Tuesday, July 05, 2016

The cost of not doing IVF


We all know that IVF can be an expensive treatment , which is why so many infertile couples are reluctant to do it, even though they know that it maximises their chances of having a baby.
It's not just the financial cost , it's the emotional toll it exacts as well. The uncertainty , and the horrible 2 ww can often be intolerable , and their fear is that if the cycle fails, they will be back to square one, and will have to start all over again - with a much smaller bank balance, and a broken heart to cope with as well !

Yes , doing IVF can be challenging, but when weighing the pros and cons, patients sometimes forget to consider the cost of not doing IVF. They feel that the only risk is deciding to do IVF, and if they choose not to go down the IVF path, they will have selected the risk free option. However, they are deluding themselves , and not doing IVF exacts a price as well - both an emotional cost , as well as an opportunity cost .

Choosing not do to IVF means that they deprive themselves at their best chance of having a baby, and this sense of loss will often come back to haunt them in the future, because they will kick themselves for the fact that they didn't give themselves the best chance of having a baby by not taking advantage of the IVF technology.  You need to consider the long-term regret factor when making a decision, rather than only focus on the short-term costs. The truth is that as you get older, you usually regret the things you don't do , rather than the things you do. As you mature, you understand that all you can control in life is the process, not the outcome, which is why you need to give your baby making effort your best shot.

Interestingly, there is a financial cost for not doing IVF as well. When patients don't do IVF , they continue doing ineffective treatments,  such as IUIs , or using alternative options such as Clear Passage Therapy. These seem attractive, as they are sold as being inexpensive alternatives to IVF. Yes, these do cost less, but because they do not work, this means the poor patient sends up spending a small amount of money in dribbles over many years - which ultimately adds up to a small fortune, which they could have used for doing IVF in the first place instead.

They finally realise that they have wasted a lot of money doing many ineffective treatments over many years, while they would have been better off just doing a single IVF cycle . However, by the time they understand this, it's too late, and all their money has gone down the drain in their futile effort to try to save money.


Need help in getting pregnant ? Please send me your medical details by filling in the form at www.drmalpani.com/free-second-opinion so that I can guide you !




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