IVF Is More Likely To Succeed Beyond First Attempt (And Patients Need to Know)

A study by Australian researchers, recently published in Fertility & Sterility, says that the more treatment cycles a woman undergoes, the greater her chances of IVF success.

From the BioNews article about the study:

"Lead author Louise Stewart, researcher at the School of Population Health, stated: 'The results of this study suggest that IVF has the potential to be more effective if women, especially those over 35, are able to undertake more than the usual two to three cycles'."

(She's referring to the number of cycles recommended in the U.K. by their National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines.)

Another interesting result of the study, which retrospectively analyzed Western Australia's IVF success rates from 1993 to 2002, is the number of women who went on to get pregnant without IVF and have a child after stopping IVF treatment -- 21% of 20-somethings and 11% in their early 40's.

Asked by Reuters to comment, University of California's Dr. Mitchell Rosen is quoted as saying that the study results are "pretty obvious" and points out that even so, success odds decrease with each cycle over time. He adds that eventually, "the psychological side effects and the cost" will stand in the way of continuing IVF for some patients.

Sonja Kristiansen, Medical Director of Houston Fertility Center, adds, "Studies like this are helpful in demonstrating the illusive nature of IVF rates for both success and risks. It's important to educate patients about the tremendous gray areas of medicine, even with full access to the highest state-of-the-art technology and facilities. Much of practicing medicine is dependent on the art of communication with patients."

Dr. Kristiansen believes that new fertility patients can be educated about the risks and chances for success of IVF so that their expectations about fertility treatment outcomes are based on the realities of reproductive medicine. "With reasonable expectations for fertility treatment, patients will feel more secure about choosing among available options to help them get pregnant successfully."

The Grief of Infertility

It's common to connect grief to traumatic life events.

But many fertility patients don't think of grieving as part of their treatment.

Dr. Sonja Kristiansen remarks, "Even pro-active patients who are enthusiastic about treatment are experiencing loss. And with loss comes grieving."

She says virtually every infertility patient experiences losing the dream of how they thought it would be to get pregnant and have a baby.

"I've had patients come to me and say, 'Dr. Kristiansen, I'm finding it hard to stay positive about our fertility treatment.' And they worry about the impact of stress on their results."

She says acknowledging the losses of infertility is an important first step to getting through the grief.

"It doesn't mean you're being pessimistic. Optimism requires starting exactly where you are in order to move toward resolution. No need to wallow in it, but if you find yourself doing so, be forgiving. Seek help. It's here."

The staff of Houston Fertility Center, under the direction of Sonja Kristiansen, refers patients to specially-trained and experienced support resources for help with coping.

Online articles related to grieving and infertility:

"Infertility: I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me"
by Ryan Jacobson

How to Grieve Infertility Losses
By FaithAllen on eHow

You can find out more about Sonja Kristiansen on the Houston Fertility Center website.