In vitro fertilization (IVF) is the main type — and best known form — of assisted reproductive technology (ART). Ever since Louise Joy Brown, the world’s first first “test-tube baby,” was born in the United Kingdom in 1978, women and couples who struggle with infertility also struggle with the decision of whether to try IVF.
At OC Fertility in Newport Beach, California, our fertility experts Sharon Moayeri, MD, and Nidhee Sachdev, MD, have helped hundreds of couples start or add to the family of their dreams with ART, including IVF. While most people have heard of IVF, they may wonder if the odds are too low to take a chance with it.
Luckily, IVF has evolved over the past five decades. The following are five encouraging facts that may help you decide to try IVF.
Since Louise Brown took her first breath, more than 8 million babies around the world have joined her in owing their existence to IVF. In fact, the numbers are far greater than eight million, because the last survey was conducted in 2018.
In the United States alone, babies conceived with ART account for more than 2% of births per year. In 2019, 302,998 cycles of IVF in the U.S. resulted in 77,256 babies. Each year, as more and more people turn to IVF, more and more babies are born thanks to the procedure.
On average, a woman who undergoes IVF has about a 20%-35% chance of becoming pregnant per cycle(depending on your egg). Although that may seem low compared to patients with infertility’s chances of conceiving on their own- its significantly higher.
Your chances of success differ based on many factors (age being an important one), but when looking at statistics per cycle outcomes are different than cumulative outcomes (success rates after more than one cycle), which for many can be quite high. Three cycles of IVF gives many patients greater than 50% chance of conceiving
In the past, IVF conducted with frozen eggs had lower numbers of live births than those conducted with freshly harvested eggs. However, new technology that allows for better outcomes of frozen eggs make them a great option with great outcomes for many patients. That means, if you freeze your eggs now, they’ll be as viable in the future as they are now.
The days when IVF frequently resulted in multiple births is far in the past. Most women who undergo IVF now elect to have just a single embryo transferred to their womb. Because we have added tools to evaluate and only implant healthy embryos, your chance of a pregnancy and live birth are greatly enhanced, compared with past numbers.
About 75% of IVF transfers are now done with single embryos. In 2019, 93% of IVF births in the U.S. were singletons, while only 7% were twins and just .01% were triplets. Of course, if you’d rather have multiples, let us know!
At OC Fertility, we may use a process called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in cases where low sperm count or other problems could interfere with fertilization and conception. WIth ICSI, we’re able to inject a single healthy sperm into a single egg. We then monitor the injected eggs to ensure that they divide into healthy embryos.
With IVF, you can take the first steps toward building the family of your dreams. If you’re ready to find out if you’re a candidate, call us at 949-706-2229 or book an appointment on our website.
