In-Vitro Fertilisation, otherwise known as IVF, is used by couples who want to start a family but have difficulty convening naturally. Since the first successful birth of a child using IVF in 1978, millions of people have undergone the treatment and become happy parents with healthy babies.
However, it is natural for those considering IVF to have questions or concerns about the treatment. After all, IVF offers no guarantee of success and can be emotionally draining on the patient as well as their loved ones.
Then again, there are several advantages to IVF, especially if it has the desired effect. Here to explain why you should consider IVF is Simply Fertility, a leading fertility clinic based in Essex.
IVF is more successful than other options
Over the past forty years, IVF treatment has benefitted from numerous scientific advances and is now the most successful form of assisted reproductive technology. Despite the fact Intra Uterine Insemination (IUI) and other options are often successful for some patients, they have not received the same level of investment and improvement.
IVF has a proven track record for safety
Even though the parents of the first baby to be born after using IVF knew it was an experimental procedure, their child Louise Brown was delivered successfully and has gone on to naturally conceive children of her own. Since then, the technology and techniques have been refined to create safer treatments with low drug regimes in order to prevent side effects.
IVF can diagnose fertilisation problems
There will be numerous couples out there that suffer from unexplained infertility, which often requires diagnosis in a laboratory. This is where IVF can uncover any fertility issues and offer a possible treatment solution. The results of diagnosis can be disappointing and difficult to deal with, but IVF will reveal the options available to you.
IVF offers increased opportunities
Seeing as IVF can use donated sperm and eggs as well as your own, it offers increased opportunities for women without partners and same-sex couples. There is also the option for women to freeze their eggs when they are younger to preserve them for the future. Furthermore, IVF allows post-menopausal women to carry a child, which isn’t always possible as the body no longer releases eggs.
IVF can be used for research purposes
During IVF treatment, any unused embryos can be used to help other people and possibly save lives if donated for research purposes. For patients who are known carriers of genetic disorders such as cystic fibrosis, Huntington’s disease and muscular dystrophy, IVF with pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) can also ensure the child will not suffer in the same way.
IVF provides hope
Perhaps the biggest advantage of IVF is that it provides hope to people who thought they may never be able to raise a family. Women with damages or blockages in their fallopian tubes and men with a low sperm count or mobility issues can overcome their respective problems and seek treatment that has proven successful time and time again.