We need to stop medicalising IVF treatment

IVF is an extremely effective form of therapy for infertile couples . It is the final, common pathway for any couple with an infertility problem, because it allows us to bypass whatever hurdles nature may have put in their place. For example, whether the tubes are blocked , or the sperm count is low, IVF allows to do with the lab what is not happening normally for that infertile couple in the bedroom. That's why IVF is an ART, which stands for Assisted Reproductive Technology and not Artificial Reproductive Technology.

A big problem today is that everyone seems to have medicalized IVF. They think of it as being abnormal or artificial . Thus, some patients are worried that the sperm selected for IVF may be weak , as a result of which the baby born may be abnormal. It's high time we put to rest these myths and misconceptions.

IVF has now been around for more than 40 years. Millions of babies have been born worldwide after IVF and it's been proven to be safe and effective, both for the babies who are born as well,  as their mothers. This is quite intuitive , if you stop to think about it . Effectively, all we are doing in an IVF cycle is what would normally happen in the fallopian tube in the woman's bedroom if she were having sex normally , and she were fertile . In IVF, we do exactly the same process in the petri dish in the incubator - we are just replacing the fallopian tube with a test tube ! Once we've made the embryo, it's exactly like any other woman's embryo.

There is absolutely no difference between an in vitro embryo and in vivo embryo , and this is the reason why an IVF pregnancy is exactly like any other pregnancy . We need to reassure our patients that what we are doing is safe , and that an IVF pregnancy doesn't require any special care or precautions. Thus , after the embryo transfer, they don't need bed rest or dietary restrictions.
After all, women doing IVF are not patients ! They're normal women , and we're just helping them to kickstart their pregnancy.

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