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Megan and Audrey
Photo credit: Stewart Tyrrell
Australian couples undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) may now benefit from an innovative and freely-available app which provides a comprehensive calendar tool that spans their entire IVF journey.
MiFertility Plan App – an Australian-designed calendar tool – features crucial alerts and reminders for the stream of appointments, tests and medicines that the 30,000 Australian women¹ undergoing IVF treatment each year, need to manage.
The free MiFertility Plan App is now available for download from the App Store for Apple devices and Google Play for Android.
According to gynaecologist, Dr Julie Lindstrom, City Fertility Centre, Brisbane, up to one in three couples encounter difficulties conceiving.2 Apart from the complex nature of the process, the IVF experience can cause incredibly high levels of stress and anxiety for those undergoing the IVF cycle².
“Couples starting IVF have often been trying to conceive naturally for some time and may be experiencing emotional distress. They are then faced with a barrage of medical information and are being told how timing is pivotal to their chance of success.”
“MiFertility Plan App has been designed to support couples step-by-step through their IVF treatment journey,” said Dr Lindstrom.
“There is so much to be aware of during IVF treatment, and research has shown stress can actually compromise IVF treatment success.”
“MiFertility Plan is the first freely-available app in Australia to offer daily support and tracking of treatment, dosages, blood tests, and egg and sperm collection appointments. The app also offers personalised alerts for embryo transfer, pregnancy tests, and early pregnancy scans,” Dr Lindstrom said.
As a fertility specialist, Dr Lindstrom knows first hand the many elements involved in the process and recognises the support couples need during IVF treatment.
“IVF is the process of fertilisation whereby an egg is combined with sperm outside the body, before being carefully transferred into the woman’s uterus.”
“This complicated process relies on many different elements coming together at just the right time to heighten the chance of conception³,” said Dr Lindstrom.
“Couples require support to simplify the whole IVF treatment process. MiFertility Plan App puts the user back in control, by storing all of this critical information in the one, easy-to-access place.”
Megan, Andy and Audrey. Photo credit: Stewart Tyrrell.
MiFertility Plan App is available to all couples undergoing IVF nationwide, irrespective of the clinic they are attending, or their course of IVF treatment.
At what can be a difficult time in any relationship, MiFertility Plan App enables women to bring their partner on the IVF journey, by sharing records and calendar items at the press of a button.
After completing a successful IVF cycle with her eighth embryo, and giving birth in May 2017 to baby girl Audrey, Megan Johnson, 38, Brisbane, explains how important it was to have her partner, Andy, supporting her every step of the way.
“We had been trying to fall pregnant for more than a year before choosing to seek additional help and embark on our IVF journey.”
“It was very daunting at first and was a lot to take in. We would be confused about what all the medication and injections were and when I was supposed to take them. But Andy was just the best and helped me remember everything,” said Megan.
“It would have been fantastic to have been armed with a calendar app during this process, as we had bits of paper all over the house and I was forever trying to find the right document to check things.”
“MiFertility Plan App seems fantastic and really easy to use. It means there is one less thing to worry about at a very stressful and emotional time,” Megan said.
The app allows women to instantly contact their clinic via phone or email, providing the user with peace of mind at all times. Greater privacy of personal information is also ensured, given the app is not cloud based.
While MiFertility Plan App is accessible to anyone undergoing IVF treatment, if Ferring Pharmaceuticals products have been prescribed, the app provides access to information resources that can assist in their use.
To download the app or learn more, head to: www.ferring.com.au/MiFertilityPlanApp
References
1. Your Fertility. Available at: http://yourfertility.org.au/fertility-coalition/ [last accessed October, 2017].
2. Cesta C. Stress, depression, and other psychiatric disorders: an epidemiological approach to studying the causes and consequences for in vitro fertilization outcome and polycystic ovary syndrome. The Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatics. Karolinska Institutet. Available at: https://openarchive.ki.se/xmlui/handle/10616/45608 [last accessed October, 2017].
3. Access Australia. IVF and ICSI. Available at: http://www.access.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/17-ivf-andicsi.pdf [last accessed October 2017].