IVF success
According to the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) the IVF success rate is now 36%.
Typically IVF is offered when a couple haven’t been successful
getting pregnant naturally. There may be an identified root
cause such as Poly Cystic Ovaries or poor sperm quality or, as is the case with approximately 25% of cases, infertility is unexplained medically.
There are of course other reasons to choose IVF, such as same sex couples or structural issues where either partner is missing a vital reproductive organ.
You may have been referred to an IVF clinic by your GP and after some tests and investigations the clinic may have recommended this procedure for you. Alternatively you may have self referred.
Whichever route you have arrived here, your IVF clinic will
provide a particular protocol based on your specific clinical
needs.
IVF success rates
The success rate for IVF is 36% and falls to about 5% when the mother is over 40.
You can calculate your own success rate using the CDC estimator here
How to improve IVF success
In Nature it takes 3 months for an egg to mature. With IVF, egg production is hyper stimulated and multiple follicles are collected after less then one month. It is not surprising, therefore that some of these follicles fail to fertilise or implant. It is not always a matter of the woman’s egg quality but simply that the environment in which the eggs are expected to develop is not satisfactory. The same is true of sperm. Men make new sperm every day but they are not mature enough to fertilise an egg until they are 74 days old. Every semen analysis is a point in time test, for that batch of sperm only. Sperm count, motility and morphology can all be improved through simple nutrition and lifestyle changes in just 3 months. In fact, studies have shown that the Mediterranean diet alone can increase success by 40%. other factors such as smoking, exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals and obesity have also been shown to impact results.
If you were going to do an exam that affected the rest of your life and cost thousands of euros, you would prepare for it – wouldn’t you? The same goes for IVF – this applies to IUI, ICSI & FET too. There is too much at stake not to prepare.
I am often asked by couples why they were sent for IVF. In simple terms, that is the medical model. If you go to your GP with a ‘medical problem’ your GP will often send you to a medical specialist who will only offer a medical solution. Most doctors haven’t studied nutrition and have no idea how much nutrition and lifestyle changes can improve fertility. Couples often end up in IVF clinics even though they don’t necessarily need IUI or IVF. In fact I have successfully worked with couples where IVF has failed in every IVF clinic in Ireland. I have even helped a couple conceive naturally after they used a donor egg for their previous baby as this is what they were advised by the IVF clinic.
If you prefer to explore natural options before committing to medical interventions we can help.
If your medical intervention has not been successful and you would prefer to take a natural approach instead of repeating another cycle, we can help.
