Create Fertility

Ever heard of egg denuding? It’s a step our embryologists use to clearly see an egg and check if it’s mature and suitable for fertilisation.

Denuding is essential for ICSI, used in make factor infertility, or when genetic embryo testing is planned and sometimes done as part of egg freezing.

💫 What actually happens in the lab 💫

→ Eggs arrive from collection: After retrieval, eggs come to the lab surrounded by a soft layer of support cells (called cumulus cells).
→ Cells are gently loosened: The eggs are briefly exposed to an enzyme that helps release these surrounding cells.
→ Careful removal: Using very fine pipettes, the embryologist gently removes the cumulus cells so the egg becomes clearly visible.
→ Rinsed and cleaned: Each egg is washed to remove any remaining cells or enzyme.
→ Maturity is assessed: With a clear view, the embryologist checks if the egg is ready for fertilisation.

This process is very precise and handled by our embryologists every step of the way.

If adenomyosis has become part of your story, you probably have questions.

Can you still conceive naturally? Could adenomyosis affect implantation or miscarriage? Does it change your options if you’re considering or already undergoing IVF?

Join fertility specialist Dr Haider Najjar and Create Health gynaecologist Dr Lily Liew for a free live webinar exploring what adenomyosis could mean for your fertility and the options available to you.

When? Tuesday August 25 at 7pm
Where? Online via Teams

Bring your questions for the live Q&A. We hope to see you there 😊

Save your spot at the link in bio.

What does Dr Mei Cheah get up to in a day?

8am: Egg collection for IVF
10am: Gowning up for her morning laparoscopy list
2pm: Time to deliver a baby via caesarean!
11pm: Leaving the hospital after delivering another baby, then finally home to sleep.

As a fertility specialist, gynaecologist and obstetrician, Dr Mei loves being there for so many parts of her patients’ reproductive lives.

This was a busy one. Tomorrow will look a little different, with a full day of consulting.

It’s World Embryology Day and we wanted to take a moment to celebrate!

July 25 marks the birthday of Louise Brown, the world’s first baby born through IVF in 1978. It was a moment that changed fertility treatment forever and paved the way for millions of babies to be born through IVF since.

Right at the heart of it are embryologists. Every day, they work with eggs, s***m and embryos that are quite literally microscopic. (But their impact is far from micro!!)
Their work requires extraordinary precision, patience and some very, very strict protocols. They’re watching, checking and making decisions, knowing just how much those tiny cells can mean.

With all the responsibility, our embryologists still manage to emerge from the lab smiling. They genuinely love what they do, and it shows.

So today, here’s to our embryology team, and embryologists everywhere. You do incredible work ❤️

💫 One less lonely s***m 💫

ICSI stands for Intracytoplasmic S***m Injection, a specialised IVF technique where a single s***m is carefully injected directly into an egg by an embryologist 🔬

For some people, this can help when fertilisation has been difficult in the past. ICSI is commonly used in cases of male factor infertility, low s***m count or motility, previous low fertilisation with IVF, or when using frozen s***m or genetically tested embryos.

Before we talk about outcomes, it helps to understand what ICSI is designed to do. This technique supports one of the earliest steps in embryo development by helping the s***m and egg come together in a controlled lab environment.

Fertilisation still isn’t guaranteed, and whether ICSI is recommended depends on your individual situation and what we find during testing.

Behind the scenes, every egg and s***m is handled with extraordinary precision and care by our embryology team throughout the process 💕

‘How many eggs did we get?’ is one of the first questions most patients have after waking up from an egg collection.

Because you’ll likely be feeling a little groggy, we write the number on a card for you.

While it’s a number many people are eager to know, it’s also one that’s easy to compare. The truth is, egg numbers are incredibly personal. A result that is exactly what one patient was hoping for could be very different from what’s expected for someone else.

Your age, ovarian reserve, how your body responded to stimulation and your treatment goals all play a part. That’s why one number never tells the whole story.

We know this moment can come with a lot of emotion. That’s why we share your results with care, taking the time to explain what they mean for you, not anyone else 💕

Ever wondered what happens after your eggs are collected during an egg freezing cycle? 🥚❄️

During your egg collection procedure, your eggs are passed to our embryology lab, where each mature one is carefully prepared for freezing.

🔬 The first step is called denuding. This is where the cells surrounding each egg are gently removed so our embryologists can assess whether the egg is mature and ready for freezing.

💧 The eggs are then placed into a series of specialised solutions over around 12.5 minutes. This process helps prepare them for freezing by:

• Gradually removing water from the egg, which helps reduce the risk of cellular damage.
• Replacing some of that water with cryoprotectants, which help prevent ice crystals from forming.

❄️ The final step is vitrification. Each egg is placed onto a specialised cryogenic device and rapidly cooled in liquid nitrogen. This ultra-rapid freezing process turns the egg into a glass-like state, helping preserve its structure until you’re ready to use it in the future.

Every step is carried out with precision and care by our experienced embryology team. It’s a process designed to give each mature egg the best possible chance of being preserved.

If you’re curious about egg freezing or want to understand more about what happens in the lab, leave us a question below. We’re here to help you get a clearer picture 💙

A smooth recovery starts well before you wake up ✨

There are a few things Dr Scott Pearce focuses on in every procedure to help support recovery afterwards. In this video, he shares three things he never skips and the thinking behind them.

If you have a procedure coming up, we hope it can be reassuring to know that recovery is something we’re already considering long before you leave the operating theatre.

You’ve probably heard that fertility changes with age, especially after 35.

For some women, this can make it harder to fall pregnant naturally. For others, conception happens without difficulty. Both are part of the picture.

If you’re thinking about having children in the future, understanding where your fertility sits can be a helpful place to start. This usually involves a simple review of your hormone levels, cycle and overall reproductive health.

It’s not about rushing into decisions. It’s about having clearer information so you can plan timing and family size in a way that feels right for you.