Benefits of IVF Treatment in Early Age

Twenty percent of Indian women wait to begin their families until the age of 35. Delaying childbirth has become a common choice in today’s society as women wait for an established career, stable relationship, and financial security before taking up the responsibility of parenthood. The number of women attempting pregnancy in their late 30s and 40s has increased significantly as assisted reproductive technologies have instilled hope and an unrealistic sense of security among women willing to delay motherhood.

Medical experts insist that the growing media hype of the success rate of assisted reproductive technologies is creating a debilitating effect. In reality, the optimistic statistics are a result of successful assisted reproductive technology treatments (ART) on women below the age of 35. A recent study, which is the first in the world to track national success rates for IVF, establishes a relation between aging and the success of IVF treatment. The study reveals that birth rates resulting from a single IVF cycle using women's own eggs are about 30% to 40% for women age 34 and younger. The birth rate decreases steadily post 35.

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is one of the most successful assisted reproductive technology in which an egg is fertilized by a sperm outside the body. The fertilized egg or zygote is then inserted in the patient’s uterus for establishing a successful pregnancy. There has been an exponential growth in the fertility centres across India accounting to five billion dollars industry.

Here’s why medical specialists insist on taking up IVF treatment at an early age:

High Success Rate:

A recent study shows that more than half (50.6%) under 30 have a baby within five rounds of IVF and there are similar rates of success for women aged 30 to 34 (51.7%). But,  post 35 the chances of success drop dramatically after five tries. Also, women above 40 have a very low success rate using their own eggs and have to opt for donor eggs for a successful pregnancy and live birth.

The chances of having a live birth from own eggs is higher if a woman is in her late 20’s. As the age increases, the chances of live birth further reduce and there has been a notable decline in live birth from 40 percent in late 20’s to 30 percent in late 30’s. The chances of having a live birth further diminishes to 10 percent in 40’s.

Better Care of Newborn:

It is easier to take care of the newborn and ensure his/her well being if the parents are young. Parents planning their child through assisted reproductive techniques must think just as they would if they planned through natural methods. The growing fad of waiting for parenthood because of availability of assisted reproductive techniques requires a second thought as many old couples are way too driven by their own health problems to be able to provide enough care and resources for the well being of their test tube newborn.

Avoid legal hassles:

Although there are no established laws in India regarding the optimum age, methods and intricacies of assisted reproductive techniques, yet you can save yourself from other legal hassles if you plan to take up IVF at an early age. IVF treatment after 40 may pose health problems which may require patients to opt for donor eggs and surrogates. A recent bill on surrogacy mentions exact age limit for males (21-45 years) and females (21-35 years) to donate semen and oocytes. In case, you wish to have one of your family members above the legal age as a donor or surrogate, you will have to abide by the law and look elsewhere.

Slash Treatment Costs to Half:

Women over 38 years of age often have very few eggs and respond poorly to conventional ovarian stimulation, an important stage of an IVF cycle. The treatment costs double in such cases as such patients usually require huge doses of expensive drugs that can add another INR 60,000 to INR 70,000 or so to the already high cost of IVF, which amounts to somewhere around 2 lakhs or more, increasing the total cost per cycle.

Increased chances of Natural Second pregnancy:

A recent research shows that 33 percent of women who have their first baby with the help of assisted reproductive technologies such as IVF fall pregnant again without treatment within two years of the first birth. This is common among women who had undiagnosed endometriosis, which tends to improve post first pregnancy. Often pregnancy itself helps to alleviate some of the symptoms and the second pregnancy comes around much easier, explain medical experts.

By Medical Opinion