IVF - Know Pro's & Con's Of it!

IVF, as we all know is an assisted reproductive technology. This is a process of fertilization by extracting eggs, retrieve a sperm sample and then manually get an egg and sperm to combine in a laboratory dish. The embryo then gets transferred to the uterus.

Now before going deep into the advantages and disadvantages of IVF, let’s take a look the kind of patients, on whom IVF can be used to treat the problem of infertility:

• Women who have damaged or blocked fallopian tubes. Fallopian tubes refer to the pair of tubes through which eggs pass through to the uterus from the ovaries.

• Males, who are suffering from infertility due to decreased sperm count.

• Any individual who has a genetic disorder.

IVF helps many patients to conceive, who would otherwise be unable to have children following the conventional path. Achieving a successful pregnancy along with the delivery of a healthy baby is the ultimate objective of In Vitro Fertilization. Some other advantages are discussed below as follows:

• Have A Child Using Their Own Eggs: IVF allows Women, who have their fallopian tubes blocked or damaged, with the best alternative to conceive child artificially through the usage of their own eggs.

• Patients With A Low Ovarian Reserve: IVF helps to maximize the chance of conceiving among older patients. Generally, some fertility clinics use Natural IVF as it’s main focus is more on the quality of eggs, rather than quantity.

• Help Males Get Rid Of Their Infertility: Males with infertility problems, as a result of low sperm count, will have a much higher chance of conceiving through IVF.

• Assist Women Who Have Had Premature Ovarian Failure: Premature Ovarian Failure or Menopause among women can go through IVF treatment using donor eggs, which has been known to have high success rates.

• Safe Track Record: It was in the year 1978, when the first ‘IVF baby’, Lousie Brown was born using Natural IVF. It’s been 40 years since then and the technology has advanced with refined techniques, which has helped create safer, successful treatments.

There are certain disadvantages to this form of infertility treatment as well. Some of them are discussed below:

• Side Effects and Risks Associated With IVF: In Vitro Fertilization treatment is not without certain risks and side effects, the most severe one being Ovarian Hyper-Stimulation Syndrome.

• Women Can Have A Slightly Higher Chance Of Ectopic Pregnancy: For women having damaged fallopian tubes, IVF treatment can lead to the risk of ectopic pregnancy. In this type of pregnancy, the fertilized egg gets attached in a place other than inside the uterus.

• IVF Is Not Always A Success: One cycle of IVF may not bring success, hence patients well need to go through multiple cycles before being treated completely.

So, one can get a fair idea about the benefits and drawbacks of IVF treatment, which would ultimately help patients to take decisions accordingly.