Patients know that the pregnancy rate in a single IVF cycle is not 100% , and that they need to be patient until they get pregnant.
A key question is - How many cycles should I try?
After all, they need to know how much time and energy they need to devote to IVF, and how much this is going to cost them.
This is always a tricky question, and the answer is - It depends !
There are many variables at play here !
There are many variables at play here !
What are your goals ? To experience pregnancy, or to have a baby ?
What are your personal preferences ? Will you consider using donor gametes ?
How old are you ?
How much money can you afford to spend ? How important is this for you ?
From a medical perspective, each IVF cycle will give us valuable information, so we can answer this question more accurately, rather than just provide a generic answer which is imprecise.
Remember, an IVF cycle is not just a treatment cycle ! It gives us valuable diagnostic information as to why you're not getting pregnant in your bedroom ( because it allows us to check egg quality and the ability of the sperm to fertilise the egg).
Equally importantly, it provides us with invaluable prognostic information which we cannot get using any other technique. Thus, if we get top quality blastocysts, we can advice you that it makes sense to repeat the cycle again. If we don't, then you may be better of considering alternatives, such as donor eggs, to maximize your chance of achieving a pregnancy.
What to find an IVF clinic which respects your time and intelligence ?