A child is blessing for a family. Once a couple decides to have a child, “inability to conceive” can be very stressful with unsaid personal and social implications.
Every 1 in 6 to 1in 8 couples have trouble in getting pregnant. That means, there is a really good chance that someone you know is struggling with infertility – even if you are not aware of it. And yet, despite how common infertility is, it’s not something that many people discuss or know about it. It’s this paradox that makes infertility lonely. It can be an isolating experience for female as well as the male partner. It also has far reaching social consequences that make the patient unwilling to accept that they may be infertile.
In past few years there have been there have been great strides in infertility research and advancements in technology. Fertility treatment has become more accessible and with increase in awareness more and more couples are opening up and embracing fertility treatments sooner than before.
IVF has become more common yet many couples fear IVF treatment or consider it as the last resort. Here are some common misconceptions about IVF.
The absolute risk of delivering an IVF baby with malformations is low. The risk of an anomalous fetus as well as miscarriage in spontaneous or IVF babies is the same as in general population.
IVF is a little expensive but cheaper than many other surgeries. Its cost has, however, not risen in the last many years. Additionally, early adoption of IVF where indicated will actually reduce the total treatment cost.
It is a safe procedure with only about 2% of patients standing the risk of becoming unwell from ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome
Bed rest is absolutely not required post IVF. It is important that the woman carries on with normal day to day activities from the beginning. Compared to natural pregnancy in an IVF conception the woman will be taking some extra medicines for first 8-10 weeks only.
During menarche, a girl has over 400,000 eggs. Of these, only 400 are required in an entire lifetime. Every month about 20 of these are mobilized and only one or two grow to the point of being released during ovulation. Rest of the remaining eggs die. IVF helps in sustaining the growth of these remaining eggs. Therefore, there is no chance of eggs getting finished through
In certain cases like severe male infertility, bilateral tubal block, ovarian failure IVF may be the first choice of treatment
There are many assisted reproductive procedures available today and IVF is just one of them. Some other procedures include ovulation induction (OI) with medications, Intra Uterine Insemination (IUI), etc. which can help childless couple to conceive
The hospital admission is only for few hours during the egg-collection procedure. The person is not required to stay admitted for many days.
a. The success rate of IVF varies with age, cause of infertility, and biological and hormonal conditions. Generally in a patient below 35 years, 2-3 couples out of 5 will be able to conceive per cycle.
b. Cumulative success rates of IVF is better indicating many patients who fail to conceive in first cycle may do so in subsequent cycle.
Although there are cases of multiple pregnancies with this procedure, reducing the number of embryos transferred, particularly in younger women, can minimize the risk.