Listly by Dr. Meshva Patel
IVF, or in vitro fertilization, is becoming increasingly popular among couples who cannot conceive naturally, despite having tried for months or even years together. Advanced reproductive treatments and techniques have shown remarkable progress in the last 40 years.
There is still a lot of misleading information regarding IVF and IVF-related treatments out there, leaving couples in a fix whether to opt for the treatment or not. In this article, we aim to bust those myths regarding IVF treatments and help you make more informed decisions using facts and truths only.
IVF is a procedure that tries to expedite or make successful a process that happens naturally in humans. For babies to happen naturally, the sperm needs to successfully fertilize the egg. In IVF too, this fertilization of the egg by the sperm happens, where the only difference is that it happens outside the body, in a laboratory. The resultant embryos and babies are as normal, natural, and healthy, as babies conceived through normal human intercourse.
IVF-born babies are as normal as naturally-conceived babies. The chances of any mental or physical deformities in IVF-born babies are very low. In fact, in an IVF treatment, the IVF specialist uses the best egg and the best sperm for fertilization. They also implant the best quality embryo of the lot inside the womb. Continual monitoring of these embryos also helps keep a check on any genetic abnormalities due to the couple’s family history.
The most common misinformation regarding IVF is that the procedure is painful for women. The pick up of the oocytes or eggs, as well as the implantation of the embryo(s), are done under the influence of anesthesia. Another myth that IVF injections are painful is also untrue. Pains related to injections, vaginal catheters, and ultrasounds are subjective as tolerance towards pain differs from person to person. However, pain because of any IVF procedure is not more than any regular pain.
IVF is only a supportive procedure enabling a faster success of a natural fertilization process. The success of an IVF treatment depends largely on several factors, including the male and the female’s reproductive health and the quality of their gametes - Sperm and Egg. The success rate worldwide for IVF is between 55-65 percent and this will depend on various factors. . The IVF specialist can help you prepare for a better chance at pregnancy through supportive drugs and treatments.
IVF is a science where babies are created in the laboratory using technology and machinery. So there are bound to be several myths regarding the procedure and the outcome. Many couples shy away from even considering IVF as an option because unfounded myths become an unnecessary hindrance between them and the joy of starting a family. Rather than believing misleading information published by unreliable sources on the internet or even hearsay, visit IVF centers & get the opinion of multiple IVF specialists.
In IVF, the IVF specialists aim to create as many healthy embryos in the laboratory as possible. In most cases, the IVF specialist recommends implanting no more than two embryos inside female’s womb to increase the couple’s chances of successful conception. Many couples opt for single embryo implantation, which reduces their chance of multiple pregnancies. Multiple pregnancies are directly proportional to the number of embryos transferred.