Why the Need for IVF?

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Tubal Factor

IVF was developed specifically for women whose fallopian tubes had been injured by prior surgery or infection. Surgical repair of damaged tubes is sometimes a viable option, but for many types of injuries bypassing the tubes is less expensive and more successful. This can be achieved with IVF.

Male Factor

IVF is clearly the best treatment modality ever developed for low problems with sperm. Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), in which a single sperm is placed inside each mature egg, has improved dramatically since 1990 and now offers hope even when very few sperm are present in an ejaculate. Sperm can sometimes even be withdrawn from the testes when there are none in the ejaculate.

Endometriosis

While not usually the first line of treatment for this problem, IVF works well for endometriosis. It is the therapy of choice for severe cases or when lesser treatments have failed.

Unexplained Infertility

Although by definition we do not know the cause of unexplained infertility, IVF is a particularly successful method of treatment. It is assumed that whatever the cause in such couples, pregnancy is more likely due to the many natural steps that are bypassed by IVF. Data support this contention: pregnancy rates are very high with each attempt at IVF in unexplained infertility. However, the cost per pregnancy is higher than with many other treatments. For this reason, IVF is usually reserved for couples with unexplained infertility that have failed to conceive with multiple other, less involved therapies.

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