INVC NEWS
Even though you know that it is the only chance of having a baby, it still takes a lot to get over the fears and worries and finally opting for In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF).
The first problem that you might face while planning a baby late in life is conception, which is caused due to low number of egg production and poor quality of eggs/sperms. As the age of woman increases, her egg quality and numbers also decreases, this may lead to infertility. Other driving factors to this can be low sperm count, male infertility, and medical conditions like PCOS etc.
Even though the decline in fertility is gradual, but many medical providers consider the risks of chromosome abnormalities to be significant at the age of 35 or older. So, even if you conceive, there are probabilities of having difficulties in sustaining the pregnancy.
According to the estimate of World Health Organization (WHO) about 8-10% of couples experience some form of infertility. A growing problem in India since the last decade, infertility is a complex and upsetting experience and people undergoing IVF often face more stress worrying about the success rate.
Are you planning for a late pregnancy? Is IVF the solution for you? Here, are some factors which play the most important role in conceiving through IVF
1) Age: Your age plays an important role in your pregnancy, no matter planning naturally or through IVF. Yes, it is the most important success factor. As the women ages the quality of woman’s eggs becomes poor and quantity also decreases. In fact, when it comes to success rate of IVF for women under 35, it is 40 percent. However, women who are over the age of 42, the success rate are just 4%. But it is not only about the women’s age, age of the male partner also affects your chances of conceiving. The sperm quality of the man decreases with the age. With the increase of a man’s age, the probability of his partner to get pregnant decreases.
2) Embryo Quality: The quality of the embryo plays a crucial role in your IVF success. The decrease in success rates in IVF is because of the decreasing number of quality of sperms and eggs. There is an increased loss of the eggs and sperms after the age of 32-35 and the fertility declines significantly thereafter.
3) Type of fertility problems: Fertility problems whether it is in case of male or female, affects the success rates of IVF equally. Female Infertility problems like uterine abnormalities, exposure to DES or fibroid tumors decreases the likelihood of success with IVF. Factors like Ovarian dysfunction, high FSH levels which indicate a low ovarian reserve, can also reduce the IVF success rates.
4) Genetic disorders: Though genetic disorders may not directly affect your IVF successrate but it is important to consider the chances of disorders you might be passing on to your child. According to WHO, 10 in every 1000 live birth suffers from a genetic disorder. That’s a huge number and you might pass on the same to your child. You can prevent them from passing it on by asking your IVF specialist for Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) in the embryos before implantation. PGD is performed on a small embryo biopsy and identifies which embryos are not at increased risk of developing the disorder. PGD is done before the pregnancy is established and helps avoid difficult decisions and situations.
5) Lifestyle habits: It’s time to change your lifestyle habits if you are planning for a baby! Women who are addictedto smoking, encounter more failure in IVF cycles. More IVF success factors to mull over include losing weight if you are overweight or obese. Women who are overweight have an increased risk of infertility as well as miscarriage.
6) Chromosomal abnormalities: If you are women over the age of 38, there is a 79% chance that the embryos might carry chromosomal abnormalities. The risk of abnormalities grows as the age of the mother increases. Most embryos with an incorrect number of chromosomes fail to implant or miscarry during the first trimester of pregnancy. In the late pregnancy, the baby is also prone to develop chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome, and Patau syndrome. It is very important to eliminate the chances of chromosomal abnormalities in the embryos before implantation to ensure successful pregnancy and a healthy baby.
What is the solution, then?
In order to avoid pregnancy with chromosomal abnormalities, Preimplantation Genetic Screening (PGS) from IGENOMIX can be performed. PGS is an early genetic screeningof the embryo prior to its transfer to the uterus, and therefore before the establishment of pregnancy. PGS allows only healthy embryos to be transferred. IGENOMIX recommends that women of advanced maternal age, men with sperm problems (Male factors), couple with repetitive implanatation failures and recurrent pregnancy losses should undergo the PGS test for aneuploidy screening to avoid chromosomal abnormalities.
So if you are preparing to get pregnant, it is crucial that you get yourself examined thoroughly by your doctor and consider the above critical factors to assure a healthy child.
