For any couple, seeking fertility procedures takes a significant decision:
- Move out of their convenience place and give the particulars of their lives with a specialist.
- Walk the road of assisted conception.
- Make changes.
IVF appears to the couple as the most prominent peak to reach and conquer among all fertility treatments. But what happens if a couple tries and fails to conceive through IVF?
Dr. Himali Maniar, a leading gynecologist at Nisha Women’s Hospital in Bopal, Ahmedabad, elaborates on the subject.
Each embryo has a fecundity, or chance of becoming pregnant, of 30 percent in all human beings.
The failure of an IVF cycle can be caused by gametes (egg and sperm quality), embryo quality, the Womb environment, or other specific reasons that have been slowly revealed by research.
As a result, no treatment can guarantee you a 100% chance of conception. However, there are a few things to keep in mind that can help you improve your chances of success.
Here are some of the most common reasons for failure and how to avoid them:
Factor Egg
A woman’s fertility is limited, and she is born with all of the eggs she will ever have.
The number and quality of eggs decrease over time as they are stored in the ovaries.
This means that eggs from an older woman are less likely to result in a successful pregnancy than those from a younger woman.
Other hormone imbalances, such as hypothyroidism, PCOS, and hyperprolactinemia, impact the egg’s ability to fertilize and produce a viable embryo.
It makes sense for a woman to address any underlying hormone and health issues before attempting IVF.
Even if the first IVF cycle has failed, vitamins and antioxidants can sometimes help to improve egg and embryo quality and aid conception.
Age
Embryos are made up of eggs and sperm that fertilize and divide systematically.
As a woman gets older, the oocyte’s ability to do this decreases and more chromosomal abnormalities appear.
These events can result in the formation of an embryo with incorrect chromosome numbers.
The embryo implantation may be unsuccessful if the chromosome numbers are incorrect, resulting in an initial miscarriage or an abnormal fetus.
It makes sense to examine the embryo developed through IVF and assess the chromosomal constitution of the embryo before choosing it for implantation for women who have failed multiple times or are on the wrong side of 30.
Pre-Implantation Genetic Testing is the term for this procedure.
Sperm
A male’s sperm is formed throughout his life.
This process becomes less efficient as one gets older, but there is no accurate and complete Andropause, unlike women.
Any systemic disease, obesity, the presence of varicocele, hormonal disturbances, and habit-forming substances can all affect sperm quality, according to Dr. Himali Maniar, Bopal’s best gynecologist at Nisha Women’s Hospital.
As a result, it’s best to stay strong and recheck Semen parameters inside a reliable lab.
The DNA Fragmentation Index is a type of assessment that helps us understand the functional capacity of sperm.
We can expect poorer IVF outcomes if the DFI is high.
The good news is that because sperm production is ongoing, antioxidants and lifestyle changes can help to improve DFI.
PICSI will significantly improve IVF outcomes by selecting the most competent sperm via ICSI.
Blastocyst Culture: The Right Embryo
In the natural course of things, the Fallopian tube fertilizes the egg and sperm, and the resulting embryo divides and grows in the Fallopian tube.
It has grown from one cell to two, four, eight, sixteen, and finally a blastocyst by the fifth day.
This blastocyst reaches the womb and hatches into a womb layer implant.
It’s important to remember that not all blastocyst eggs fertilize and fertilize eggs.
“During IVF, your doctor may choose to transfer the embryo at any stage of development,” says Dr. Himali Maniar, the excellent gynecologist from Bopal, “but the best chances of implantation are for a timely developed blastocyst.”
A blastocyst is a fully developed competent embryo with a higher chance of implantation than cleavage-stage embryos or day 2/3 embryos.
It’s best to wait until the embryos reach the blastocyst stage before selecting them for transfer if you’ve been unsuccessful in the first IVF cycle with day 2/3 embryos.
The Uterine Factor or the Womb
Even the most perfect embryo will require a healthy, welcoming environment to implant and grow successfully during pregnancy.
The endometrium is the inner layer of the uterus or womb. This layer is critical for successful implantation.
A healthy endometrium increases your chances of getting pregnant. Look for any irregularities such as a small polyp, fibroid, or septum.
Before embryo transfer, these can be detected using detailed sonography and corrected using hysteroscopy.
Smaller factors, such as a thin or excessively thick endometrium, infections, adhesions, and so on, can all contribute to failure.
According to Dr. Himali Maniar, a gynecologist from Bopal, these finer details may not be visible on sonography, necessitating the use of an endoscopy procedure known as hysteroscopy to assess and correct the factors above.
Receptivity of the Endometrium
Next, five to seven days of ovulation within a natural cycle or day five of beginning progesterone hormone inside an assisted process, the endometrium is receptive or ready to receive an embryo in 80-85% of women.
However, in about 15-20% of women, this receptivity can be changed to a day or less.
This means that these women have an implantation window that is different from the norm.
Transferring a perfectly beautiful and normal embryo to such women may result in a failed pregnancy because the embryo is implanted at the wrong time.
A genomic examination called Endometrial Receptivity Array can identify and pinpoint this personalized Window of Implantation.
In those who have previously failed IVF, transferring a good embryo during the correct window of implantation can increase the chances of pregnancy.
Following the Transfer
There are a lot of misconceptions about what to do and what not to do after an embryo transfer.
All of the evidence and reports point to one thing. Progesterone medicine and prenatal vitamins are the most important things.
The rest of the medications are primarily experimental and may or may not be helpful. Understanding and emphasizing the importance of each drug prescribed by your doctor is highly recommended.
Another common misunderstanding is bed rest. Bed rest has been proven in numerous international studies not to affect implantation.
Unless there is a medical contraindication, it is better and healthier to be up and about and go about your daily routine.
Finally, having a stress-free mind is the best thing you can have while planning your treatment.
According to Dr. Himali Maniar, Although stress does not cause infertility, it can exacerbate the problem. Keep your mind busy with things and activities that bring you joy and keep you engaged.
This will undoubtedly go above and beyond to get you to that pink line you’re hoping to see at the end of your treatment.