Natural IVF Or Mini IVF - How Are They Different?

Suffering from the problem of infertility can be a heartbreaking as well as a very frustrating process but still with different kinds of IVF treatments available today, a lot of women can realize their dreams of having their own family. In Vitro Fertilization is a laboratory procedure where the sperm and egg are fertilized outside the body.

It has been more than 35 years since the first baby was born through this process of IVF and now it has become the go-to method for treatment regarding reproduction, which assists in the birth of over 5 million babies. With the availability of different kinds of IVF treatments currently, to navigate one’s way through the in vitro fertilization process can seem to be quite confusing as well as intimidating.

Now, we take a look at the difference between the types of IVF treatments and see if they are right for a woman.

Different Types of IVF:

Since the time IVF came into being, more than three decades ago, it has become the leading form of assisted reproduction, having an estimated amount of 70000 babies per year getting conceived through this procedure. The procedure of IVF involves a really complex series of procedures where an egg gets removed from the ovaries of a woman and fertilized with sperm in a laboratory. The fertilized egg, which is called an embryo then, gets returned to the womb of the woman for its growth and development.

Natural Cycle IVF: Natural Cycle IVF bears similarity with the standard IVF treatment but this takes place without having to use medication for stimulating the ovary leading to the preparation of multiple eggs. Natural IVF basically monitors the ovulation cycle of a patient with the intention to retrieve only one egg. This is unlike conventional IVF, which requires retrieval of multiple eggs. Women who opt for Natural IVF due to the process being more economical compared to the traditional treatment. Natural Cycle IVF requires less time as compared to the traditional one and is thought to be a safer as well as stress-free treatment option by certain experts.

Mini IVF: Minimal Stimulation IVF or Mini IVF is a kind of IVF, which is supposed to be somewhere between Natural IVF and Traditional IVF. The Mini IVF treatment is different from the Traditional IVF, with regard to how it gets administered through medicines. In case of Mini IVF treatment, less amount of medication gets administered by the specialists, so that there can only be production of two to three eggs at a time, in comparison to 10 or more in case of conventional IVF.

At the time of treatment, the retrieval of eggs and fertilization take place just like they are done in any other IVF process. The only difference lies in the stimulation part, which is lot less in this case compared to regular In Vitro Fertilization. Despite Mini IVF being suggested as a gentler approach to IVF, some researchers feel that less number of eggs might reduce the possibility of getting success.

Despite the positives, certain fertility experts send out a warning due to the significantly low chance of pregnancy with this process.