The truth about fertility success rates

One of the most daunting challenges that I face in my practice is giving realistic expectations for success of various treatments. Most of the large reports involving treatments studied women younger than 40 years old with normal ovarian function. It is a dangerous practice to apply those results to a different patients. My opinion is that the only way a couple can make the decision for treatment is based on the honest facts as we know them. This includes fertility success rates.

Exploring fertility success rates

Recently, a review appeared on a popular website criticizing the approach that one of my partners had taken in counseling a woman. We recommended IVF with donor eggs. However, she said a clinic in California would allow her to try another cycle with her own eggs. What that says to me is that that clinic was very happy to take her money, regardless of the fertility success rate.

On closer inspection, this couple had already done several IVF cycles with low egg numbers, poor embryo quality and no pregnancy. She was also in the “poor prognosis” category based on age, so what my partner told her was the best (or only) way to achieve a successful pregnancy.

Looking deeper

There really is very little recourse when a negative review is posted. It makes me really sad and frustrated to think that other readers may be misled by comments such as these. Same thing goes for all those celebrity births in women in their 40’s we read about in People and US Weekly. There never is a mention that those twins born to the 45 year old were conceived with donor egg IVF.

I can tell you only one thing for sure. At TFC, you will always get the truth as we know it about fertility success rates. Only then can you make the right decision for treatment, based on truth not fiction! Contact us to learn more.