Women Quit IVF Too Soon

Couples need to regard IVF as a process rather than a ‘one-stop-shop’ to pregnancy – a new study reveals the real number of treatments needed to have a baby.

‘We need to stop thinking of it as a single, magic shot at having a family,’ urges Scott Nelson, Professor at University of Glasgow’s School of Medicine.

For IVF success you'll need 6 cycles — IVF birth success realistically requires 6 cycles

The study revealed 63.3% of women have a baby by the 6th – or up to a ninth IVF cycle. Researchers followed 156,947 women, who had 257,398 IVF ovary stimulation cycles from 2003 to 2010, with follow up until June 2012. Published in the Journal Of American Medicine Association – JAMA – this study is from Bristol (hometown of Britain’s first IVF baby, Louise Brown) and Glasgow Universities.

Prof. Debbie Lawlor, University of Bristol says: ‘These findings support the efficacy of extending the number of IVF cycles beyond three or four.’ If women quit IVF too soon, they reduce chances of having a baby. Why is it less effective now?

Clinic hopping

It’s a common myth that a cycle of IVF will get you pregnant. Traditionally couples are advised to stop treatment after three or four cycle failures. Clinics discourage more cycles if only a few, or no eggs at all are retrieved, believing results from a poor cycle predict low chance of future success. I see women in my practice devastated to be ‘written off’ after a meagre egg yield. This adds to the pressures faced by couples undergoing IVF, cost notwithstanding. Women end up having numerous cycles at various clinics in Ireland and abroad – without disclosing their history to new doctors. Clinic hopping is a dangerous practise which risks health and emotional stress. With a realistic view of it as a long-term treatment process, couples need to prepare for the long haul, financially and emotionally.

Drop out

Women quit IVF too soon, do so for a variety of reasons. A study review found couples drop out because of the ‘physical and psychological burden of treatment, relationship problems and personal problems.’ Failed cycles, emotional overload and financial pressures bring more and more women to my office. Deciding when to stop trying to conceive is tough – there’s always the ‘what ifs’ to consider.

Tip the balance

In my practice I find couples who conceive share one characteristic – they actively tip the balance in their favour. They work together and use al the help they can get. Fertility coaching is a case in point. Doctors recommend it and clients find it turbo-charges a positive mindset. This in turn helps wth implantation and eases the agony of the two-week-wait. My clients enjoy anxiety relief, medically accurate info, support, motivation and learning mindfulness coping skills. Pillar Healthcare’s ‘pre-Conceive’ is the best fertility and pre-pregnancy supplement.

Women quit IVF too soon

In the study live birth rates were calculated – including a cumulative chance of live births across many cycles – right up to a ninth IVF cycle. A cycle is defined as a hormone treatment stimulating ovary egg production, followed by egg retrieval. Interestingly, investigators include all the separate fresh and frozen embryo transfers, resulting from an initial ovary hormone stimulation.

63% of women have a baby after 6 IVF cycles — 63% of women have a baby after 6 or more IVF cycles

By a sixth cycle 65% of women achieved a live birth. This is defined as a baby born after 24 weeks of gestation, who lives beyond one month.

Read it for yourself

Here’s a link to the study:

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2478204

About the author

I help my clients optimise their natural fertility and navigate IVF to achieve pregnancy more easily - earning me the nickname of 'the pregnancy whisperer! When not reading up on fertility I love fiction novels, film, eating (not cooking), long baths, and muddy walks with my collie girl-dog who rescued me.

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Helena Tubridy