I want to have a baby, but I cannot

There are only very rare instances when a couple is found not suitable to have children.

The first would be when the woman has a serious medical condition which in itself limits her life-span, such as cancer or end-stage kidney or liver disease, or which will worsen and threaten her life if she gets pregnant, such as with severe heart disease. In these cases, the woman is strongly recommended not to get pregnant.

The second instance would be when the woman has a strong history or likelihood of having babies with serious or lethal congenital abnormalities, which could be traced to causes either in the woman or her husband. However, here, the problem can be overcome with the use of donor eggs or donor sperm, respectively.

• When donor eggs are used, the couple enrolls into a “test-tube” baby treatment program, where the eggs obtained from another woman (called the “donor”) are fertilized in the laboratory with sperm obtained from the husband of the woman (his wife, called the “recipient”) who will be implanted with the resulting embryos. When donor sperm are used, the woman can be artificially impregnated using the Intra-Uterine Insemination (IUI) method. Here, the sperm is placed into the uterine cavity of the woman around the expected time of ovulation.

• Alternatively, the donor sperm can also be used to fertilize eggs obtained from the woman using the “test-tube” baby treatment method, and replacing the embryos that are generated back into the woman’s uterus.

In Singapore, the facilities that cater for the needs of the second group of woman are available in hospitals that offer counseling, investigation and treatment for couples who have difficulty in conceiving, including IUI procedures and “test-tube” baby programs. These hospitals include National University Hospital, KK Hospital for Women and Children, Singapore General Hospital, Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Thomson Medical Centre and Gleneagles Hospital.