Most fertility specialists believe that in more than 95% of IVF failures it is due to arrest of the embryos. Embryonic arrest is quite often due to chromosomal or other genetic abnormalities in those embryos that made them too “weak” to continue normal development and sustained implantation.
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.
If you have IVF, you have a slightly higher risk of having an ectopic pregnancy, where the embryo implants in a fallopian tube rather than in the womb. This can cause pain in the tummy, followed by vaginal bleeding or dark vaginal discharge.
IVF increases the likelihood of twins, triplets or high-order multiples, with accompanying risk for premature birth, high blood pressure, placenta abnormalities and other challenges. Advanced maternal age (often the reason for IVF) increases risk for miscarriage and birth defects.
Conceiving by in vitro fertilization (IVF) alone does not automatically put your pregnancy at high-risk. However, the reason(s) for you to seek out IVF in order to conceive may categorize your pregnancy as high risk.
“For most couples – and certainly those where the woman is younger than 40 and those of any age using donor eggs – two-thirds will achieve a live birth after five or six treatment cycles. This will take, on average, two years and is similar to rates that couples conceiving naturally take in one year.”
Most fertility specialists believe that in more than 95% of IVF failures it is due to arrest of the embryos. Embryonic arrest is quite often due to chromosomal or other genetic abnormalities in those embryos that made them too “weak” to continue normal development and sustained implantation.
A doctor performs an embryo transfer in a fertility clinic. Although many women abandon IVF treatment after three or four unsuccessful attempts, a study shows the odds of success continue to rise through as many as nine cycles. Too many women give up on in vitro fertilization too soon, a new study suggests.
The national average for women younger than 35 able to become pregnant by in-vitro fertilization (IVF) on the first try (meaning, the first egg retrieval) is 55%. However, that number drops steadily as the woman ages.
Studies show that women in their 20s and 30s have the most success when getting pregnant through IVF and other reproductive technologies. According to the CDC, the average percentages of assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles that lead to a live birth are: 31% in women younger than 35 years of age.
For a second or subsequent embryo transfer, the percentage of live births increases to 44.7%.
But, more recent research indicates that repeated IVF attempts may be more effective for you. This is especially true if you are reaching an age where your egg quantity and quality is going down.
Also, about 1% of implanting embryos will split into identical twins. As a result, even when “only” two embryos are transferred, triplet pregnancy can still occur. The risks of low birth weight and prematurity are not to be taken lightly.
In women age less than 35 (n=590), the clinical pregnancy rate was optimal (≥44%) when there were at least 10 eggs at retrieval. For women with 1–4 eggs at retrieval it was 30.8% and for 5–9 eggs it was 36.2%.
After IVF failure when to try again? Answer: It is ideal to try after 4-6 weeks after your IVF failure. Most importantly you need to wait until you complete at least 1 full menstrual cycle before starting your next IVF cycle.
A fresh IVF cycle should not be done two months in a row without a menstrual cycle in between them. That means waiting about 4 to 6 weeks after the embryo transfer and negative pregnancy test to start another full cycle for most women. Doing this several times in a row is referred to as having back to back IVF cycles.
You are 3- 6% more likely to have a baby boy than a girl when using IVF to conceive. IVF increases the odds of a boy from 51 in 100 when conceived naturally to 56 in 100 with IVF.
When an IVF cycle is not successful, the most common reason is that the embryo(s) stop growing before they can implant. Other possible factors to be considered include the uterine receptivity and the mechanics of the embryo transfer, but the large majority of unsuccessful IVF cycles can be attributed to embryo quality.
Don't say:
“I'm so excited for you.” When someone is about to start a transfer or an IVF procedure. "I know it will happen for you; I just know it." "You can have one of mine (kids) if it doesn't work." "If you just relax & stop thinking about it, then it will happen."