AUSTRIA
Working as an IVF nurse and artist makes one more empathetic Text & images by Lisa Ante Pangan
I
nfertility has become less and less of a taboo in recent years. Nevertheless, for the affected couples, talking about the situation can be very difficult as it is a very intimate topic no one wants to discuss openly about. Although sexual education is part of the curriculum in schools, in practice there is hardly any "fertility awareness" among many young people. Knowledge about women's menstrual cycle and the daily hormone cycle of men is little. Fertility disorders are very common as infertility affects about one of six couples. Affected women suffer from diseases like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, tubal disorders, or other medical problems. In recent years, a decrease in sperm quality has also been observed, which is often attributed to the unhealthy lifestyle of men. According to the definition of the World Health Organization, after twelve months of regular unprotected sexual intercourse without the occurrence of a pregnancy, there is an involuntary childlessness. At this stage it is already recommended to look for medical support. The peak of the reproductive years of a woman is between her late teens and late 20s. By the age of 30, the ability to get pregnant starts to decline and by the age of 35, the chances of achiev34
Jobs
ing a pregnancy become much lower. Many couples frequently underestimate this in their family planning and overestimate the success rate in fertility treatment like in in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Sometimes they have to go through many attempts to conceive, eventually resulting in a live birth because the pregnancy rate is 2025% per attempt and is closely age related. Undergoing fertility treatment is time-consuming, emotional and financially costly for the affected couples. Despite the various offered options, in-vitro fertilization (IVF) is the most complex treatment in reproductive medicine. Working as a Filipino IVF nurse and being an artist at the same time My career started in nursing in one of the leading IVF centers in Austria. In some countries, in addition to the qualification as a nurse, an IVF-nurse is expected to have in-depth training. In Austria, this is not yet necessary. Nevertheless, I received an international certification from The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology [1], became an academically certified nursing counselor after I studied a special program at the University for Continuing Education in Krems. After a few years, I got certified as a Medically Assisted Reproduction nurse, having worked as a lead nurse in the field for almost Roots&Wings
