The drive to have a family is a very strong natural urge in most individuals or couples, and its certain that IVF treatments will continue to be an avenue for those in need of it, even in the face of many unanswered questions. One should know the answers of at least some of the main questions regarding IVF procedures and centers. Here are some examples..
- What is the real success rate for IVF ?
There are thousands of IVF centers in the world and they usually declare their success rates to be between 40 and 60 % per standard trial. However, in most circumstances what can influence or determine your success as an individual is you / yourself. Each individual couple’s chance of success correlates with a number of varying factors such as age, cause of infertility and lifestyle etc. In general, for women in age groups below 35 years, each IVF trial has a success of 50 %. This significantly decreases over the age of 40 years, and for women at and over the age of 45 years, the chance is below 5% with some exceptions.
It should be remembered however, that ‘chance’ always plays an important role in success. Our experience over the years has shown that for the vast majority of those who resisted and continued forging their way forward without losing their hope usually ended up with the joy of holding their babies at the end.
- Is IVF really expensive as they demand ?
Success certainly comes first, but the financial burden on the patient is often so great that many couples feel that they can only afford one cycle and therefore face the added stress of trying to maximize their one and only chance to conceive in that cycle or get pregnant on the first try.
If you look at IVF prices in western countries, it ranges between $10,000- $15,000 in US and 4500-6000 GBP in UK per cycle. Besides, these prices do not cover the drug expenses and most centres charge the techniques ICSI, AHA, blastocyst culture etc. additionally!
I recommend evaluating experienced centres with at least 50 cycles per month and over, to compare costs and make your selection then. On the other hand, countries like Turkey have affordable prices with high success rates. Expenses can be minimised to one-third of the high costs mentioned above and combining your medical treatment with a vacation in these countries is quite possible.
- Is it harmful for my health?
Every patient who is considering IVF probably asks herself this question before she starts treatment. IVF treatment has been practiced for more than 40 years all over the world. Remember that more than seven million IVF babies have been born since the earliest IVF in 1978. Lots of investigations have been carried out on the safety of IVF procedure when performed carefully. Today, as treatment is carried out by an experienced team in a experienced centre, hardly a serious problem arise. Of course, as in any attempt to treat, unexpected problems and complications may occur in the rate of 1-2 %. These problems can be solved by a very large extent on careful observation and experience. The most common problem is the collection of fluid in the abdomen, bloating, excessive stimulation picture presenting the findings of the need for hospitalization called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) and is about 1-3 % in experienced centres. Myths like IVF causes cancer are not at all true or based on medical findings.
- You cannot change the age and capacity of your ovaries.
Every woman is most fertile between the ages of 20 and 30. Fertility starts to decline significantly from the age of 35. The decline in number of eggs with age is an important issue in IVF. However, egg quality and fertilization rates are also reduced from 35 years of age. There are several tests to help you to comment on that. AMH blood test (AMH) is a marker for ovarian reserve and provide information on the number of eggs to be obtained but not about the quality of the eggs. It is an indirect way of evaluating how well the ovaries are working.
However, individual differences may play a great role. So, whilst on one hand one woman may have a wealth of ovarian capacity, another woman may unfairly suffer from the onset of menopause at an early age. The same situation is also true for men. Some may have hundreds of millions of sperm in their counts while some others may have very low or even no sperm in their counts. Unfortunately based on such a genetic characteristics, there is no specific treatment can be done. Remember that you cannot produce new eggs and sperms, but in vitro fertilization treatment uses what you have. Perhaps this fact is subject to change with the development of rejuvenation and stem cell therapies in the near future. We hope that this process will not take too long.
- There is physical and emotional cost of IVF treatment.
Most couples describe the IVF experience as financially, physically and emotionally demanding. Physical side effects can include headaches, insomnia, bloating, fatigue and emotional fluctuations. Many also find the IVF experience stressful as they go through the painful process of waiting for the result. Reputable clinics offer specially trained psychological counselling services to help people through the emotionally challenging aspects of IVF. Of course, not every couple is requiring these services. In this regard, note that you are entitled to receive support and be ready for some amount of stress.
- There is no guarantee.
Approximately seven million children have been born worldwide as a result of in vitro fertilization treatments. It is a highly efficient technology to have a baby when the other treatment modalities are failed. According to statistics, around 85% of pregnancy rate is reached after 3 attempts. However, with a good-quality embryo transfer in the best conditions, pregnancy rate is around 55-60 % per trial. In addition, miscarriage may occur in up to 10-15% in the age of 35. For a young lady trying IVF, take-home baby rate of a single embryo transfer in the optimum conditions for each trial is about 40-45 % . When much higher figures in the first interview are given to you, you should think about reliability of that centre.
IVF is a highly effective treatment in overcoming many causes of infertility such as low-sperm count, blocked fallopian tubes and PCOS. However, there are no guarantees. In fact, it is well known that almost half of the people who try IVF will not be successful for each trial.
It’s worth noting that if a couple or individual do not obtain success after three attempts in the same centre, then perhaps it’s best attempting treatment at other centers. This is less to do with the failure of original centre, but more to do with enabling the couple or individual to make a psychological change.
- When should I give up?
In theory, as long as eggs from woman and the sperm from the man can be obtained and the transfer performed, the couple has a chance of pregnancy. However, if female age is close to or over 45, with three or more failed attempts, only poor-quality embryos hardly obtained despite high doses of drugs, and you start to get in trouble financially, sit down with your partner and think again.
And finally, doctors may be reluctant to stop treatment because they don’t want to accept “failure” on their part as a care-provider or they may feel that part of their job is to remain eternally hopeful and optimistic for you. The bottom line is that this is your and your partner’s decision.
We wholeheartedly wish you good luck on your IVF journey.
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