By the time your doctor recommends in vitro fertilization (IVF), you've likely already experienced years of the stress and anxiety that often accompany infertility. These feelings can magnify with IVF. In vitro fertilization can be an emotionally, physically and financially exhausting experience.
IVF can be mentally, physically and emotionally painful. In many cases, one of the biggest complaints is bloating and pain some women face during the ovarian stimulation process, where hormones are injected to produce multiple eggs for retrieval.
A woman taking fertility medicines may have bloating, abdominal pain, mood swings, headaches, and other side effects. Repeated IVF injections can cause bruising. In rare cases, fertility drugs may cause ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). This condition causes a buildup of fluid in the abdomen and chest.
Sense of loss: Many couples who have to undergo fertility treatments report feeling a sense of loss. This could be that you have lost your hopes and dreams for the future, your privacy, your self-esteem, control over your future, and in some cases, the loss of your gene pool.
The 10-14 day waiting period between transfer and receiving the pregnancy test results is often described as the most difficult part of the cycle. Having had daily contact with your medical support staff during monitoring and retrieval, you suddenly are on your own after transfer and just have to wait.
Just as when progesterone levels rise naturally during pregnancy, increased progesterone levels during IVF are likely to result in fatigue. While changes in hormone levels are the most prominent cause of fatigue during IVF, the condition can be further exacerbated by stress or anxiety.
Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS) is one of the most dangerous and direct side effects of fertility drugs used in IVF procedures. Simply put, OHSS is characterized by enlargement of the ovaries that can lead to a number of symptoms and in severe cases, death⁵.
Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is a rare complication of IVF. It happens in women who are very sensitive to the fertility medicine taken to increase egg production. Too many eggs develop in the ovaries, which become very large and painful. OHSS generally develops in the week after egg collection.
The process
Along with the injections, most women will require some oral medication, which will again vary. These are designed to cause hormonal changes, leading to the woman feeling emotional and suffering mood swings and hot flushes.
The IVF journey. Discovering and coming to terms with the notion that you are unable to naturally conceive can be stressful, and can leave you feeling angry, depressed and anxious. It can also put additional stress on relationships, intimacy and your connection with others.
Your chances of having a healthy baby using IVF depend on many factors, such as your age and the cause of infertility. In addition, IVF can be time-consuming, expensive and invasive. If more than one embryo is transferred to the uterus, IVF can result in a pregnancy with more than one fetus (multiple pregnancy).
Risks of IVF
side effects from the medicines used during treatment, such as hot flushes and headaches. multiple births (such as twins or triplets) – this can be dangerous for both the mother and the children. an ectopic pregnancy – where the embryo implants in the fallopian tubes, rather than in the womb.
IVF has a significant physical impact on patients, with weight gain being one of the most lamented side effects. Slight increases in weight during IVF are generally not a problem, and minor IVF weight gain is even encouraged after embryo transfer, as it's a positive sign of implantation and pregnancy.
The most potentially painful part of undergoing IVF is the procedure to implant the fertilized eggs back into the uterus.
Some people have religious or ethical objections to fertility treatments. You may be uncomfortable with the idea of conception happening in a lab or concerned about the creation of "extra" embryos. 7 You may not want to have to make decisions about "leftover" embryos or be against freezing them.
You are able to resume normal activity the day after your procedure as tolerated. Abstain from intercourse until after your pregnancy test if you have a transfer, or 1 week following retrieval if you don't have a transfer. Avoid high-impact activities until your ovaries have returned to normal size.
IVF can fail due to embryos that have chromosomal abnormalities. This means that the embryo has a missing, extra, or irregular portion of chromosomal DNA. The body then rejects the embryo and this results in IVF failure.
The drugs used in this method, like clomiphene citrate and gonadotropins, extremely hyper-stimulate the ovary, leading to twin or multiple pregnancies, increased ovarian cyst and risk of ovarian cancer.
Additionally, couples who plan on using assisted reproductive technologies such as IVF should visit their dentist prior to treatment as hormones administered as part of their treatment can exacerbate preexisting periodontal conditions that might affect the patient's overall health.
As far as physical outcomes, a recent study looking at over 158,000 children saw minimal-to-no difference in growth, weight, and fat percentage over time. A similar picture arises when looking at mental development.
IVF children are as normal as other children as far as their physical attributes and mental capacity are concerned. And also they are as naturally born as other children. Since IVF is a rarefied subject, many people are still skeptical about it and harbor a lot of preconceived notions.
Diminished Ovarian Reserve and/or Poor Quality Eggs
The chances of failed IVF are much higher in someone with diminished ovarian reserves. At the same time, you may have an adequate amount of eggs but have low egg quality. Egg quality is an indicator of success when creating a viable embryo.
It's no guarantee.
Many people think that once you start the process of IVF it's only a matter of time until they'll be holding a little bundle of joy. Unfortunately that isn't the case. “IVF does not give you a 100 percent chance for pregnancy,” says Dr.
The common misconception is that genetic similarities are eliminated via the fertilized egg. Unfortunately, donated eggs from an egg bank won't include any genetic material from you, but the child could still possess some of your personality or physical features.
Because a donor egg won't share any of its genes with its intended mother, there's a chance the baby will not resemble its mother. However, if her partner's sperm was used, the baby may look like its father because they share the same genetics.