Infertility is the inability to conceive after a full year of regular intercourse. Fertile women who have fertile partners and are under the age 36 experience about 16-18% pregnancy rate per month and hold a chance of approximately 10-12% of having a baby from such pregnancy. In a year, around 70% will conceive. But more important is the fact to note that there are still 30% cases where women are unable to conceive naturally that too without the presence of any obvious reason.
Many a time, reduced fertility is often confused with infertility. There are women who have a patent but damaged fallopian tubes which affect the journey of sperm, egg, and embryo to reach their destinations. In such cases, pregnancy might get delayed but it is not impossible to conceive.
Now the important question stands, exactly when should the “infertility” be treated and when should we delay or avoid the treatment. Apollo fertility is here to answer all your doubts. Now, waiting indefinitely is not a solution at any cost because that might just convert “reduced fertility” to “infertility”.
Before we proceed to who needs IVF treatment, let us first know what is IVF treatment. IVF or In Vitro Fertilization involves fertilizing an egg outside of the womb, then re-implanting the embryo. A thing to be considered here is that IVF procedure is not a “treatment” of infertility as it does not solve the underlying problem. IVF is gaining popularity as the only treatment for infertility. Contrary to this it is a less successful procedure compared to other alternatives. It is not even a “treatment” for infertility, it is just a one-off attempt to help someone have a baby.
Who should opt for IVF treatment?
For women in whom first-line fertility treatments have been unsuccessful, IVF may be the right choice for them.
It was originally developed for women with tubal factor infertility in which the fallopian tubes are non-functional.
Some common female infertility situations where IVF can be considered as a good option:
• Fallopian tube non-functional
• Endometriosis
• Age-related infertility
• Being at risk of some genetic disease
• Unexplained infertility
• The inability of the male partner to produce any viable sperm
• Failure to ovulate due to irregular menstrual cycle
• Presence of high blood levels of anti-sperm antibodies
• For families who wish to have additional children of a particular gender.
• Diminished ovarian function due to age
• Women with bilateral tubal ligation
• Women who had 3 unsuccessful cycles of infertility treatment
Who should not opt for IVF treatment?
While for some IVF treatment may seem to be a gift, for others it might not be the case. Let’s have a look on who should not go for this treatment.
• Women with serious health complications.
• Ones with an untreated acute infectious disease.
• Ones with untreated reproductive tract infections.
• Women having severely damaged endometrial lining that cannot support a pregnancy.
As stated earlier IVF is no treatment for infertility. Also, it is not meant for all. So before opting for the treatment, one should confirm if it is really going to solve the problem or not.
