Yana and James Williams share their story with IVF

For Griffith residents James and Yana Williams, the journey to having a family was a hard fought one – however with the help of a fertility specialist team now coming to Griffith, they are now proud parents of four beautiful boys.

Yana was diagnosed with Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) at the young age of 16, and always knew she would have to fight an up hill battle.

“I always had that in the back of my mind,” Yana said.

After meeting James at 19, the couple spent a few years trying naturally with no results.

Enter fertility and infertility specialist Dr Scott Gilltrap. 

“I went to the doctors and they referred me to Albury, and I got really lucky with Dr Giltrap - he was really good throughout the whole process.”

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After ovulation-induced medication, artificial insemination and 14 rounds of expensive IVF treatment, three ectopic pregnancies and two miscarriages, travelling from Griffith was another added stresser to the “emotional roller-coaster.”

“The travelling was hard. The IVF journey is quite stressful, and the travelling is even worse,” Yana said.

“In a month we would go over there for scans maybe two-three times in that month cycle, and then again for the egg transfer.”

“We knew the road with our eyes closed!”

While Yana and James have finished treatments now, Yana says having the service here in Griffith will be hugely helpful to other parents going through the same thing.

Residents in Griffith now struggling with fertility and infertility issues now have the convenience of coming to see Dr Giltrap at the Griffith Specialist Centre, with visits once a month.

Dr Giltrap’s areas of expertise include infertility and IVF, endometriosis and advanced laparoscopic surgery, with services in Albury-Wodonga and Wagga, and now Griffith.

“Griffith patients often have to travel very long distances to access consultations and treatments that are routine in major cities,” Dr Giltrap said.

“We agreed to come up and start providing services up here, and at the moment we are consulting and managing treatment with local radiology and pathology services, so once we’ve seen the patients we can manage most of the treatments at a distance.”

Yana was extremely thankful of Dr Giltrap and his team throughout her ten-year journey.

“Scott is just so lovely - he is a down to earth guy and very easy to talk to. We have been really lucky to have him for the ten years we were getting treatments.”

Dr Giltrap said one of the best parts of his job is being a part of a team that provides an excellent service.

“Our patients who get pregnant are very appreciative, and lots of patients who don’t get pregnant are very appreciative because of the standard of care they have had from our team, and that is really rewarding – even those we cannot help at least appreciate that we’ve tried.”

See your doctor for a referral to come down.

“Griffith’s gynecologist Dr Nava provides lots of good services, but when it comes down to high end fertility services he and other GPs often refer them to us,” Dr Giltrap said.

“It’s always worth seeing local doctors first because often it can be sorted out then.”

Handling the stigma of infertility was never a problem for Yana, however she says she knows a lot of other families in the Griffith area that shy away from the process.

“I think IVF these days is not really talked about, people don’t want to talk about it, but it’s good to be open with your family and friends for that support when you do go through it,” Yana said.

“I know with a lot of my failed cycles I was glad my family was there and knew what we were going through to pick you up when things fell apart.”

Her advice: “Push through, be positive, and tackle your fears.”