Dr David Greening

26/03/2026

I joined a gym for the first time ! After years of cycling 🚴‍♂️ and hiking 🥾 and a bit of running 🏃 with occasional swimming 🏊‍♂️ I’ve acted my age (63) and doing some general workouts.
I went with a friend from Bowral which helped and have an instructor session due soon.
So I hope to build up some strength, mobility and look after the muscles, ligaments and tendons around joints. And get some muscle.
The last time I went to a gym years ago I was on the rowing 🚣 machine with Heather my receptionist and found it utterly intimidating! She was a world 🌎 class rower though.
So like the saying’ don’t just think about it, do it’ or as NIKE would say ‘Just Do It’ I have started and will keep you updated on my progress.
I’m also doing a carnivore diet for a while and strangely decided to join a choir while on it 🤔 not sure there’s an association ???
Bowral is suiting me with a lovely social community, gym, choir and it’s been a good ‘tree change’ after almost 25 years in Wollongong.
Rule #1 Look after yourself. The oldest rule in the rule book 📖. But it’s not about selfishness, it’s about making sure you’re in a good place first.
And the mornings aches I accept and am glad to have.
Enjoy your day and just do something.
David

25/03/2026

Anxiety for trying for a baby becomes #1 and takes over your life. It really does!
Others fall pregnant 🫃 annoyingly easily around you, friends, family, colleagues.
I’m not sure if any of you want to say how it was for you but a close relative of mine went through it. She had direct access to me and I was on their journey throughout the trial and ultimately many cycles of IVF. ( not their doctor 👨‍⚕️) Few patients get the access to me she did- that’s because many years ago I had 2 unfortunate events where I was stalked by patients. One was seriously difficult especially as she was my patient, not a stranger, hence why I don’t give out my 📱 mobile number anymore. Sorry about that but those incidents gave me anxiety 😟
Anyway, it’s important you acknowledge the existence of the anxiety around infertility as part of the overall and overwhelming effects from infertility.
Get a kind ear to be a listener and not your partner. Script them - give them a script to follow i.e tell them how to deal with it. “ be a great listener- that’s all I ask”, or “ we’re going through infertility, wanted you to know, and want to bounce things off you” or even “ infertility sucks- let’s go out and never discuss it even once OK?”
Infertility is common, can I say bloody common! Annoyingly, exasperatingly common 1:5 couples, single females, same s*x couples suffer it. Go to a food court, count 5 couples. One is suffering it 🙁
Talking helps ( maybe not so much the men who want to ‘fix’ it) but the right talk really does.
Doctors and other will help as well but it takes a team to help so reach out.
Read the article and I’m sure it will help.
David

A new survey suggests anxiety around trying to conceive is more common than fear of pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding. So why isn’t it being discussed?

24/03/2026

1st 🥇 place at the trivia night contest! The Hippocratic group is a mix of doctors from the obstetrics dept with added on extras like med students, etc.
We won by 3 point last night scoring 46/48 😱
Which was the highest score anyone recalled from the Royal. Which was pretty cool 😎
Any life coach will tell you being part of your community is great for happiness. And the Trivia night is fun and popular. Go try one. Get a dinner and enjoy the atmosphere.
Doctors 🥼 are notoriously good at remembering trivia, we’re like memory magpies 🤔 so this suits us well.
I’ve also joined a choir btw and have some formal singing 🎶 lessons to come ( when they discover my true talent and probably ask me to play the triangle instead 🙁) oh well. Still fun and tweaks my brain 🧠 in other areas than trivia.
David
P. S the two we missed were Pepper Pigs 🐖 brothers name ? ( George) and what does NAPLAN stand for? (National Assessment program Literacy and Numeracy)

23/03/2026

If you are 50 or over or know someone who is, this is an excellent read 🤔
I remember just before moving to Australia 🇦🇺 in 1991 from New Zealand we got our home 🏠 ready for renting out. We planned a 2 year trip away then come back to Christchurch. So we decided the old stove needed to be upgraded. As soon as we put the new one in we went ‘why didn’t we do this earlier ? 😱’
And had a life epiphany. You don’t want to look 👀 back and say this, because you’ve been missing out on what you could have had all that time. 🙁
Keeping good mental health requires a think about it and upgrading anything you could do now to help it.
The same for physical health, financial situations, relationships, etc.
We get our glasses 🤓 prescriptions reviewed regularly to keep our vision normal. And you want to be in that normal zone, not living beneath it. All medicine is dedicated to helping overcome illness or prevent illness rob you of the right to be in the normal zone ( as best we can ) or living the best life you can within the illness you have. Doctors 🥼 aim for this.
And so should you. Be kind to yourself ❤️
Look after yourself. Women are much better at this than us men who treat their cars 🚘 better than themselves.
Have a read or an excellent article and I’ll finish with ‘plan ahead’ . Even if you’re a much younger generation planning ahead will mean when you look back you will be amazed how much small changes helped. My dad started work and paid a small voluntary contribution into a Railway’s superannuation fund. When he retired his railway pension was double his state pension. So M& D had a comfortable retirement. Thinking ahead.
Enjoy ☺️ the read ✅
David

My generation had great role models, free university and the morning-after pill. We should be running the world. Instead, two-thirds of us are facing mental health problems – and it’s not all about the menopause

22/03/2026

Here in Nowra the so-called “gateway to the south coast” for a weekend locum (to keep up my obstetrics skills).
If you’re heading down this way, two recommendations: seriously amazing coffee and Portugese tarts and an array of fabulous savoury treats next door .
Also, , tucked away in an industrialist estate a short distance from the main drag, is next-level extraordinary.
On call, so I couldn’t try out any of their alcohol offerings, but their sirloin left me speechless. No wonder this cool place has a truckload of 5-star reviews! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

21/03/2026

Infertility- the words people use around someone with it are important. Right and wrong words.
This is a good article and worth a read. My opinion: put yourself in their shoes and try and imagine what you would want to hear if it were you with infertility.
David

For me, better timing, fewer platitudes, less certainty and more listening and empathy are helpful ways of connecting with people in the loneliest of times, says Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour presenter Nuala McGovern

18/03/2026

ENDOMETRIOSIS 🙁
Average time to diagnose 8 years
Affects 1:7 women
Can start early in teens

As a gynaecologist I found helping women with severe period pain ( dysmenorrhea) was medically rewarding. They suffered, were often dismissed and left struggling through their cycles for years. Time off school, time off work and more. Yet in 2026 it remains a common occurrence and endometriosis is one of the reasons as well as adenomyosis (the ‘evil twin sister of endometriosis) .
It is NOT easy to diagnose but simply taking a good history including family history and a few tests and now the excellent Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis ultrasound scan ( perhaps the acronym DIE is a nod to how bad it feels 🤔?) can help unravel the diagnosis. Hippocrates said ‘Get the diagnosis right and the treatment follows’, and that will never change.
And now it’s been reclassified as a ‘chronic inflammatory disease’ which tells us treatments must be chronic. As well as lifestyle changes with lower inflammatory diets.
Endometriosis is in the public eye 👁️ no thanks to the Melbourne surgeon Dr Simon Gordon being investigated by 4-Corners TV team. But it’s always been there.
We can do better as doctors 🥼 to help. And patients or parents should take that first step and ask “could this be endometriosis? “
David

Young women have detailed their experiences being dismissed and misdiagnosed as chronic pain sufferers. Now, they're teaching others how to advocate for their health.

17/03/2026

This is in the news for a few days now. So I thought I should say something.
The article addresses the changes that have occurred over 30 years. Albeit there were some recent cases revealed. Overall the identification processes are much better. And judging the past on current technologies or standards is always difficult. I started 26 years ago and there was always great care taken that I saw in the units I worked in around the world 🌎. Very diligent scientists and staff.
Until recently Australia was considered a leader in safety and procedures throughout those years.
Within the current IVF workplace we constantly act to improve systems and technologies. I watch it all the time. Better pregnancy rates is always the aim.
Obviously this needs thorough revision and support for the families involved. And obviously a trust issue arises. How can it not?
IVF is an amazing development for infertility treatment and millions of babies have been born from it. But like all complex processes it has challenges. As this shows. Complexity is not easy.
If you have questions then ask. We have to have answers for you about IVF. Past and present.
We strive to constantly be better, reduce risks, add safety.
David

Fertility experts say the discovery of an IVF mix-up at Royal North Shore Hospital in 1995 could be the tip of the iceberg as more Australians research their parentage.

10/03/2026

Bowral’s first hospital 🏥 1863
Things have definitely changed in 163 years! There were no antibiotics, no anaesthesia, antiseptics just starting, minimal surgery. Few pain killers and analgesics, no antidepressants, few drugs in general. IVF was over 100 years in the future as my pioneers Steptoe & Edwards met in 1963.
Can you imagine a world where the local ‘hospital’ is just a cottage?
History makes me appreciate the present . 🤔
David

08/03/2026

Sunday stroll in the mist at Fitzroy falls national park.
Absolutely worth a drive and walk around.
On a clear day it’s also amazing.
First photos of the start of the falls from above then looking at the falls (81m) from the side.
I wonder 🤔 if all that lovely oxygen is one of the reasons a walk through the bush is so enjoyable ? And the serenity!
Enjoy your Sunday
David

05/03/2026

Males are actually the #1 cause of infertility I see in my professional life. 😳
They almost never realise it’s could be them. Cos everything seems to be working ok. So it often comes as a big surprise. (pun intended).
That’s why we joined with an NRL team to raise the issue.
If I could do just ONE 1️⃣ test for infertility in a couple I’d do a semenanalyis. Because that would be the most useful .
And men’s results can be easily improved in many cases.
I’ll post more Rabbitohs links soon but this is a great initiative. That said I doubt many men are going to be openly discussing their fertility in groups but they may think about it a lot more. 🤔
Men have two jobs from a fertility perspective, make s***m and know how to use it. Women have a lot more to do. And then carry a pregnancy 🤰
There’s lots we can do for you males guys 😁
David

We are proud to announce our partnership with the South Sydney Rabbitohs to champion an important message: Men’s Fertility Matters.

Fertility is not just a women’s issue. Male factor infertility contributes to around 30% of fertility challenges, yet it is often overlooked. It is time we changed the conversation.

Together with the Rabbitohs, we are committed to raising awareness, encouraging early testing and breaking down stigma around men’s reproductive health.

Strong teams talk about the tough stuff. And this season, we are starting the conversation.





MensHealth