IVF has helped many women to achieve their dream of motherhood when they were not able to conceive naturally. It is an efficient method to help a couple get pregnant with a series of procedures with a doctor. Several factor come into play when a couple thinks of opting for IVF, and age of the woman is among the foremost. Dr Aindri Sanyal, Fertility Consultant at Nova IVF Fertility, Kolkata discusses at length its impact over the procedure.

Mother’s Age Directly Impacts The Success Of IVF

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It has repeatedly been said that relatively older aged women (and men) face fertility issues. This is because with age the number and quality of eggs in a woman keep deteriorating. So, age does matter, for both men and women. With age, it keeps getting more difficult for a woman to get pregnant naturally as well as through IVF. After the age of 35, the percentage of getting pregnant even though an IVF, falls to 25 to 30 per cent, and after the age of 40, the percentage falls further to around 15 to 20 per cent. According to a few doctors’ chances of giving live birth to a baby after the age of 40 drop to around 10 per cent. So, as the woman ages, the eggs in her body also age along with her and it gets difficult to get pregnant with age.

How IVF Treatment Has Evolved Over Time

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IVF was first introduced in the 1970s to treat a woman who had blocked/damaged fallopian tubes. This was a huge scientific breakthrough for those times and still is one of the greatest procedures in medical science. Since the first test-tube baby in the 1970s, millions of babies have taken birth through this procedure.

• Initially, laparoscopy was used to retrieve eggs from the ovaries, however, it has been discontinued and they now use transvaginal ultrasound-guided oocyte retrieval. By using the method, the risk of anaesthesia-related issues and the cost due to a laparoscopy also reduces.
• Earlier there were no medications given to women prior to the procedure, however with time and with enhancement in studies, it is known that hormone therapy two to three weeks before the egg retrieval would be an efficient method to get a greater number of healthy and mature eggs for the IVF.

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• With the advancement of technology and medicine, something else also came to light. This was that through ultrasound and a few blood tests the doctors could establish an ideal time to retrieve the eggs.
• Not only can the doctor now retrieve multiple eggs, but they can also freeze the spare eggs for a later time if the patient even wanted or needed another IVF.

Assisted reproductive techniques like IVF, IUI, etc have evolved a lot over the years due to better technology and better tools and have helped many infertile couples to complete their family.

Common Myths About IVF

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1. Age is just a number: In IVF, we just saw it matters. Couples feel that they can get the IVF treatment done anytime, but this is not true. With age the ability to conceive reduces and hence the success rate of an IVF also declines.
2. IVF will be painful: The fact is that the injectable medicines in the procedure of an IVF are administered by a technologically advanced pen, which makes it painless for the patient. The egg retrieval procedure is done while the patient is sedated. Hence IVF is not a painful procedure.
3. IVF babies will have health problems: As mentioned earlier millions of babies have been born through an IVF and they are normal and just like babies who have been conceived naturally. This is a huge misconception that people have in their minds which is not at all true.

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4. Bed rest will be required throughout the pregnancy: This is not true. Neither the treatment nor the pregnancy that results from an IVF entails bedrest. So, the woman can go to work or for a holiday after she conceives.
5. It is extremely expensive: This is something that people feel about IVF. However, the cost of an IVF has come down over the years as technological advancement has made it much easier than before. The minimal cost of an IVF lies between one lakh to a lakh-and-a-half.