Sudbury woman shares difficulties accessing IVF treatments in the north

A Sudbury woman is sharing her difficulties accessing in-vitro fertilization (IVF) in northern Ontario.

Renee Higgins and her husband were trying to have a baby for four and a half years.

"No one in our family has ever struggled," Higgins said.

"We really were caught off guard that we were struggling."

After six IVF treatments and two miscarriages, she became pregnant on her seventh try.

"I'm now 26 weeks and every day is surreal," Higgins said.

"We spent over $100,000 out of pocket on treatment and medications."

Experiencing limited access to IVF services in northern Ontario, Higgins and her husband travelled to southern Ontario, receiving treatment at the Markham Fertility Centre.

"It's been a challenge being a resident of northern Ontario in particular," she said.

"So all of the IVF clinics in Ontario are centralized in the Toronto area. So unfortunately, what that means for those of us who live in northern Ontario is we have to travel there for all of the appointments."

Renee Higgins and her husband turned to IVF after trying to have a baby for four and a half years. (Amanda Hicks/CTV News)

She would often wake up at 3 a.m. to drive from Sudbury to the Greater Toronto Area.

"I'd have to take that day off work. It was last-minute spend all the money on gas and eventually, you know, you're doing this every two days," Higgins said.

"I'd work a day and then off a day to do the drive. We did 50 of these days. Eventually I would just mentally get burnt out and say, I can't do it anymore."

Dr. Marta Wais, reproductive endocrinology and fertility specialist at the Markham Fertility Centre, said clinics have two streams of IVF cycles.

Not always funded

"There are the funded IVF cycle and there are also private pay cycles," Wais said.

"It's important to point out that not all fertility clinics have access to OHIP-funded IVF cycles, so that will vary to clinic to clinic."

She there are waitlists for the government-funded clinics, as long as a year to two years in some cases.

"When we're thinking about fertility, time truly is of the essence," Wais said.

"Especially for people with ovaries as they're getting into their mid-to-late 30s, where two years can sometimes be, you know, a 20-, 30-per-cent difference in pregnancy."

Higgins has become an advocate for individuals struggling with infertility by sharing her story on social media and connecting with others.

Additionally, she is also on the board of directors for Conceivable Dreams as the northern Ontario representative, a non-profit organization supporting individuals struggling with infertility. The organization seeks to meet up with decision-makers on a provincial level.

Higgins said a dream of hers is to increase financial access to IVF.

"It shouldn't be something that only those who have huge savings can access," she said.

"In our case, we remortgaged our home to pay for treatments. (It) shouldn't be something that people are taking out loans for."

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She said she would also love to open an open monitoring clinic in Sudbury.

"Making it open means that people can go to any IVF clinic in southern Ontario for the retrievals," she said.

"So, they'll be able to do their ultrasound and blood work those every two or three day appointments closer to home."

Higgins son, meanwhile, is due at the end of October.