Many patients write to me asking for a free second opinion after they have failed an IVF cycle.
It's very clear the quality of medical care they have received has been extremely poor - but sadly, they are blissfully unaware of this bitter truth. The documentation is pathetic ; the doctor has not bothered to do a blastocyst transfer ; and failed to provide photographs of the embryos which were transferred - all of which are red flags.
The first thing I tell them is that if you want to improve your chances of getting pregnant , you need to change your IVF clinic . If you continue taking treatment at a bad clinic, you will continue wasting your time and money , and your chances of getting pregnant will remian poor.
In fact, changing doctors is often one of the most effective things a patient can do , because the commonest cause of IVF cycle failure is suboptimal medical care . Sticking with the same doctor out of a sense of misplaced loyalty is just going to mean that you will continue failing cycle after cycle , and will end up never having a baby .
However , most patients are very reluctant to change doctors . Part of this is because of the " sunk cost fallacy ". Since they have already spent so much money on doing the first cycle in that IVF clinic , they are very reluctant to take the time and energy and trouble to find a new IVF clinic . They naively believe that their current doctor now understands their history , and since he has seen how they responded to the treatment, they will be able to do a better job with the second IVF cycle .
This is just a false hope . If your doctor has done a bad job in the first cycle , what makes you think he will magically improve and do a better job in the next cycle ? If it's a bad clinic , it will remain a bad clinic, and you will continue going around in circles .
However, most patients have too much inertia to take the time and trouble to switch doctors . This is an active step that requires them to invest in Information Therapy , but most patients are too lazy to do so.
One would think that it's easier to look for better options after you have experienced one IVF cycle , and burnt your fingers in the process. Ideally, you have learnt your lesson, and now know exactly what questions to ask , so you can find a better clinic .
However , most patients in India are still very fatalistic , and refuse to participate actively in their medical care. They take the attitude that the doctor knows best, and are happy to follow orders blindly.They believe that the known devil is better than the unknown one , and are not sure how to differentiate between a good clinic and a bad clinic.
After all, if they weren't able to select a good IVF clinic the first time , why they would be able to do a better job the second time around ? After failing an IVF cycle, they have low self-esteem , because the IVF doctor often blames them for the failure by saying things like - Your cycle failed because you have poor quality eggs, and you need donor egg IVF if you want to increase your chances of getting pregnant !
They have lost confidence in all IVF doctors , and think they are all equally incompetent.
The truth is that you have already paid expensive tuition fees in the form of the first failed IVF cycle , and in fact, you can do a much better job at finding a better IVF clinic, because you now know exactly what questions to ask !
If your cycle has failed, and your IVF doctor has not bothered to give you photos of your embryos, the first thing you should do is get a second opinion !
Need help 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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