Surprising Facts About In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

In vitro fertilization, most commonly referred to as IVF, is a fertility treatment where a doctor will collect a woman’s eggs and fertilize them with sperm from the woman’s partner (or a donor) in the lab. It is perhaps the most well-known fertility treatments out there, and even individuals who have not done much research concerning options for infertility have heard the term IVF before. However, if you are aware of the basics, there are still quite a few surprising facts you might not know about IVF. Want to reveal all the details? Start reading now.

One Cycle Can Range From Three To Six Weeks

The timeline for one cycle of IVF is between three to six weeks, depending on what the doctor recommends for the woman undergoing treatment, as well as the woman’s wishes. As most IVF treatments include medication, the average span is between four to six weeks. However, some women will not undergo the first treatment stage of hormone injections, often due to another medical condition, which means one cycle of IVF can be as little as three weeks. Provided the woman chooses to take the medication, a cycle of IVF starts once the woman begins taking the prescribed medication and ends when the doctor implants the selected number of fertilized embryos into her womb.

How successful is IVF? The answer might be surprising.

IVF Is Not A Guarantee

Many individuals might think IVF is a great way to guarantee a successful pregnancy if they or others have experienced infertility. However, this is not the case, as in vitro fertilization is not a guarantee. The success rate of IVF depends on quite a few different factors, including the age of the woman whose eggs are used, lifestyle, the cause of infertility, other medical conditions involved, reproductive history, and even the number of IVF treatments. This makes an exact percentage hard to pin down, though some indicate it is roughly forty percent for women under thirty-five, though doctors will agree IVF makes pregnancy much likelier for those who have experienced infertility than without it.

Speaking of the number of treatments, continue for information on how this impacts the rate of success for live births.