While most women are able to conceive after regular intercourse without any problem, some may have to deal with the inability to conceive normally. Infertility issues with either of the partners can lead to this situation. In many such cases, medical advancements like in-vitro fertilisation (or IVF) can be a boon. IVF involves manual fertilization of an egg by a sperm outside the human body, usually in a laboratory environment. Later the embryo is tranferred to the uterus to enable it to develop into a regular pregnancy. While IVF has its own limitations and it may not be possible to guarantee a successful pregnancy with its use, couples who do opt for this method should be physically, financially and mentally prepared for a long haul and not lose hope if ther encounter a few failures.

According to a research conducted jointly by two universities in the UK, people who undergo IVF treatment, need to be quite persistent for achieving a successful pregnancy. The results of the study, published in journal of The American Medical Association, highlighted that the process is not a ‘single shot’ soltion. It estimated that on an average six attempts are needed by a couple to be successful via IVF treatment. The study also revealed that the odds of having a successful pregnancy increase with an increase in the number of attempts. This should come as good news for many couples who may have been trying for some time and have now started to have doubts about the appropriateness of the IVF procedure in their case. The findings of the study revealed that the live birth rate after the first IVF cycle was only 29.5%. However it remained above 20% up to and including the fourth cycle for women under the age of 40 years.

The repeated failure after an IVF procedure can cause a lot of mental stress, on top of the physical trauma and the financial cost, to couples undergoing IVF treatment. All these can easily lead to doubts about the benefit of continuing with the treatment. Not surprisingly the abandonment rate of IVF treatment is quite high. To cope successfully with the physical efforts, financial pressures and the mental stress, couples need to stay strong for each other, consult mental health specialists if and when required and seek comfort from other couples who might be going through something similar.

While the journey may not be an easy one, a success at the end is always worth every bit of the effort.