Nikos Cakes’ Denise Poupouzas pregnant after IVF journey

A Melbourne cake queen says discovering she was finally pregnant was an out of body experience. But her extreme excitement was tinged with doubt.

Denise Poupouzas of Nikos Cakes. She has had a tough fertility journey but is now pregnant after undergoing IVF. Picture: David Caird

Denise Poupouzas describes learning she was pregnant after a “very difficult” journey as an out of body experience.

The 38-year-old, whose family is behind Melbourne institution Nikos Cakes, had unsuccessfully undergone IVF in her early 30s.

Then she and her fiance Chris started fertility treatment around early 2023 after trying for a baby for about a year.

Her first two egg retrievals with her new clinic yielded poor results, each with several eggs that did not become embryos.

Ten to 15 eggs per retrieval is considered a good number.

Ms Poupouzas, who knew she had low egg reserves, described the results as “absolutely devastating”.

But the third retrieval seemed more promising with seven eggs — Ms Poupouzas’ lucky number.

“It was just our time,” she said.

Ms Poupouzas learnt she was pregnant last year, and her baby girl is due in August.

She had kept the most recent IVF round a secret, and was able to share the happy news with her family on Christmas Day during Kris Kringle.

She described learning the IVF had been successful as “beyond exciting”.

“But I also had a lot of doubt,” she said.

“I was also very reserved in my feelings, like, ‘It won’t last’.”

Now she has passed the six-month mark, she is feeling confident.

“I can actually accept and enjoy it,” she said.

“I just thought, ‘It’s never going to happen for me,’ before the pregnancy.”

The Balwyn resident said the IVF road had been a “very difficult” journey.

“It’s very hard to go through … especially when everyone around you has babies very easily and naturally, and you have to constantly inject yourself every single day and take medication,” she said.

“You’re just paying so much money, and nothing’s happening.

“I think it’s very important to try and look at the positive side — at least we’ve got this option.”

Denise Poupouzas and fiance Chris Vlahogiannis. Picture: David Caird

She said she and her fiance were “very grateful” to their fertility specialist Lynn Burmeister.

Dr Burmeister says women can take an anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) test for an indicator of ovarian reserve — the number of eggs remaining in the ovaries.

The No. 1 Fertility medical director said she compared the test to a petrol gauge of a car when explaining it to patients.

“The problem with our eggs (is) we can’t fill them up,” she said.

“Once they’re gone they’re gone.

“So it’s a good indicator of where your gauge is sitting and whether you need to act upon it.”

She said the blood test cost about $90.

If low AMH is identified, further investigations like an ultrasound can be conducted.

Dr Burmeister has started a hotline for women to call so they can arrange to discuss AMH with a fertility GP and a test.

Dr Lynn Burmeister is the founder of No. 1 Fertility

Tessa Copp, from the University of Sydney School of Public Health, said the test measured the level of AMH in the blood, which was produced by small follicles in the ovary.

“The level gives an indication of the number of eggs in the ovaries, but importantly, tells us nothing about egg quality,” Dr Copp said.

“It cannot predict chance of conceiving or how long it will take to get pregnant.”

Originally published as Nikos Cakes’ Denise Poupouzas pregnant after IVF journey