IVF success rates, statistics and probability

One of the major problems which plagues IVF treatment is the uncertainty surrounding it , because you can never be sure whether your IVF cycle is going to work or not. This is where the concept of probability is so important.  Patients need to understand what their chance of success are, so they can decide how many times they want to try IVF.

The trouble is that's very hard to apply probability statistics to IVF for two reasons. One is because it's so personal – after all, the success rate is not just a number ! It's something which affects your entire life, which is why  it's very hard to view it objectively in a detached fashion.

The other problem is that the law of small numbers applies. Statistics aren't very reliable when they are applied to small numbers , and this is a big problem with IVF cycles, because it's very hard to draw conclusions based one patient's experience with one or two cycles.

Finally, the fact that there are so many biological variables which affect the results of IVF makes interpreting these numbers extremely hard - not just for patients , but for doctors as well.

This is why both doctor and patient need to sit together , so they can decide what's right for the patient.

You can download the IVF comic book free at https://www.drmalpani.com/pdf/IVF_COMIC_BOOK.pdf

and this will help you make better decisions !

Or you can send me your medical details by filling in the form at www.drmalpani.com/free-second-opinion so that I can guide you !