Factors Affecting Outcome of Treatment

04:07 2nd October 2013 | Successful Treatment

Infertility Treatment Female Partner Embryo Transfer Fibroids Assisted Conception IVF Patients Donor Eggs Miscarriage Healthy Baby Multiple Pregnancy

Over the next few posts, I will be discussing different factors affecting outcome of treatment. Couples need to be aware of certain factors affecting the success of infertility treatment namely: The age of Female partner, Number of Eggs/Embryos Transferred, Fibroids, Fibroids & Infertility and Hydrosalpinx. This article discusses the first two.

The age of the Female Partner
Whether a woman conceives naturally or by assisted conception, her chances of achieving a pregnancy decrease with age. By comparing pregnancy success rates between IVF patients using their own eggs and patients of the same age using donor eggs, it was found that the age of the eggs used was the determining factor in achieving pregnancy. For example, a forty year old woman using the eggs of a twenty five year old donor, has the same chance of conceiving as that of a twenty five year old woman using her own eggs. It is recognised that the chances of miscarriage also increase with the woman’s age and this is thought to be due to the age of the egg. Those women using younger donor eggs have a reduced risk of miscarriage and therefore a greater chance of delivering a healthy baby.

Number of Eggs/Embryos Transferred
The chances of success are affected by the number of embryos available for transfer and the number transferred. It does not however follow that every embryo transferred to the uterus will result in a baby. Therefore, the more embryos that are transferred the better the chance of becoming pregnant, but also the greater the risk of multiple pregnancy. We review each couple’s individual infertility circumstances and involve them in discussions when deciding how many embryos are transferred.