IVF: TO WAIT OR NOT TO WAIT? THAT IS THE QUESTION

Women who are having difficulty conceiving might be wondering how long to wait between In Vitro Fertilization treatments if pregnancy didn’t occur on the first attempt, or unsure about how long to wait before beginning IVF.

First of all, you should understand that the answers to these questions are not the same for everybody. Each case and situation is unique. If you and your partner are young and have unexplained infertility, your Denver fertility doctor may advise waiting a full two years and trying other treatments before turning to IVF.

On the other hand, your chances of conceiving go down as you become older. This is especially true if you are 35 or more. In this case, if you have been trying for a year or so and haven’t gotten pregnant, and other treatments have failed, time is of the essence and you might want to go ahead and begin IVF treatment.

When IVF is the Best Option

There are times when IVF might be the best initial treatment option.

For example, older women, as mentioned above, have a harder time conceiving and since the number of viable eggs decreases every year; there may be no time to waste if you don’t get pregnant pretty quickly after having regular sex with no birth control for at least six months.

Here are some other things that might make IVF the treatment of choice right from the start, before trying other infertility treatments.

• Ÿ  Endometriosis
• Ÿ  No ovulation or problems with ovulation
• Ÿ  Damaged, missing or block fallopian tubes
• Ÿ  Problems with the womb
• Ÿ  Unexplained infertility
• Ÿ  Male fertility issues such as problems with sperm

If you have IVF and it didn’t work, how long should you wait between treatments?

Waiting Between IVF Treatments

Many couples are unsure about how long they need to wait between IVF treatments.

The length of time you should wait between IVF treatments depends on several factors and medical thinking on this has changed during the past decade, according to the National Infertility Association.

In the not so distant past, it was believed that successive attempts at IVF, too soon, could result in a reduction in the number of eggs. But, more recent research indicates that repeated IVF attempts may be more effective for you. This is especially true if you are reaching an age where your egg quantity and quality is going down.

For instance, if you had an unsuccessful IVF attempt when you were 39 and then waited six months before trying again, your chances of success have decreased simply because you are older. This makes a strong case for shorter waiting times between IVF attempts for women of a certain age.

Another reason why not having a lengthy waiting period between IVF attempts is a good idea is that in some cases, if the first treatment was unsuccessful, your doctor might change your drug stimulation to increase the odds of a better IVF cycle. This extra stimulation often results in more eggs and possibly better quality embryos in the next, corresponding cycle; making it seem reasonable that this cycle would be ideal for another IVF attempt.

How long you should wait before beginning IVF, or how long to wait between Denver IVF attempts, will vary from one couple to another.