This week marks 40 years since the first IVF baby was born in New Zealand.
The procedure was considered quite controversial at the time, but over the last four decades, it's transformed the lives of thousands of New Zealanders who couldn’t have had children otherwise.
Chelsea Renshaw is one of those mothers – her children, 7-year-old Bodie and 4-year-old Fleur, wouldn’t be here without IVF.
"It’s opened up new doors and new windows for us to be able to have a family. That wasn't possible without IVF," she said.
"So, for us, I guess, IVF means the world."
Renshaw said she's grateful for those who have made it all possible.
"If all that before me hadn't happened then I wouldn't have these two beautiful children, so I am very thankful that they went through their journey," she said.
The first ever so-called "test-tube baby" was born in the UK in 1978, and five years later, fertility pioneers in New Zealand followed suit.
"We were fortunate in that when we tried in New Zealand, about the fourth attempt we had worked at a time when the chance of success was about 5%," fertility pioneer Dr Richard Fisher told 1News.
While the medical breakthrough proved to be controversial when it first arrived on our shores, Fisher said the country's first patients were committed to the cause.
"Even though the chances of success weren’t high, it was a better chance than they had without it."
Since then, the procedure has been simplified, and success rates have improved – but its origins haven't been forgotten.
"I would just give thanks to some of those pioneers of fertility medicine in New Zealand," Fertility Society of Australia and New Zealand’s Dr Simon McDowell said.
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