preparation for and during fertility treatment. Fertility counsellors can provide assistance with decision making, relationship counselling and grief counselling.

Dietitian

A fertility dietitian specialises in helping women and men optimise their diet for fertility. This may include ensuring nutritional intake supports regular menstrual cycles and egg health or assisting with weight management. Women with specific hormonal imbalances such as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) or with gastrointestinal diseases where nutrition might be impacted due to malabsorption can also benefit from working with a dietitian.

Sonologist

A sonologist is an obstetrician gynaecologist who has subspecialised in diagnostic medical ultrasound. They are particularly skilled at integrating ultrasound findings with medical diagnoses and clinical care. Sonologists also perform procedures to treat and/or diagnose obstetric and gynaecological abnormalities, such as assessing the patency of fallopian tubes (ie. “blocked tubes”).

Sonographer

Sonographers are “medical detectives”. They use their ultrasound training, technical skills, and understanding of the human body and its systems to decide if structures are normal or abnormal and adapt their investigation as they find clues throughout an examination. This information is then used by doctors to determine the necessary treatment or next steps for the patient.

Phlebotomist

Phlebotomy is when someone uses a needle to take blood from a vein, usually in your arm, for testing or donation. This is also called venepuncture, “drawing blood”, or a “blood test”. Phlebotomy can be performed by a dedicated technician or by medical or nursing staff.

Embryologist

An embryologist is a scientist who specialises in the development of embryos. They perform laboratory-based tasks such as:

• Egg identification and retrieval
• Sperm processing including washing and analysis
• Egg fertilisation through techniques such as IVF (in vitro fertilisation) and ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection)
• Incubating fertilised eggs and monitoring embryo development
• Embryo biopsy and cell processing procedures for preimplantation genetic testing (PGT)
• Preparing embryos for transfer
• Cryopreservation or “freezing” of eggs, sperm and embryos

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