5 most important things you should know about IVF Treatment

By Dr. Shweta Goswami 

As we know infertility means when you are unable to concive naturally despite of one year of trying. As you age your fertility levels will decline plus there are many lifestyle factors that affects your fertility and then you opt for IVF treatment to conceive. So, here are few things that you should know about IVF: 

1. When women's and men’s fertility really starts to drop: 

First and foremost you should know about the time when a woman's fertility starts to drop dramatically i.e from the age of 30 onwards. Diminishing egg numbers along with diminishing egg quality is one issue. A simple blood test, known as AMH, will tell a woman if she has a normal number of eggs for her age but tells us little about the quality of the eggs remaining. 

On the other hand, men's fertility can also reduce with age. While women are born with all the eggs they will ever have, men are continually producing new sperm. However, as men age, the quality of the genes in their sperm deteriorates.  

2. Success rate of IVF treatment: 

There are ‘N’ number of fertility clinics and infertility specialists in the world and many have achieved the highest success rates in IVF in the world. However, an individual couple's chance of success depends on a number of factors such as the cause of infertility, age and lifestyle. As a general guide, there is a 60 to 70 percent chance of conception per IVF treatment if aged under 30. This goes down to a 20 percent chance for your first IVF treatment over the age of 40. 

3. Cost factor:

Infertility is increasing at a fast paced and IVF is becoming a common option for all. So, as a result IVF has become more affordable in India than in other developed countries. It is just 1/5th of the costs outside India with success rate at par with the world. 

4. Risks involved: 

IVF has been around for more than 30 years. It is a very safe procedure, with no long-term risks to mother or child. The most serious medical complication is

Ovulation Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS), affecting one percent of women. It occurs when a woman over-responds to hormone treatment and produces too many eggs. However, the lower drug doses used nowadays mean that this is much less common. In addition, specialists have become much better at predicting which women are at risk of OHSS, and the medical profession is well trained in recognizing and managing symptoms. 

5. There are no guarantees: 

Last but not least you should know that IVF is a highly effective treatment in overcoming many causes of infertility such as low-sperm count, blocked fallopian tubes and PCOS but there are no guarantees. Around 70% to 80% of couples achieve pregnancy with IVF. Counseling has helped thousands of people come to terms with a life without a hoped for family and counseling is recommended when couples face the difficult decision to stop treatment.