3 IVF Myths
IVF Myth #1: IVF Always Works
There is so much press about IVF being the answer to infertility that it’s not surprising that many women think IVF will work the first time. After all, when you’ve spent thousands of pounds and put your body through weeks of scans, medication and medical procedures, you expect to get results.
Unfortunately, IVF does not always work. Here are the UK live birth rates for women using their own eggs between 2014 and 2016:
29% for women under 35.
23% for women aged 35 to 37.
15% for women aged 38 to 39.
9% for women aged 40 to 42.
3% for women aged 43 to 44.
2% for women aged over 44.
These are disappointing figures, particularly if you’re over 35. They depend on the situation, type of infertility and hormonal imbalances.
The problem with looking at the statistics is that they can make you feel hopeless. What doctors don’t talk about is that there are ways to improve egg quality, increase your womb lining, balance your hormones and improve sperm count.
IVF Myth #2: Go Straight For IVF
IVF is the perfect solution for some people and is sometimes the only option. The problem is that it can be used too soon and couples can go for it without being fully prepared.
Doctors recommend IVF when other tests have been done, medication has been tried, and a couple has been trying for more than two years. The issue is that doctors are only looking at the factors that they’ve been trained to know how to fix. Like if you have PCOS, then they’ll give you Clomid. Or if you have endometriosis, then you’ll get a laparoscopy to remove the endometrial tissue.
But what about all the other hundreds of fertility signs? What about naturally getting your body to work better, your period to flow properly and the right hormones to be produced at the right time? There are some crucial fertility signs that your doctor will not even ask you about and will not know how to change.
Before starting IVF make sure you prepare from all angles so that you know that you’ve tried everything you can to get pregnant naturally first. Do everything you can to prepare and then use IVF.
IVF Myth #3: Drink A Pint Of Milk Every Day
Some IVF clinics tell women to drink a pint of full-fat milk per day to improve egg quality, prevent hyperstimulation and help embryos to implant.
The problem with drinking so much milk is that whilst it might benefit some women, it can decrease the chances of getting pregnant for others.
Giving the same advice to everyone no matter what their body type or condition is not helpful because we are all unique.
Drinking too much milk can create mucus, cysts on the ovaries, blocked fallopian tubes and inflammation. Milk can make conditions like PCOS and endometriosis much worse.
Of course, it’s important to get enough protein and calcium that can be found in milk. But you can get it elsewhere in your diet, like dark green vegetables and oily fish.