Gold Coast news anchor Amanda Abate on IVY baby journey

Seven Gold Coast News anchor Amanda Abate opens up on her IVF journey - inside the process, the costs and the rebates

GOLD Coast TV news anchor Amanda Abate is a fixture in our living rooms most nights.

Now she’s a fixture in your Gold Coast Bulletin, with a new column exploring being new to motherhood.

The Seven News Gold Coast news presenter and journalist is opening up on her journey just 18 months after bringing first-born Bobby into the world.

Her regular column to feature in the Bulletin every second Friday is starting at the end of this month - but with the first instalment below.

The Seven News Gold Coast team of Liz Cantor, Amanda Abate and Sally Pearson are all heavily pregnant at the same time. Picture Glenn Hampson

“You learn so much as a new Mum and there is no manual,” she told the Bulletin.

“No troubleshooting guide or reset button. With my second baby just weeks away, I’ll be learning all over again and would love to share the journey with you.

“I may not have all the answers but will hopefully be more reliable than late-night Google searches we all do far too much of.”

In her first column, appearing today, she talks about her IVF journey that led to conceiving Bobby – the costs, the assistance available and the process.

She is also an ambassador for the Gold Coast Bulletin Women of the Year awards brought to you by Harvey Norman.

AMANDA ABATE MOTHERHOOD COLUMN: INS AND OUTS OF IVF

Welcome to the world baby! And by baby I mean this column, because thankfully I’m still 36 weeks-ish pregnant and not at all ready for this next phase of my life: Operation Two Under Two.

My OG baby Bobby has only just turned one-and-a-half, so I know we will be deep down in the trenches for the foreseeable future. Bobby is still rocked to sleep, still waking through the night, still in nappies (if I can keep him still long enough to wrestle one on) and still my baby. Add one more to the mix, life goes from a beautiful mess to an absolute dumpster fire.

I’m fully aware, but this is a mission I willingly accepted. This pregnancy was very much wanted, planned actually, quite meticulously. Both of my babies have come about via IVF. A little bit of magic and quite a lot of science.

Amanda Abate (centre): “Now, it depends on individual circumstances, and to a large extent, luck, but something you should know about IVF and egg-freezing is it can be quite affordable. A drop in the ocean when you consider how much it costs to raise a child.” Picture Glenn Hampson

That’s what I wanted to discuss, because IVF is having a baby boom of its own, never have there been more ‘test tube babies’ and there are a number of theories. Fertility experts will tell you the main reason is women are waiting later in life, often until their biological clocks are setting off alarm bells.

Then there’s the ‘Covid effect’ based on the belief lockdowns and border closures have saved couples considerable amounts of money they can spend on costly fertility treatments.

Now, it depends on individual circumstances, and to a large extent, luck, but something you should know about IVF and egg-freezing is it can be quite affordable. A drop in the ocean when you consider how much it costs to raise a child.

Seven News Gold Coast anchor Amanda Abate with her son Bobby. Picture: Glenn Hampson

There are plenty of clinics that bulk bill, leaving you maybe $2000 out of pocket. Even if you choose to go private, Medicare gives you a substantial portion back, covering more than half of a cycle in most cases.

But now for the best-kept secret in the complicated vortex of Assisted Reproductive Technology: there is a little-known nugget called the Medicare Safety Net.

If you rack up out-of-pocket medical expenses of $2250 in one calendar year, (which you easily will with one cycle of IVF at a private clinic) plenty of services thereafter attract an even higher rebate. It’s capped, but if you’re clever and thrifty enough, you could time your first cycle for the start of a calendar year and reap financial benefits until Christmas. Scenario A, the cycle is a success and you’re pregnant, congratulations!

You’re not only having a baby, you will qualify for higher rebates during pregnancy and birth. Scenario B, the cycle failed, which sadly does happen, very often. In this case though, some couples choose to ‘bank eggs’ that same year.

It can be emotionally taxing, but if you’re in a position to have multiple cycles back-to-back, you collect more quality embryos, giving you a much greater chance in the ultimate numbers game.

Yes, it is strange to think frugally when it comes to your future offspring, but it is empow-ering to know you have options, and a path to parent-hood, even if the budget is tight.

It certainly takes some pressure off a daunting and stressful process.

Admittedly, my husband and I had a very smooth journey, so I’m reluctant to give advice about the emotional toll this path can take.

All I know is IVF is modern day magic. As I dive head-first into Operation Two Under Two, I will remind myself of this everyday, of how incredibly lucky we are to live in absolute chaos.

CATCH AMANDA ABATE – IN EVERY SECOND FRIDAY’S BULLETIN