Sunday, May 18, 2014

What is your IVF success rate ?


This is the commonest question patients ask an IVF doctor. The truth is that the quality of an answer depends upon the quality of the question, and this is often a pointless question.  While clinics are good at telling you what their success rates are with a selected group of women , this information does not necessarily apply to you as an individual – and you really only want to know what your personal chances of success are !

A far better question would be – How many IVF cycles will it take for me to get pregnant ? This is far more relevant for the individual patients.

A success rate of 40% to 50% is meaningless for the individual patient . For you, the outcome of an IVF cycle is either 0% success or 100% success ( and 200% if you get twins !)

However , once you know what the clinic’s cumulative conception rate , you then have a much better sense of judging how many treatment cycles you are likely to have to do in order to get pregnant.

Often, the doctor can give you a far more accurate answer at the end of the first IVF cycle.  He can analyse the results of this cycle , and this will give him a much better sense of how you respond to superovulation and how good your embryo quality is .

While the doctor will not be able to give you an exactly precise number as to what your chances of success are , he can much predict how many cycles you are likely to need in order to take home a baby much more accurately. This will help you estimate how much time, money and energy you will need to invest in your quest for a baby.

Need to know more about how to maximise your chances of IVF success ? Please send me your medical details by filling in the form at http://www.drmalpani.com/free-second-opinion so I can guide you sensibly ?





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