Below is a list of frequently asked questions. If the following answers do not fully address your questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact a member of your personal care team.
The goal of the initial consultation is to begin a supportive, working relationship, to review past infertility history, to review treatment options, and to establish short-term and long-term treatment plans.
If a woman is not taking fertility drugs, stress can inhibit normal ovulation and therefore decrease the chance of pregnancy. However, during in vitro fertilization (which is usually a stressful time) there is no evidence that stress has a negative impact on the chance of pregnancy. On the other hand, there is some evidence that emotional stress can have an impact on the risk of miscarriage.
We suggest that you avoid strenuous exercise while undergoing fertility treatment, although gentle exercise may be fine. If you are considering exercising during your fertility treatment, we recommend discussing this with your fertility specialist or nurse coordinator first.
It really depends on the type of herbal product and your individual treatment plan. Many medications, including herbal medications, can have powerful biological effects and some may influence the safety and/or outcome of your fertility treatment. For this reason, it is important for your fertility specialist to know about all of the medications you are taking (including herbal medications) so that your treatment can be planned with these in mind.
It is completely fine to continue having acupuncture during your treatment cycle; in fact, some studies have suggested that acupuncture may be beneficial for fertility patients both in terms of how they feel during treatment and the outcome.
Yes, you can have intercourse during your treatment cycle, however we do advise you abstain from intercourse for a minimum of two days prior to your egg collection. We also advise you abstain from intercourse for 2 weeks after your embryo transfer. Your fertility specialist or nurse coordinator will discuss this with you.
A healthy lifestyle is recommended prior to and during pregnancy. It is also important to maintain a suitable diet and exercise program to optimize your reproductive health. We recommend discussing your own circumstances with your fertility specialist or nurse coordinator.
The ovarian stimulation phase of your treatment cycle usually takes less than 2 weeks although the exact amount of time varies depending on how your body responds to the medications you are given.
Some bloating and breast tenderness is common during a treatment cycle. If you are concerned about any of these symptoms, please contact your nurse coordinator.
Some cramping and discomfort is normal following egg collection. This should be reasonably mild and improve in the days following your egg collection. If you are at all concerned about any of the symptoms you are experiencing, please contact your nurse coordinator.
It is normal to experience some bleeding following your egg collection and it is normal for the bleeding to persist the day after. If you are concerned about the amount of blood loss, please contact your nurse coordinator.
It is quite normal to have some eggs that do not fertilise, regardless of which method of fertilization is used. There are a variety of reasons for why this happens and these can vary between patients and/or treatment cycles. We suggest you discuss any concerns regarding your fertilisation results with one of our embryologists or your fertility specialist.
The number of embryos transferred in a treatment cycle will depend on a number of factors including the age of the female partner and whether or not you have had any previous success with any type of fertility treatment.
It is best to contact your nurse coordinator if you experience any spotting or bleeding while you are waiting for your pregnancy test following embryo transfer. Spotting or bleeding during this phase of your treatment cycle can have a number of causes but can potentially be due to the embryo implanting in the lining of your uterus. For this reason, it is very important to continue with your medications until you are advised otherwise by your fertility specialist or nurse coordinator.
At MPH IVF Center, the most common stage that we freeze embryos for our patients is on day3 and at blastocyst stage, this usually occurs on day 5 or 6 following insemination. We know that an embryo must form a blastocyst in order to go on to form a pregnancy, however, not all embryos are destined to reach the blastocyst stage. This is quite normal and is the reason why most patients find that not all of their excess embryos are suitable for freezing. If you are concerned about the number of embryos, you have had frozen we suggest you discuss this with one of our embryologists or your fertility specialist.
It is best to check with your fertility specialist or nurse coordinator but as a general rule it is not usually necessary to have a break between cycles.
At MPH IVF Center, we promote up to 2embryos transfer for the young age group to reduce the risks associated with multiple births. Surplus embryos can be frozen using our vitrification method and stored in your personal embryo bank for later use.
In general we don’t transfer more than three embryos, and that is only for certain selected cases like previous multiple treatment failures and old female age.
If your treatment is not successful, your personal care team will meet with you to discuss your options.
If you have regular periods and are 35 years of age or younger, you should allow one year of trying naturally before undergoing any fertility investigations. If you are over the age of 35 it may be reasonable to undertake some preliminary fertility testing sooner than this as your chance of falling pregnant, either naturally or with assisted reproductive technology, decreases with age. If you have irregular menstrual cycles this can be a sign of irregular ovulation and it would be reasonable to have this investigated early on regardless of your age.
Your menstrual ‘cycle is the time between day one of menstrual period until day one of your next period, usually around 28 days. If you are undergoing any type of fertility treatment your treatment cycle will started on day 2 or 3 of your menstrual cycle.
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a procedure whereby eggs are removed from a woman’s ovaries and inseminated outside the body. Embryo(s) that result are then placed in the woman’s uterus where they may implant and grow.
Your treatment cycle is based around your menstrual cycle, so each treatment cycle takes roughly around 2 weeks the same amount of time to complete ovulation.
It is MPH IVF Center’s approach to treat women up to 45years of age, the natural age of pre-menopause. For women over 42years of age success rates are much lower. However, every woman is different and we support an individualistic approach. Your fertility specialist will discuss your individual chance of success in detail.
As everybody is different, there is no one definitive answer. Some couples will conceive on their first attempt at IVF, while others will only conceive after many attempts. There are some couples that, unfortunately, may never have a successful pregnancy. But we can assure you with successive 4 cycles of IVF treatments almost 75-80% of infertile couples will be able to give birth to a baby.
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