By Dr Emma Wood

In the last month, Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) released a research report, titled: “A Life Course Approach to Determining the Prevalence and Impact of Sexual Violence in Australia.” The report summarised findings from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health.

News that IVF doctors have enabled a seventy year old woman in India to give birth to a baby will undoubtedly provide countless women worldwide with false hope about their own chances of using reproductive technology to become pregnant and give birth. This comes amidst existing critique of the fertility industry regarding its lack of transparency about success rates of treatment.

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) has grown significantly since the birth of Louise Brown, the world’s first ‘test-tube baby’ in 1978, with more than 8 million babies estimated to have been born worldwide as a result of IVF and other advanced fertility treatments.

A young NSW mum made news recently after disclosing that she almost bled to death following the birth of her baby as part of an altruistic surrogacy arrangement.

New research has found that most women undergoing IVF treatment in Australia are paying for costly add-on treatments despite “rather weak” evidence of their effectiveness and safety.