Connacht Tribune
Galway Fertility Clinic sees 20% increase in pregnancy rates
Galway Fertility Clinic has one of the highest success rates in Ireland when it comes to helping people start or grow a family.
Over the past year or so it has seen a 20% increase in pregnancy rates for clients attending the clinic.
This is thanks to their 20 years’ plus experience in fertility treatment as well as having two of Ireland’s three fertility experts in attendance and the clinic’s high-tech laboratory services.
Galway Fertility Clinic’s laboratory is the only one in Ireland to have two embryoscopes in constant use.
These are special incubators for the storage and development of living embryos. They include time-lapse cameras which allow clinic staff to monitor the development of embryos continuously and identify those which are most suitable for IVF.
‘The embryoscopes have advanced the success rates of IVF hugely here in Galway,’ says Dr Eithne Lowe, Consultant Gynaecologist, who has been with Galway Fertility Clinic since 2001.
‘This is great news for people who are having difficulty starting or growing a family, as we have this word-class technology available right here in our lab in Galway.
However, Dr Lowe points out that IVF is only one of a range of potential treatments for infertility available here.
‘There are many treatment options, ranging from simple lifestyle changes to detailed examinations including ultrasound scans as well as assessments of fertility in both partners before we would consider IVF.
One of the big changes Dr Lowe has seen in her 16 years at the clinic is the increase in age of women presenting for treatment and their lack of understanding of age-related decline in fertility.
There are many misconceptions about fertility in women and aging. Chief amongst them are:
‘I got pregnant easily the first time’.
‘My mother/sister got pregnant in her 40’s so I’ll be able to’.
Often women don’t realise that although they will continue to ovulate until their late 40’s that the older egg cannot produce a pregnancy at all.
Celebrities having babies in their forties – often thanks to egg donation.
Fertility is felt to decline from 38 years on average and 50% of women over 40 will not be able to conceive unaided.
However, these are averages and every woman’s fertility will be different. Some women may go through the menopause (when all eggs are gone) younger than 40 while some will be older than the average age of 52.
‘For social or economic reasons women are deferring starting a family until later in life and this can significantly reduce their chances of conceiving unaided,’ says Dr Lowe.
‘Trying to start a family in your twenties has a much higher chance of success than it does in you-mid thirties.
Galway Fertility Clinic offers a simple blood test as part of its first assessment which measures a woman’s egg reserve.
Even if a woman is not planning to start a family in the short term the AMH test will help her identify how many years of egg reserve she has and thus improve her ability to plan a family.
Dr Lowe cites the example of a couple who were planning to buy a house and start a family in three to four years and who decided to have the AMH test to give them some assurance that this was the right decision for them.
The woman, who was in her late twenties, had lower egg reserves than average for her age and so they decided to start a family first (successfully) and defer the property purchase.
This test costs €50 plus a consultation fee at Galway Fertility Clinic and can prevent a lot of unnecessary anxiety later in life.
It can also allow a woman consider other options such as egg vitrification If she is not ready to start a family right now.
‘Men have it easier’, says Dr Lowe.
‘Women have a finite number of eggs and when they’re gone, they’re gone.
‘However, sperm can regenerate, so while a man may have poor sperm quality a change in lifestyle can mean that this is rectified after three months or so.
Nevertheless, about 30% of fertility issues in couples relate to the male and a simple sperm assessment before the initial consultation can help identify these.
Galway Fertility Clinic was started by Dr Declan Egan in a corridor of the maternity department at the then Regional Hospital, Galway in 1994.
Dr Egan is one of three sub-specialists in Reproductive Medicine in Ireland as is Dr Nikhil Purandare who also took up a position as Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist in Galway earlier this year.
The medical team is completed by Dr Lowe and Dr Una Conway who is also a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist attached to UHG.
The clinic also employs a medical registrar, seven specialist nurses, four embryologists and four or five administration staff.
It is now housed in modern premises in Knocknacarra in Galway city where they have consulting rooms and state-of-the-art laboratory facilities.
The environment is friendly and welcoming with a professional air. All of the nursing staff have been trained in how to support people who may have fertility issues and counselling services are available.
The clinic operates seven days a week so that procedures can be carried out on the right day for the patient.
‘Ovulation cycles don’t recognise weekends’, says Dr Lowe.
What advice would she give to anyone who is thinking of starting a family, even in the medium to long term?
‘If you’re a woman over 30, take the AMH test to see where you are in terms of egg reserves. This will help you decide, in consultation with an expert, if you need to take more immediate action than you might have planned.
‘Don’t smoke. If you do, stop. Smoking damages the reproductive capacity of men and women’, she adds.
Good health and fitness is also a benefit but Dr Lowe warns that over-exercise and endurance sports can have an adverse effect on ovulation.
It can take two to three years for the male reproductive system to recover from over-use of steroids or sports supplements.
‘If you are having trouble conceiving then consult your GP who may decide to refer you to a specialist for immediate treatment, especially if you are a woman over 30,’ says Dr Lowe.
‘With increased knowledge and a wider range of treatments available, up to and including IVF, the Galway Fertility Clinic is well placed to help couples and single women address fertility issues in a professional manner with a higher proportion of successful outcomes.
For more information contact Galway Fertility Clinic here
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Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
