New holistic fertility clinic opens in Mother City

"The Holistic Assisted Reproduction Treatment (HART) Fertility Clinic is a multi-disciplinary fertility clinic offering patient-centred, individualised treatment plans that incorporate psychological wellbeing, a healthy lifestyle and integrated healthcare, while maintaining best-practice evidence-based clinical treatment," explains Dr Sascha Edelstein, a leading Cape Town fertility specialist, obstetrician and gynaecologist and head of the HART Fertility Clinic.

The clinic offers couples comprehensive services to optimise their chances of conceiving. Other than Dr Edelstein, the HART Fertility Clinic has an embryologist, an infertility counsellor and a dietician. It even offers the expertise of an acupuncturist, as many medical studies have shown that acupuncture during fertility treatment improves the chances of conception.

"Our philosophy is that there are many aspects other than the medical side, which need to be considered when a couple has difficulty falling pregnant." HART also has an IVF laboratory, a state-of-the-art andrology laboratory, which focuses on male infertility and a fully equipped theatre for on-site procedures.

"When couples come to us it is likely that the emotional aspect of not being able to conceive has already taken a toll on them and this is why counselling is so important. In addition, there are many other aspects such as age, diet, weight, lifestyle and general health which influence a woman's reproductive potential."

He has experienced first hand the distress a couple goes through when the woman struggles to fall pregnant, as he and his wife opted for assisted reproduction when they could not conceive. He is thus familiar with the physical, emotional and financial hurdles that couples have to overcome when opting for assisted reproduction.

"We believe that every patient has the right be treated as an individual and not a number. There is not one blanket solution to an assisted reproduction plan, as everyone is different and every case is unique. This is why we advocate individualised treatment plans, which answer to the physical, psychological, financial and medical needs of each patient. As a small practice, we are able to give that personal attention while at the same time offering a sophisticated medical approach," he concludes.

Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital is the first Netcare hospital in Cape Town to have a dedicated fertility clinic. "We are proud to have a facility that offers the very best in holistic assisted reproduction. Dr Edelstein and his team will be giving many couples hope and support in what can be a difficult and trying process," says Chris Tilney, GM at Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital.

For more information, go to www.hartcapetown.co.za.