Coping with failure of first IVF Cycle

Remember Louise Brown? She was the first test tube baby born in July 1978. The egg and sperm of her parents were fertilized in a laboratory test tube and inserted into her mother’s uterus. This resulted in a healthy normal pregnancy and the birth of a healthy baby girl. This procedure of fertilization outside the body is now known as In Vitro Fertilization or IVF.

Today medical science has progressed in leaps and bounds and there are solutions to most medical problems especially Infertility. Infertility is the condition where a couple cannot conceive a baby after trying for more than a year. With technology advancements there are many ways to have a natural and healthy baby- which is a dream come true for numerous couples.

But like in most cases, medical procedures can sometimes fail to achieve the desired results. IVF is a normal out patient procedure which has a high success rate. Sometimes this procedure also fails. There are reasons for failure of the first cycle of IVF procedure:

• Quality of the embryo:
  A fertilized egg or embryo may look healthy initially but can actually have a disorder. Once transplanted the embryo may not respond and fail to adapt causing a failure of the IVF cycle.
• Age of embryo:
  Depends on the age of the woman. A younger woman will have a better quality of eggs as compared to an older woman because age does affect the quality of the eggs.
• Lifestyle:
  A lifestyle of smoking, drinking and consuming unhealthy food is detrimental to health and consequently a reason for poor quality eggs or sperm. Poor quality is big factor for non fertilization of the eggs within or even outside the body.
• Chromosomes:
  Disorder of the chromosomal map is another cause for failure of the IVF procedure.
• Ovulation disorders despite medication:
  Sometimes before IVF procedure some medication is prescribed to boost ovulation. There are times when the ovaries do not respond to treatment and the quality of harvested eggs is not fit for fertilization. When the eggs do not fertilize does the doctor investigates the efficacy of the ovulation medication.

First time failure is not the end. The IVF procedure can be tried multiple times.

In the meanwhile it is advisable to:

• Stay calm. Do not stress or play the blame game. IVF failure is not anybody’s fault. It is just nature’s work.
• Do not announce the failure to the world. That itself makes the procedure a mentally accepted failure. Plan for the next cycle.
• Heal the mind and body- work on improving the relationship with the partner. Clear all stress and depression.
• There may have been plans or jobs which were deferred in the hope of the coming baby. Complete those plans and jobs
• Counselling is very therapeutic. Talking to a neutral or uninvolved person makes it easy to open up. Juhi Fertility Centre has experienced and qualified counsellors to help in any issue.
• Juhi Fertility Centre also has a state of the art clinic and experienced medical professional to solve every issue pertaining to women’s and men’s infertility from assessment to diagnosis, procedures and counselling. For queries contact us.