A new free and confidential website aimed at prospective Irish parents aims to be the first port of call for unbiased information on fertility and pregnancy
Couples wanting to have children are set to benefit from the launch of a new advisory and support service.
FertilityIreland.ie will give prospective parents information and advice about how to get pregnant and what help is available for those having problems conceiving.
The service is free and confidential and is open to anyone.
Dr Declan Keane, senior embryologist at the Merrion Clinic at the National Maternity Hospital and one of the experts behind the website, said "There are many websites that offer help to couples who're having trouble trying for a baby.
"However, few really give the sort of information, advice and help that is particularly relevant to people in Ireland.
"This is the first Irish site providing information that's specific to Ireland and Irish people."
The new service will enable prospective parents to research all the facts behind every aspect of fertility.
For example, what are the best preparations to get pregnant? How conception actually happens. And what kinds of fertility treatment are available and how do they work.
"It's all about choice. More and more people are refusing to accept they can't have children and are taking the opportunity that ART [Assisted Reproductive Technology\] offers to make a family," Dr Keane said.
"Fertility Ireland.ie is not intended to be a self-diagnosing or self- treatment guide, but a place where people can get clear, unbiased information that they can then use when making decisions with a medical expert about what course is best for them," he added.
The site will also have links to other reputable websites dealing with adoption, donor insemination, other IVF treatments, and even complementary medicine.
It will also provide people with a list of clinics in Ireland that specialise in fertility.
The site will also provide the latest medical information to family doctors and other clinicians who occasionally need to access fertility advice and services for their patients.
And the site will also be translated into Irish.
Tá sé i gceist an suíomh seo a chur ar fáil as Gaeilge. Le cur i gcríchan Acht na dTeangacha Oifigiúla agus Gaeilgeoirí ag éileamh stádas oifigiúil don Ghaeilge san Eoraip, braithimid gur anois an t-am seirbhísí a chur arfáil do muintir na hÉireann uilig. Tá súil againn go leanann eagraíochtaíÉireannacha eile in Éirinn an treocht seo.
Dr Keane added: "The whole area of fertility in Ireland is very topical at the moment.
"The Government's Commission on Assisted Reproductive Technology \ is about to publish its initial recommendations and these will revolutionise fertility services in Ireland."