When Should You Go For An IVF? - Influential Factors, Success Ratio etc

It is estimated one out of six couples experiences unexpected and upsetting diagnosis of infertility. However, the development of science and technology opened several windows of hope for the couple going through this dismal condition. Out of all the treatments, In Vitro Fertilization or IVF is considered as the last opportunity for a couple experiencing infertility to have their own child.

Over the last three decades, IVF has helped millions of women get pregnant, even when the fertility odds appear to be not in favor of them. In spite of all these facts, IVF is not as simple as it sounds. On the contrary, IVF is a big and hard decision to undertake. Big in the sense, it is quite expensive, and hard in the sense, it can be difficult for the couple to face it due to the emotional and physical stress it brings about. Moreover, there is no 100% guarantee of success for this procedure. [Check this - IVF Treatment in Bangkok]

Therefore, first of all, you need to be sure that you definitely want a child, and that other forms of infertility treatment either haven't found any success or else will not find any success.

What is IVF?

IVF is the most frequently used high-tech fertility treatment, in which sperm and eggs are united in a laboratory. The resulting embryos are evaluated for quality, and one or more embryos are sited in the uterus through the cervix.

Why is IVF the last resort for couples facing infertility?

It's expense and less guaranteed accomplishment are the basic factors that make the doctors and couples to consider IVF as a last resort.

What is the success rate of IVF?

Based on current national records, the percentage of success rate of IVF -

This shows the influence of the age of the mother in the success rate of IVF.

Other factors that influence the success rate are:

• Previous Pregnancy:

  In the event that you were pregnant earlier with the same partner, there is a greater probability of IVF success. On the other hand, having a history of recurrent miscarriage or a different partner can bring down the odds of IVF success

• The nature of the fertility issue:

  This is an important factor that determines the success rate of IVF. The following factors adversely affect the fertility rate

• The quality of eggs of the donor:

  Egg quality and age of donor are other important factors. If you are aged 40 and above, using a donor egg from a young woman will increase the chances of success, rather than using the own egg with less quality

• The lifestyle:

  Smoking, overweight, and underweight brings down the success rate of IVF

• The fertility clinic:

  This is the main factor that influences the success rate. Ensure the doctor is well-experienced and reputed in this field, the hospital has a good success rate and that too they have solved infertility issues of people of your age group and fertility issues that are similar to you

Some of the other factors are:

• The uterine abnormalities
• Fibroids
• Male infertility issues
• High FSH levels
• Any factors that demand an increased amount of ovulation stimulation drugs

When should you go for IVF?

1. When fail to get pregnant, even after trying all other infertility treatments
2. If either male or female is at risk of passing on a serious genetic disorder to their children, IVF will help them to accept healthy eggs or sperm from a donor and bypass that risk
3. Women who are having issues with Fallopian tubes (like blocked or absent Fallopian tubes) can benefit from IVF, as the IVF procedure totally bypasses the Fallopian tubes
4. Women experiencing fertility disorders like endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) can get benefits from IVF
5. Women that do not produce healthy eggs can use IVF if they want to use donor eggs
6. If the partner has male factor infertility, IVF helps with donor sperm
7. Cancer patients, before undergoing radiation and chemo, which will affect their fertility, will give their healthy eggs and sperms to frozen and stored in the respective banks, and will later use it in IVF after the cancer treatment
8. If either of the partners underwent a sterilization procedure wish to have another child

What are the disadvantages of IVF?

Expenditure:

Cost is an important disadvantage. The lab works to fertilize the egg outside the body will cost a lot. In-vitro is a complicated procedure, with many fertility drugs involved in different stages as well, which costs a lot here is the normal course of medicines involved in IVF

1. The medication starts with birth control pills to rectify the cycle and to control the development of follicles
2. Daily administration of gonadotropins drugs to control the growth of eggs
3. Medication to avoid early follicle ovulation, as the early formation of the follicle, could jeopardize the entire procedure
4. Injections with human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) should be given at the exact time for releasing the egg at its best time
5. After harvesting the eggs, two types of medications are usually prescribed. An antibiotic for fighting the threat of infection and a steroid to bring down the swelling
6. After moving the egg into the uterus, progesterone is administered either via injection or via suppositories, to support the egg for a couple of weeks

Time-consuming:

A full course of IVF typically takes 4 to 8 weeks. During this period, monitoring the reaction of the mother's body to fertility drugs is very important, which includes repeated visits to the clinic for more blood tests and ultrasounds. If any of the steps of the whole procedure fails, the cycle has to stop and restart all over again from the first step.

Increased chances of failure:

Around 20% of IVF cycles are canceled and has to repeat due to the development of insufficient follicles, frittering away the money and time again and again.

Multiple pregnancies:

During this procedure, to increase the rate of success, the specialist usually places one to five embryos in the uterus. If more than one of this embryo managed to implant in the uterine wall, the mother will have multiple pregnancies. And it is found that around 25% of IVF pregnancy turns out to be multiple pregnancies

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