The birth of a baby is big news in every family, but on the day I was born it was front-page news across Australia. The year was 1980, Olivia Newton-John’s “Magic” was on high rotation on the radio, women were sporting big hairstyles and bigger shoulder pads, and I was born: Australia’s first IVF baby.
A 60 Minutes team had interviewed my parents when Mum was heavily pregnant and there was a crew in the room when she gave birth. It was a huge media story and the headlines seem very cringe-worthy now. “Candice Reed: Australia’s first test tube baby!” was one. It’s horrifying to think of children being called “test-tube babies” in today’s world, but it really shows how much times have changed.
People often ask what made my parents decide to become Australia’s first IVF parents, but the fact is they didn’t. They weren’t the chosen ones, they were just one of many couples at the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne who were trying to have a baby using the latest technology...
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