Antega updates — South Africa

• A fuller Medication & Supplement Tracker, with dose reminders

  Choose the type of medicine first — stimulation, antagonist, trigger, progesterone, antibiotic, steroid, blood thinner, supplement and more — then pick the exact medicine from the list for your own country, or type your own. Record the dose your clinic prescribed, how often you take it, the times of day and how many days the course runs for, then tick each dose off as you take it. Switch reminders on and Antega will send a notification to your device at every dose time. Your clinic always decides what you take; Antega only repeats back what you have recorded.

• Compare the fertility medicines used in your country

  The comparison area now has a Medications section. Look up a medicine by brand or by its active ingredient and see, for your own country, which strengths and devices exist, how that exact product says it should be stored, whether it is registered and currently marketed, whether fertility use sits inside its licence, and the official source with the date Antega checked it. Every country has its own register, so a brand is never shown somewhere it has not been verified. There are no doses, no timings and no medicine prices — your clinic prescribes, and each card links to the matching guide, injection video and planning tools.

• Clearer clinic prices and optional clinic matching

  The clinic comparison now shows one like-for-like figure — a standard own-egg IVF or ICSI cycle intended to end in one fresh embryo transfer — alongside the clinic's advertised price, unavoidable extra charges and an estimated medication range where the clinic publishes one. Thirty-five more clinics have been added at home and abroad, multi-cycle and refund programmes are listed, and you can now switch on Antega Match to see which clinics fit what you are looking for, with every reason explained.

• New frozen embryo transfer and double stimulation resources

  Every published Antega country now has a Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) Cycle Checklist, a guide explaining the difference between natural, modified natural and medicated FET, a guide to the Shanghai Protocol (DuoStim) double ovarian stimulation approach, and a DuoStim journey checklist. Each version is written for its own country, with local spelling, terminology and urgent-care wording, and links to the medication and appointment planners so you can add the instructions your clinic has given you.

• Family Fertility Support wording has been simplified

  Across every published Antega country, Family Fertility Support now states clearly that it may include every Growth package option without repeating each option. It may also include eligible travel and accommodation support, including international travel and accommodation when required. Hope, Growth and Family support may be provided in stages up to the applicable maximum allowance, subject to eligibility, verification, approved costs and the Fertility Support Programme Terms.

• Family Fertility Support now includes every Growth package option

  Historical update — superseded

  Across every published Antega country, Family Fertility Support may now cover all five Growth package options together: Getting Started, Medication, Egg Collection, Embryo and Laboratory. Family continues to provide broader eligible treatment support as well. Support is not guaranteed and remains subject to verification, the member's treatment plan, approved costs, local availability and the Fertility Support Programme Terms. Membership prices, shop benefits, Seeds and payment arrangements are unchanged.

  Family support now references every Growth package option without relisting them and also includes eligible travel and accommodation support where required.

• Growth Fertility Support package details are now consistent

  Every Antega country now describes the same five Growth Fertility Support options wherever Growth support is explained: Getting Started, Medication, Egg Collection, Embryo and Laboratory. A confirmed Growth Fertility Support Recipient receives one package, subject to verification, their treatment plan, approved costs and the Fertility Support Programme Terms. Membership prices, Seeds, shop benefits and payment arrangements are unchanged.

• Growth membership now includes free standard delivery

  Growth and Family members now receive free standard delivery on eligible Antega Shop orders in every published country where Antega can fulfil delivery. Hope members continue to receive their 5% member discount and pay the standard delivery charge. Discover members continue to shop at public prices with no member discount or delivery benefit. Membership prices, Family rewards, Seeds and Fertility Support are unchanged.

• Antega Fertility Support is part of membership in every published country

  The Fertility Support Programme is no longer described as a United Kingdom feature. It now forms part of qualifying Hope, Growth and Family memberships in every published Antega country, each with its own currency and its own approved maximum support values. The country saved on your Antega account decides which values and rules apply to you, and support always remains subject to eligibility, verification and the Fertility Support Programme Terms.

• Every Antega country now has its own joining page

  The United Kingdom joining page is now the shared design for every Antega country. The United States, Canada, Australia, India, Nigeria and South Africa each have their own joining page showing Discover first, then Hope, Growth and Family, always in that country's own currency and prices. Monthly and annual billing applies only to the paid memberships, and choosing Discover still means no card details and no automatic upgrade. Joining links across the site now take you to the page for the country you are browsing.

• Eligible Family members can now request their ancestry kit

  Once your country’s qualifying continuous paid Family period is complete, you can request your one-time DNA Ancestry Kit from your account. Confirm the delivery address, submit the request once, and follow its clear preparing, dispatched and delivered status from the same Family benefits panel. The kit explores ancestry and heritage only; it is not a fertility, medical, carrier or diagnostic test.

• Welcome Shop Credit can now be spent at checkout

  Family members can now apply their available Welcome Shop Credit to eligible Antega Shop products at checkout. Your local credit, member discount and delivery benefit are calculated separately, the amount used appears clearly in your order summary, and any remaining balance stays in your account. Shop prices and payment use your country's currency across the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, India, Nigeria and South Africa. The fixed conversion rates are reviewed every three months; the rate used is recorded with each order. As requested, no tax or VAT is added. Discover, Hope and Growth do not receive Welcome Shop Credit, and Seeds and Fertility Support are unchanged.

• The same shop benefits and Family rewards in every country

  Antega Shop benefits work the same way wherever you are. Hope members save 5%, Growth members save 10% and Family members save 15%, always calculated from your own country's local price and applied automatically when you are signed in — no codes. Growth and Family memberships include free standard delivery on eligible Antega Shop orders where we can deliver to you; Hope pays the standard delivery charge. The free Discover membership includes no shop discount, no free delivery, no Welcome Shop Credit and no DNA Ancestry Kit; Discover members shop at standard public prices. Every country's Family membership gives two separate tangible benefits rather than a choice between them: a one-off Welcome Shop Credit once your first Family payment is confirmed — £15 in the United Kingdom, $22.50 in the United States, C$30 in Canada, A$30 in Australia, ₹1,000 in India, ₦15,000 in Nigeria and R200 in South Africa — and a DNA Ancestry Kit after 6 continuous paid Family months in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Australia, or 12 continuous paid Family months in India, Nigeria and South Africa. Only successfully paid Family months count; failed, unpaid or refunded periods do not, and a break in Family membership starts the qualifying period again. The credit is one per member ever, has no cash alternative, is non-transferable and cannot be exchanged for Seeds. The ancestry kit explores ancestry and heritage only — it is not a fertility, medical, carrier or diagnostic test. Your credit and your month-by-month progress appear in your account. Membership prices are unchanged, and Seeds and Fertility Support are unaffected.

• Discover: a free Antega membership for everyone

  Antega now has a free membership level called Discover, sitting before Hope, Growth and Family. It is not a trial: there is no payment method, nothing expires, and it never turns into a paid membership on its own. Discover members get a selected part of their own country's Learning Centre — beginner guides, trying-to-conceive and pregnancy recipes, introductory videos — plus starter planning tools such as the cycle calendar, appointment notes, questions for your doctor and test results, and the ability to save whatever helps. Everything follows your registered country, so you see the guidance, wording and prices that actually apply to you; reading another country's pages is now clearly marked as information only and never shows prices or joining options. Support Seeds, Fertility Support eligibility, live webinars, member discounts and the full library remain part of Hope, Growth and Family. If you upgrade later, or a paid membership ends, your saved items, notes, tracker entries, journals and country all stay with you.

• New practical videos on IUI, IVF and fertility preservation

  We've added more practical South Africa video resources covering IUI, preparing for IVF, understanding an IVF treatment cycle and fertility preservation around cancer treatment. Dr Tamtam Matebese of Cape Fertility explains what happens during intrauterine insemination, two short Cape Fertility videos cover getting ready for treatment and the stages of a typical cycle, and the Oncofertility Consortium's Africa session — featuring South African specialist Dr Chris Venter — looks at protecting fertility before cancer treatment. Because clinic material often shows one unit's example timetable, our summaries describe the stages rather than cycle days or medicine doses; your own clinic's written plan is the one to follow. We have also noted that IUI success depends on age, diagnosis, ovarian response and sperm quality rather than being uniformly high, that single embryo transfer is usually preferred to reduce multiple-pregnancy risk, and that fertility-preservation discussions should be coordinated with your oncology team and never delay cancer treatment.

• New videos on treatment access, donor conception and PCOS

  We've added three more South Africa-focused video resources: a Fertility Show Africa talk on how a medical scheme built an assisted-reproduction benefit and what it learnt, clinical psychologist Mandy Rodrigues on the emotional side of donor conception and grieving a genetic connection, and a Cape Fertility explainer on the order of PCOS treatment from ovulation-induction tablets through injections and IUI to IVF. The medical-scheme talk dates from 2023, so we have not repeated its figures — scheme rules change, and written pre-authorisation should always be confirmed with your own scheme before treatment. The PCOS video shows one clinic's approach rather than a protocol, so our summary describes the types and order of treatment instead of doses or cycle days. Each video is linked from the related South Africa guides on funding, donor treatment, PCOS, OHSS and frozen embryo transfer.

• New videos on family building, fertility law and pregnancy loss

  We've expanded the South Africa video library with educational resources covering surrogacy, donor conception and choosing an egg donor, fertility law and mediation, family-building and fertility preservation options for transgender people, age and fertility, developments in fertility treatment, what SASREG clinic accreditation means, and emotional support after pregnancy and baby loss. These are recordings from the Fertility Show Africa expert talks, kept with their original speakers and sources. Because several date from 2021 to 2023, we checked the legal and clinical detail ourselves and added current context: surrogacy agreements must be confirmed by the High Court before conception, paying a surrogate a fee is not permitted, donation is anonymous in practice and gametes may not be bought or sold, and techniques described as new in 2022 are sorted into what is now established, what remains unproven and what is no longer recommended. Antega is not a law firm and does not endorse any clinic or donor agency.

• New practical fertility videos for South Africa

  Five more video explainers cover the practical side of a fertility assessment: what actually happens at a first appointment, how to read a semen analysis, what follows when no sperm are found in a sample, why a fallopian tube can look open and still not work, and the routes to a family for two women. They come from Cape Fertility in Cape Town, an accredited South African centre and a training unit for fertility specialists and embryologists — which is not a recommendation of that clinic, and we have stripped the clinic marketing out of our summaries. We also checked the medical and legal detail ourselves: our summary carries the current WHO 2021 semen reference values rather than the older ones quoted, sets out where South African law stands in 2026 on donor anonymity and on both mothers being registered as parents, and is clear that antibiotics do not undo tubal scarring and that not every blocked tube should be operated on.

• New videos on IVF, fertility testing and emotional support

  Eight more videos have joined the South Africa library. Dr Jack Biko, president of the South African reproductive medicine society, introduces what an IVF cycle actually involves, and SABC News carries a shorter IVF explainer with Dr Wynand van Tonder for anyone who wants the quick version to share. Dr Tasneem Mohamed walks through how infertility is investigated, and a Newzroom Afrika interview with Dr Lusanda Shimange-Matsose makes the point that infertility affects men as well as women and that both partners should usually be tested. Genetic counsellor Kelly Loggenberg covers testing parents — family history and carrier screening — which is separate from embryo testing. For harder times there are three: what a clinic reviews after repeated unsuccessful IVF, how to cope emotionally with it, and an honest conversation about stress that rejects the idea anyone fails to conceive by not relaxing enough. Each keeps its original speaker and source, and carries an Antega summary written against current evidence.

• More South African fertility expert videos added

  The South Africa video library now also carries eight expert talks from Fertility Show Africa, whose programme is curated with IFAASA and SASREG. They cover low ovarian reserve and what AMH does and does not tell you, endometriosis and PCOS with Professor Zozo Nene of Steve Biko Academic Hospital, preimplantation genetic testing, egg and sperm donor treatment, IVF add-ons and whether you need them, why a cycle can be unsuccessful, egg freezing step by step, and the cultural experience of infertility with filmmaker Molatelo Mainetje-Bossman. Each one keeps its original speaker and organisation, carries an Antega summary written against current evidence, and now also appears at the foot of the related South Africa guides.

• South African fertility videos have arrived

  The South Africa Learning Centre now has its own video library, starting with six recordings from South African sources. From the University of Pretoria's Reproductive Biology Laboratory at Steve Biko Academic Hospital there is a time-lapse film of embryos developing over five days in culture and a laboratory demonstration of specialist sperm preparation. Dr Marienus Trouw explains PCOS in a Fertility Show Africa expert talk, whose programme is curated with IFAASA and SASREG. From the National Department of Health Knowledge Hub there are official sessions on basic antenatal care, respectful maternity care and your rights during pregnancy and birth, and on genetics, medicine safety and congenital disorders. Each video keeps its original organisation and speakers, carries a short plain-English introduction where the material was made for health workers, and links to the related South Africa guides.

• A travel and safety planner for South African clinic journeys

  You can now plan each trip to and from your fertility unit in one place. The Clinic Travel & Safety Planner records the appointment, when to leave, how you are travelling, parking, e-hailing details, the medicines and documents to take, cold storage where it is needed, who is collecting you afterwards and the clinic and emergency numbers to call, alongside a journey checklist that saves as you tick. It sits beside the existing South Africa guidance on travelling safely to appointments, medicine storage during load shedding and treatment-day preparation. Your unit decides whether you may travel home alone after sedation and whether you may drive — always follow the discharge advice you are given.

• The South Africa A–Z fertility glossary is now complete

  The South Africa glossary has grown from 20 entries to close to 300, written in South African English and covering fertility basics and the menstrual cycle, hormones, female and male fertility conditions, tests and investigations, treatments, medicines and protocols, embryology, embryo transfer and implantation, genetics, pregnancy after treatment and pregnancy loss, donor treatment, surrogacy under the Children's Act and fertility preservation. It also explains the South African side of treatment: public sector care and the Uniform Patient Fee Schedule, medical savings accounts, self-payment gaps, scheme tariffs, co-payments, gap cover, designated service providers, prescribed minimum benefits, appeals and ex-gratia applications, SAHPRA registration, Section 21 authorisations, spotting falsified medicines, licensed pharmacies, clinic and laboratory roles, quotations and storage fees, and the practical realities of cold chain storage, load shedding, backup power and travelling with fertility medicines. You can now search the glossary by abbreviation or alternative name, filter by category, and jump straight from a term to the related South Africa guides and the sources it was written from.

• Twenty more South African recipes across our food traditions

  The South Africa recipe collection now includes twenty further dishes drawn from African and Southern African home cooking, Cape Malay and Indian South African kitchens, Afrikaans-associated cooking and everyday family meals. Trying-to-conceive additions include chicken bredie with vegetables, sugar bean curry with brown rice, chicken sosaties, vegetable and lentil breyani, rooibos, pear and cinnamon overnight oats, umphokoqo with maas, baked vetkoek with a sugar bean filling, pilchard curry with rice, geelrys with lentils and roast vegetables, and chicken sishebo with pap and morogo. Pregnancy additions include tomato bredie with lean beef, lean beef sosaties with roasted vegetables, chicken breyani, sweet potato, spinach and chickpea stew, isijingi pumpkin and mealie-meal porridge, dombolo with chicken and vegetable stew, groenboontjiebredie with lean lamb, Cape Malay-style pea and barley soup, a boeber-style warm milk drink and trinchado-style beef with peppers. All use metric measures and South African ingredient names, with pregnancy food-safety notes, allergens, substitutions, storage and reheating guidance.

• Twenty new South African recipes in the Learning Centre

  The South Africa recipe collection has grown with twenty new dishes, split between trying to conceive and pregnancy. New everyday meals include a bobotie-style lentil and beef bake, Cape Malay chicken curry, grilled snoek with tomato salsa, Durban bean bunny chow, Cape Malay pickled hake, roosterkoek with bean and avocado, braai vegetable and chickpea salad, mielie and black-eyed bean salad, mealie meal porridge with peanut butter and a rooibos, fruit and maas smoothie. Pregnancy meals include a slow-cooked beef and vegetable potjie, chicken, samp and vegetable soup, baked hake and beef frikkadels, cabbage, carrot and lentil curry, savoury mielie bread with spinach, mabele sorghum porridge, baked pampoenkoekies, melktert-style baked custard pots and rooibos poached pears. Every recipe uses metric measures and South African ingredient names, with pregnancy food-safety notes, allergens, substitutions and storage and reheating guidance.

• Twenty more South African recipes

  The South Africa recipe collection now includes peri-peri chicken with roasted vegetables, sweet potato and groundnut stew with morogo, a mageu and oat breakfast bowl, morogo, tomato and bean stew, Cape Malay chickpea curry, beetroot, lentil and orange salad, peanut butter, banana and oat bites, sweetcorn and spinach fritters, butter bean and tomato stew and an egg, tomato and sugar bean breakfast pan for those trying to conceive; and pumpkin and sugar bean stew, Cape Malay fish curry, Durban-style chicken curry, masala fish with tomato and spinach, grilled pilchards with tomato relish and pap, pilchard fishcakes with sweet potato, a spinach and feta crustless tart, braaibroodjie, an avocado, tomato and cottage cheese open sandwich and banana and oat breakfast muffins for pregnancy — all in metric measures with South African ingredients and food-safety guidance.

• New South Africa IVF medication, load-shedding and SAHPRA resources

  The South Africa Learning Centre now covers fertility medicines in depth, written around products registered with SAHPRA and the conditions people manage them in here. New guides explain the medicines used in an IVF cycle, recombinant FSH, combined FSH and LH products, menotrophins, GnRH antagonists and agonists, trigger injections, progesterone after transfer, estrogen for frozen transfers and oral ovulation induction. Practical guides cover injecting at home, subcutaneous sites and rotation, pens, pre-filled syringes and vials, mixing powder-and-solvent products, side effects, late or missed doses, which medicines need refrigeration, medication during load shedding, backup power for refrigerated medicines, travelling by road and by air, and transporting medicines in hot weather. Access guides cover checking that a medicine is registered and genuine, courier deliveries, checking an order item by item, medical scheme authorisation and supply interruptions. Seven new checklists and twelve medication planning tools are now available in South Africa, including a Medical Scheme and Medication Authorisation Tracker.

• South Africa recipes: trying to conceive and pregnancy collections

  The South Africa Learning Centre now has its own recipes, written around everyday South African food and metric measures. The trying-to-conceive collection includes a chakalaka, bean and brown rice bowl, a pilchard, tomato and samp bowl, maas overnight oats, a chicken and sugar bean lunch box, an egg and spinach breakfast wrap and a fruit and yoghurt snack pot. The pregnancy collection includes morogo, butternut and pap, a lentil, butternut and tomato potjie, beef and spinach mince with samp, a hake and sweet potato tray bake, butternut and lentil soup and chicken umngqusho. Each recipe carries South African food-safety guidance, storage advice and sources from the National Department of Health, ADSA and the World Health Organization.

• Twenty new South Africa guides and four practical checklists

  The South Africa Learning Centre now covers the foundations and the practical side of treatment: how pregnancy happens, fertility myths and facts, egg quality, fertility hormones, male fertility basics, sleep and shift work, exercise, everyday South African food, drink and caffeine, workplace and environmental exposures, choosing between IUI and IVF, preparing for a first fertility appointment, the first trimester after IVF, bleeding in early pregnancy, moving to antenatal care, supporting each other through treatment, talking to family and colleagues, reading clinic quotes and hidden costs, medical scheme pre-authorisation, power interruptions and treatment continuity, and travelling safely to appointments. Four new checklists cover treatment day, medication storage and travel, disruption contingency planning and long-distance treatment.

• Twenty new South Africa guides on male fertility, add-ons and health

  The South Africa Learning Centre now also covers low sperm count, poor sperm motility, sperm morphology, male hormone testing and low testosterone, ejaculatory problems and retrograde ejaculation, erectile difficulties during treatment, endometrial receptivity testing and ERA, embryo glue and transfer media, time-lapse embryo imaging, the endometrial scratch, reproductive immunology testing and immune treatments, thrombophilia and antiphospholipid testing, premature ovarian insufficiency, hypothalamic amenorrhoea and low body weight, progesterone support after transfer, natural-cycle and mild IVF, weight and access to treatment, diabetes and fertility, smoking, alcohol and recreational drugs, and multiple pregnancy risks and single embryo transfer.

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