Risks of IVF
May 12, 2007
Many medical providers usually worry about the risks and complications associated with IVF. Most will try and do everything to keep you from harm’s way. So what can happen if you decide to undergo IVF?
Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS) can occur when too many eggs are created, which usually means over 20. OHSS has varying degrees of presentations but usually shows up as painfully enlarged ovaries, increased fluid in the abdomen, severe nausea and vomiting, sleeplessness, and sometimes blood clots. If you wind up with a pregnancy and you have OHSS, the symptoms will usually worsen and not get better up until around the 9th week of pregnancy. OHSS tends to be more common in younger patients and in those who have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).
Ectopic pregnancies (tubal pregnancies) occur much more frequently in IVF patients than in the general population. If noted, these can be treated with medication or through surgical removal of the pregnancy. In certain circumstances, they can resolve on their own. But in any case, close monitoring by your physician is essential to help avoid a life-threatening profuse hemorrhage if the ectopic pregnancy were to burst.
In certain cases, multiple embryos (3 or more) are transferred back into the uterine cavity to help patients achieve a pregnancy. What sometimes happens though is that all the embryos implant. Multiple births are very problematic since not only can they be a burden for a couple (feeding, diaper changes, financial, etc), but multiples also have an increased risk of preterm delivery and other complications. If a couple is faced with this issue in the first trimester, then they always have the option of reducing the total amount of fetuses to one or two, a procedure called selective reduction.
What everyone should know is that there are no guarantees with IVF or any infertility treatment as there are many steps where things can go wrong along the way. In people we consider poor responders, follicles (the sacs that contains the eggs) are sometimes not produced with the medications given. There is also a possibility that eggs may not be retrieved successfully and/or if retrieved, have normal fertilization once exposed to sperm in a Petri dish. The embryos must also be able to grow and develop over the next few days while in the incubator. Even when all of these steps go right, the embryos can sometimes fail to implant into the uterine cavity once deposited after the transfer.
Implantation failure may be due to several factors, but the most common reason is that good proportions of these embryos are of poor quality and/or are chromosomally abnormal. Sometimes even the most perfect looking embryo that is transferred in reality is abnormal. Many people undergo several IVF cycles before a live birth can be achieved. But for others, the emotional and/or financial toll can be overwhelming.
In such cases, egg donation from a younger person can significantly increase the pregnancy rate. This is done by stimulating the ovaries of a younger person, extracting her eggs and fertilizing them with her partner’s sperm. A few days later, the embryo(s) are then transferred into the recipient’s uterus. Adoption, otherwise, is always a sure fire way of helping couples start a family they desire.
Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS) can occur when too many eggs are created, which usually means over 20. OHSS has varying degrees of presentations but usually shows up as painfully enlarged ovaries, increased fluid in the abdomen, severe nausea and vomiting, sleeplessness, and sometimes blood clots. If you wind up with a pregnancy and you have OHSS, the symptoms will usually worsen and not get better up until around the 9th week of pregnancy. OHSS tends to be more common in younger patients and in those who have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).
Ectopic pregnancies (tubal pregnancies) occur much more frequently in IVF patients than in the general population. If noted, these can be treated with medication or through surgical removal of the pregnancy. In certain circumstances, they can resolve on their own. But in any case, close monitoring by your physician is essential to help avoid a life-threatening profuse hemorrhage if the ectopic pregnancy were to burst.
In certain cases, multiple embryos (3 or more) are transferred back into the uterine cavity to help patients achieve a pregnancy. What sometimes happens though is that all the embryos implant. Multiple births are very problematic since not only can they be a burden for a couple (feeding, diaper changes, financial, etc), but multiples also have an increased risk of preterm delivery and other complications. If a couple is faced with this issue in the first trimester, then they always have the option of reducing the total amount of fetuses to one or two, a procedure called selective reduction.
What everyone should know is that there are no guarantees with IVF or any infertility treatment as there are many steps where things can go wrong along the way. In people we consider poor responders, follicles (the sacs that contains the eggs) are sometimes not produced with the medications given. There is also a possibility that eggs may not be retrieved successfully and/or if retrieved, have normal fertilization once exposed to sperm in a Petri dish. The embryos must also be able to grow and develop over the next few days while in the incubator. Even when all of these steps go right, the embryos can sometimes fail to implant into the uterine cavity once deposited after the transfer.
Implantation failure may be due to several factors, but the most common reason is that good proportions of these embryos are of poor quality and/or are chromosomally abnormal. Sometimes even the most perfect looking embryo that is transferred in reality is abnormal. Many people undergo several IVF cycles before a live birth can be achieved. But for others, the emotional and/or financial toll can be overwhelming.
In such cases, egg donation from a younger person can significantly increase the pregnancy rate. This is done by stimulating the ovaries of a younger person, extracting her eggs and fertilizing them with her partner’s sperm. A few days later, the embryo(s) are then transferred into the recipient’s uterus. Adoption, otherwise, is always a sure fire way of helping couples start a family they desire.
