LUMEN Spring 2022 - Flipbook - Page 30
“I remember when Katie had been
down in Adelaide from NSW (where
she lives) for her cycle, and my
husband Chris and I had taken her
to the airport after her treatment.
“We were on our way back home
to Hindmarsh Island, and the next
minute there’s this sobbing phone
call with Katie saying, ‘mum,
nothing fertilised’. She was at the
airport alone and there’s nothing I
could do, absolutely nothing.”
As heartbreaking as this was,
Christine tried to view it as a
learning opportunity.
“The journey of waiting – to see how
many eggs there are, and then seeing
what’s fertilised, and then
another few days of waiting to see
what develops – I think it’s part of
your personal growth.
“You’d prefer you weren’t going
through it, but it makes you really
understand what’s happening from a
patient’s perspective.”
Having that understanding of the
soul crushing mental anguish and
devastation felt after failed IVF
cycles (it took five cycles for Katie to
finally conceive Aria), and then
experiencing the elation after
successful treatment is something
that sets Christine apart from other
fertility specialists.
Known for her compassion and
nurturing approach, Christine has
looked after thousands of people on
their journey to parenthood, while
supporting those who have been
unable to conceive.
Last year, she was recognised for
being a champion of change, and
28
THE UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
for her outstanding contribution to
fertility treatment by being inducted
into the prestigious SA Women’s
Honour Roll.
“I know IVF is regarded as a
business, but I wouldn’t like to see
the business aspect overriding the
need to provide the best care possible
for the patients you’re treating.
“My hope is that fertility treatment
is based on holistic care to achieve
the best outcome for parents and the
best outcome for children,” she said.
Regarded as a pioneer in fertility
treatment, Christine has certainly
had an incredible career, punctuated
with challenges, amazing stories and
trailblazing achievements.
Working in reproductive medicine
since the first IVF baby was born
at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital
(TQEH) in 1983, and dedicating
40 years of her life to the
development and provision of
fertility services and treatment,
Christine has seen assisted
reproductive technologies
dramatically evolve over the years.
“It’s certainly been a journey of
highs and lows, there’s no question
about that,” she said.
“The number of people we help
now is really high. For example,
with the advent of being able to do
aneuploidy screening on embryos
(checking for the correct number
of chromosomes), if you’ve got a
patient in their 40s and can put a
screened embryo back in, they have
pregnancy rates of 50 per cent per
cycle which is absolutely amazing.”
Things have come a long way since
Christine completed her obstetrics
and gynaecology (O&G) training at
the TQEH in 1987.
“The medical superintendent in
1979 found out I was pregnant and
actually tried to get me to resign.
He hired someone to replace me and
said I needed to resign and if I did,
I’d get a job next year, which was a
bit of a shocker.
“I told him I wasn’t quite ready to
resign yet, thank you very much,”
said Christine.
A year after becoming one of the
RAH's first female surgical trainees
in 1978, Christine was the first O&G
trainee in South Australia to have
a baby during her training. And in
1982, she became TQEH's first ever
fertility clinic registrar.
Hailing from Bordertown, Christine
came from a family of ‘pretty
determined women’, something she
attributes to helping her handle
setbacks and sexism.
After having her bag with all her
exam notes stolen in her final year
of high school, and feeling very
homesick at the time, Christine gave
up on her childhood dream of
studying medicine and did
physiotherapy instead.
“Within the first six months of
being at university, I knew I made a
mistake, and so spent the next three
years trying to get into medicine,
which is a really, really interesting
journey on its own.”
Each year, Christine applied to do
the course, and was interviewed,
but each time was unsuccessful.
