Failed IVF cycles are devastating for many couples and women. Why does IVF fail, and why is IVF failure so devastating? As the below article points out, IVF can fail due to a number of reasons, including failed implantation, lack of viable eggs or sperm, no fertilization, and complications with embryo transfer.
Physical Reasons
Financial Considerations
The financial investment in in vitro fertilization can be significant. It’s understandable, then, that when IVF fails, couples feel devastated. On average, a single cycle of IVF costs between N1400000 and N1800000. If couples choose to use a surrogate, the costs skyrocket. Couples and women must choose to either spend more money and try again, or to stop trying. For some, the costs are so prohibitive that they can only afford one or two attempts. It is devastating to come to the realization that if this first or next cycle of IVF fails, there cannot be a second due to financial circumstances this tend to increase anxiety level.
Age Factor
As women age, IVF success rates drop. So, age can be another reason failed IVF is devastating. Older women who experience failed IVF may not be in the best position to simply try again, as the success rates drop even more with each subsequent failure. This is the reason we recommend Donor Egg and we also advise women to listen to the best medical advice and not a friend who cannot reveal the real details of their treatment.
Emotional and mental stress
the emotional and mental stress stands out the most. We always encourage our women to come with their partner to appointment, so he can be your support system. IVF brings with it the hope of pregnancy and healthy baby in cases, where neither natural conception wouldn’t be possible, so when IVF fails, the emotional impact can be traumatic.Considering the time, effort, and cost involved with IVF, many couples and women feel very let down when IVF fails.
Why does IVF fail?
As stated earlier, the answers to the question are numerous. Sometimes, a pregnancy simply does not occur just like with natural conception. However, the IVF process should increase the likelihood of pregnancy due to the fact that it intervenes at the most critical point fertilization. IVF treatments combine careful planning and diagnosis with specialized procedures, and should, in theory, increase the chances of success even greater than natural conception.
But even with the most careful planning and treatment, IVF fails from time to time. Success rates range from as high as around 80% in very unique circumstances to as low as less than 30%. So many different factors impact those success rates.
If IVF fails, here are the six most likely reasons.
Medical Reasons
Egg quality and number: IVF is a game of number and quality. sometimes the ovaries do not produce viable eggs to use for IVF, in some other cases the number of eggs retrieved is few and so the selection process is reduced. we will always advise you accordingly to increase your chances please go with best medical advice.
Sperm quality: sperm quality has a major role to play in the success, because it takes 2 to get pregnant. Most times men do not come in for their test on time. we recommend the man have his seminal fluid analysis, so that he can be placed on medication on time if necessary, before the onset of treatment.
Egg retrieval requires great care both during retrieval as well as afterward. Once fertility specialists retrieve the follicular fluid, they are handed to the embryologist who must grade them and determine their viability. The embryologist may disqualify certain eggs, by checking for maturity and quality. it’s possible that there might be no viable eggs. Hence failure at this stage
Fertilization doesn’t happen
Additionally, eggs and sperm are removed from the body, placed in petri dishes, and must survive in this external situation. Or, they must survive being frozen and then thawed. Couples and women should understand the risk involved with handling such tiny organisms.
Typically, the embryologist combines a woman’s healthy egg with thousands of her partner’s healthy sperm, one of those sperm penetrates the outer layer of the egg or inject a sperm into individual eggs (Icsi) and then fertilization occurs. That’s the normal course of events. However, sometimes, no sperm fertilize the egg. Motility and sperm volume play a big role in this, but so do egg health and quality.
Because of the potential for failed fertilization, many clinics suggest ICSI, which is Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection. During ICSI, embryologists inject a sperm directly into an egg to assist in fertilization. Even in these cases, however, fertilization sometimes fails. Embryologist try to encourage and facilitate fertilization but sometimes, sperm simply do not fertilize the egg.
Failed Implantation
Sometimes, the lining of the uterus isn’t healthy enough for implantation or the lining is not thick enough for embryos to implant Or, the embryo or blastocyst may die or stop dividing prior or after implantation. Unhealthy embryos, or those with any sort of chromosomal abnormalities may not implant successfully.
Embryo health and uterine health impact implantation significantly. However, so does the transfer process itself. Where the embryo is placed in the uterus as well as the insertion and removal of the catheter also impact success.
The embryo or blastocyst should bury itself in the lining of her uterus, and begin to divide.
Complications with embryo transfer
IVF should eliminate natural selection and successfully facilitate the fertilization of egg and sperm. If the fertility doctor does not successfully transfer an embryo or blastocyst, IVF cannot result in a pregnancy.
For this reason, many experts say that the transfer has the biggest impact on success rates. “No matter how good the IVF laboratory culture environment is, the physician can ruin everything with a carelessly performed embryo transfer. The fertility doctors must transfer the embryos correctly, in a timely manner, and using the right procedures.
Some fertility doctors use their own transfer techniques, and differentiate themselves from other specialists in that way. This may be one reason some clinics have higher success rates than others.
Emotional State of Mind
After a woman leaves the fertility clinic to go through the 14-day waiting period before a pregnancy test, she has to take care of herself, rest properly, Reduce anxiety and emotion stress. Stress can inhibit implantation.
In conclusion: Ultimately, why does IVF fail? The answers range from natural causes to mishandling of embryos to poor transfer procedures, while age may be one factor, or uterine health may impact success, specialists cannot always pinpoint the reason IVF cycles fail. Fertility issues are often very complex.
Fortunately, many fertility clinics offer high quality, specialized treatment options designed to minimize failure, and greatly IMPROVE SUCCESS, BUT CANNOT GUARANTEE A SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT