Two-thirds of patients undergo IVF or other advanced fertility treatments will eventually fail. This statement may disturb you and yet this is the reality.
Successful or celebrity stories attract the media attention. You, therefore, see only one side of the story. You will not know the other side of the story. The reason is understandable. Patients who failed remain silent enduring psychological trauma they have undergone during the treatment.
Pay close attention here…
There is a saying “a half-truth is often a great lie”. It means telling only half truth is like lying. So anyone taking decisions based on half truth will end up with failure.
Here is what you have to realize…
Before you go for IVF treatment, several factors need to be considered. In this article, I made an attempt to give you a comprehensive awareness of IVF treatment.
And above all…
My intention is not to take sides; rather give you the correct perspective so that you can go for well-informed choice.
So here are sixteen Things You Should Know about IVF Treatment
[tweetthis]Here are 16 Things You Should Know about IVF Treatment.[/tweetthis]
Here is my take on IVF treatment…
Did you know?
Current trends show that women are delaying childbearing, avoiding marriage and freezing their eggs using of IVF technology.
So! Women are increasingly using IVF. There is no surprise you are motivated by the success stories. Unfortunately, majority people do not fully aware of the dark side of IVF.
The Truth is…
Everyone using IVF is risking their physical and emotional well-being. In this article, you will realize how the IVF treatment affects you emotionally socially and physically.
[tweetthis]Learn how the IVF treatment will affect you emotionally socially and physically.[/tweetthis]As I want to discuss all the aspects of IVF treatment, first let me start with what is IVF….
What Is IVF?
As you already aware IVF stands for In Vitro Fertilization. IVF involves retrieving eggs from a woman ovaries and fertilizing them with sperm outside the woman womb.
The fertilized egg is called an embryo and this embryo can then be frozen for storage or transferred to a woman uterus or a surrogate. Surrogate is a woman who carries your pregnancy.
IVF can be done with:
- Your eggs and your spouse sperm.
- Your eggs and donor sperm.
- Donor eggs and your spouse sperm.
- Donated embryos.
IVF is used for:
- Blocked or damaged fallopian tubes.
- Reduced ovarian function.
- Endometriosis.
- Uterine fibroids.
- Male infertility.
- Unexplained infertility.
- Aged women whose fertility reduced.
IVF Techniques:
Most common fertility technique is IVF with ICSI. This treatment accounts for around two-thirds of all treatments worldwide. ICSI is an acronym for intracytoplasmic sperm injection. It is a fancy name for directly injecting sperm into an egg in a laboratory. This treatment is used to deal with male infertility.
Conventional IVF vs. ICSI:
Surrogacy Types:
What is surrogacy?
In laymen terms, surrogacy means taking another woman’s womb for rent.
Surrogacy is followed by the couple when it is not possible to have a child on their own due to medical reasons.
There are two types of surrogacy:
- Traditional surrogacy: In this process, sperm is placed in a surrogate woman’s vagina when she is ovulating. What it means is that surrogate mother is the genetical mother of the child. Put it simply, surrogate not only renting the womb but also giving or selling the egg.
- Gestational surrogacy: In gestational surrogacy, an embryo is created using IVF procedure and then transferred to a surrogate. In otherwords, surrogate only carries the pregnancy without any genetical relation with the child. Put it simply surrogate only renting the womb.
IVF is 5 steps Procedure
There are five steps involved in IVF:
- Stimulation fertility drugs
- Egg retrieval
- Insemination
- Embryo culture
- Transfer
IVF Success Rate
Pregnancies per embryo transfer 29%
Live birth per started cycle 17% (Under age 35)
Live birth per started cycle 6% – 10% (Above age 35)
Note1: Statistics only indicative but not accurate because Clinics don’t consider Drop-outs.
Note2: Statistics varies from clinic to clinic also.
Number of IVF Cycles
One IVF cycle involves 3 stages. IVF cycle begins with stimulating the ovary when the woman menstruates. Then It is followed by fertilization of egg and sperm in a laboratory and finally, the embryo is transferred to the woman’s womb. This is what we call as one cycle.
Please take note of the following important facts:
- Some women are successful on the 1st cycle.
- Others may need 4 or 5 Cycles.
- Some endured even 11 cycles to have their child.
- So on average, it takes 3 IVF cycles to give birth to a baby.
Here are the extracts of real people to feel a sense of the reality of IVF treatment:
[tweetthis]Here patients reveal their experience of IVF treatment.[/tweetthis]“I have just failed my 4th IVF attempt which was my first Frozen Natural Cycle. 4 IVF attempts then get pregnant? I am SOOO losing hope of having my own child. If anyone can give me any insight I’d appreciate it.” – Source: www.fertilethoughts.com
“I’m frustrated a bit, I did 10 FAILED ivf attempts. I want to believe but can’t forget so many fails I had already. Maybe it is really worth to try?” – Source: www.fertilethoughts.com
“I am feeling very sad, mad, confused. This will be our last attempt. I am physically, emotionally, and financially drained. I feel like I am the only person who can do 6 IVF/FET/Donor cycles in a row and fail.” – Source: www.fertilethoughts.com
IVF Cost
The cost of IVF treatment plays a crucial role in IVF treatment because IVF treatment may drain all your life savings.
No one can give you a precise cost of IVF treatment as it varies depending upon no. of IVF cycles you undergo, the cost of medications, additional treatments like ICSI, PGD so on so forth…
Here is the average cost of IVF treatment for your guidance…
- The cost for a single IVF cycle: $12,000-$17,000.
- Per each additional IVF cycle: $6,955
In general, fertility clinics don’t reveal the full facts at once. First, they tell the cost of IVF leaving the drugs, diagnostic costs… so you need to be cautious about the cost of the IVF treatment.
IVF Insurance & Finance
Most health insurance plans do not cover In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
Get Finance: Some IVF providers offer to finance.
Take an IVF vacation: Go abroad for medical treatment where it is cheap
India is a main destination for surrogacy. Indian surrogates have been increasingly popular with intended parents in industrialized nations because of the relatively low cost. Indian clinics are at the same time becoming more competitive, not just in the pricing, but in the hiring and retention of Indian females as surrogates. Clinics charge patients between $10,000 and $28,000 for the complete package, including fertilization, the surrogate’s fee, and delivery of the baby at a hospital. Including the costs of flight tickets, medical procedures and hotels, it comes to roughly a third of the price compared with going through the procedure in the UK. – Source: en.wikipedia.org
IVF Side Effects
It is a fact that all the prescription drugs come with unwanted side effects. There is no exception to IVF drugs also. Here are the likely side effects you may suffer….
- Cramping
- Bloating
- Constipation
- Breast tenderness
- Heavy vaginal bleeding
- Pelvic pain
- Blood in the urine
IVF Risks
IVF process involves a host of activities including over-stimulation of the ovaries and freezing the embryos using drugs. All these procedures intervene your natural system and affect them. Here are some of the risks associated with IVF treatment…
- Anxiety or depression
- Increased risk of cancer
- Drugs can give you a heart attack
- Increased Multiple pregnancies with a risk of premature birth
- Ectopic pregnancy (when the eggs implant outside the uterus)
- (OHSS): excess of fluid in the abdomen and chest
- Bleeding, infection, or damage to the bowels or bladder
- IVF Children are likely to develop serious diseases.
IVF Emotional Issues:
IVF treatment sucks your vital energies as you go through all the injections and long hours of waiting. You are always scared with haunting question of whether it works or not…
The problems deepen from each failed cycle. You are going through the rollercoaster ride of hope and disappointment.
More importantly, 3rd party donations and surrogacy are bound to have an impact on your relationship with your spouse.
IVF Social, Ethical and Legal Issues
In vitro fertilization turns children into commodities. IVF is a process of unnatural procreation not involving the sexual union. This obviously results in social, religious and legal issues.
These issues can’t be overlooked as legal issues are involved in surrogacy.
Genetic origins of a child can’t be kept secret for a long period of time. It will have a serious impact on the children born out through these procedures…
The Dark Side of IVF:
Here are the excerpts from real people to help you realize the implications of IVF treatment…
Zoe, Bristol: I honestly believe that undergoing fertility treatment was the worst decision I have ever made.
Karen, Cambridge: My husband and I went through five unsuccessful IVF treatments, and I have to say this was the worst period of my life. The drugs make you feel awful, it costs a fortune and the grief is overwhelming.
Beth, Sussex: Having been through IVF four times, I can honestly say that all these clinics are after is your money. I’ve never received a phone call or letter after a failed cycle.
I hated the invasive nature of IVF, and although I am glad we tried, I would never turn back the clock. We are financially secure now and would have had no savings for a rainy day if we had continued down the route of IVF. – Source: www.bbc.com
IVF in nutshell:
You just learned all the implications of IVF treatment. And that means you can now take an informed decision as to whether or not IVF treatment is right for you.
Now I wrap up this post with the following concluding words …
The IVF journey involves a lot of agony, cost and risk. So it is wise to enhance fertility naturally without risking your life.
What is the takeaway from this article?
Now You know everything about IVF.
Using this knowledge make necessary changes to in your life.
Remember this…
Fighting infertility and saving the womanhood is your responsibility.
Doctors at the most manage the symptoms for a while.
So don’t hand over your responsibility to the Doctors completely.