High cost of IVF pushes Canberrans interstate | The Canberra Times
30th Apr 2025
Bungendore resident Cassandra van der Sanden, 36, always knew she wanted to be a mother. It was the logical step after marrying husband Joshua at age 28. "I was really healthy, really fit, really strong. I just assumed, OK, I'm going to get pregnant," she said. After 10 months of carefully tracking ovulation and trying to conceive, the couple realised something was wrong.
Ms van der Sanden was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and was told her eggs did not mature enough to conceive. The next step for the van der Sandens to create their dream family was through in vitro fertilisation (IVF), which took them out of the ACT to be able to afford treatment.