benefits of IVF

by James Ind consultant

IVF works where other infertility treatments fail. In some cases, patients move through a range of fertility treatments before arriving at the IVF “station”: fertility medications, intrauterine insemination, and so on. However, there are certain infertility diagnoses that will cause your doctor to recommend IVF from the get-go so you don’t waste your time and money on fertility treatments that are less likely to work. These include infertility diagnoses such as blocked fallopian tubes, severe male infertility factor, reduced ovarian reserves and/or advanced maternal age (typically any woman over the age of 38).

It can be used by anybody. In-vitro fertilization isn’t restricted to the mother of the baby, it can also be used by surrogate or gestational carriers so a range of people can become parents and participate in the pregnancy and labor experience. This includes same-sex couples, women who are physically unable to carry a baby full-term or single women, to name a few.

3 You can use donated eggs and/or sperm. There are times when a fertility specialist may recommend using donated eggs and/or sperm. In these cases, the egg can be manually fertilized in the clinic and a resulting, viable embryo can be used for IVF, which increases your chances of getting pregnant the first or second time around.

4You have control over timing. Patients who are focused on their careers or who may have a unique life situation that affects exactly when they want their baby to be born will find that IVF gives them more overall control. Eggs or embryos can be cryopreserved for future use. You can then choose a window of time when you want to be pregnant – or when you want your baby to be born – counting backwards to determine the best time to proceed with IVF. IVF can also help with spacing children in a way that works best for your family.