An IVF father at 87

MEN as old as 87 have had fertility treatment to start a family.

And women aged 17 to 55 have used IVF or assisted reproduction technology for a chance of conceiving.

Science helps create about 6500 lives in Australia each year – 6474 babies in 2003.

The ages of would-be parents are revealed in an Australian Institute of Health and Welfare study on assisted fertility technology in 2003.

The average age of women giving birth after fertility treatment was 34.4 years, compared with the 2003 average of all mothers at 29.5 years.

But the average age of women having treatment was 35.2 years and their partners 37.8, indicating a lower success rate among older women.

Despite a higher-than-average rate of multiple births using fertility treatment, twin, triplet and quad births have fallen since 1994.

In 2003, 1141 sets of twins and 22 sets of triplets were born after assisted reproduction technology, about 18.1 per cent of pregnancies.

"Our goal is to maximise the success of treatments for infertile Australian couples," Fertility Society of Australia president Dr Adrianne Pope said.

`Reduction of multiple pregnancy, and its negative outcomes, has been achieved for the first time in the last 10 years."

The reduction in multiple births is partly due to a reduction in the number of embryos implanted.

In 1994, about half the women had three or more embryos transferred in the hope of becoming pregnant, compared with just 4.3 per cent in 2003.

Monash IVF medical director Gab Kovacs said the number of embryos implanted had fallen since 2003. More than half the women now used just one at a time.

Younger women were more likely to conceive and give birth than older patients.

Women aged 25 to 29 had a 27.7 per cent chance of pregnancy every time they used fresh embryos. Those aged 40 to 44 had a 6.8 per cent chance of falling pregnant.

Half of all babies were born by caesarean section in 2003, double the rate for normal births.

The number of premature babies born also dropped dramatically.