IVF: The Emotional and Financial Risks
For decades, many women have suffered the pain of being able to conceive a child. Up until recently, procedures to assist couples in having a child have been scarce. Now, there are many options for couples having trouble conceiving. One such procedure is In-Vitro Fertilization or IVF.
How Does IVF Work?
IVF is a procedure that most couples and single women take after many years of trying to conceive naturally and countless hours receiving fertility tests and less invasive fertility treatments. Women going through IVF treatment will receive hCG shots to increase hormone levels needed for successful conception. Once the hCG shot is given, a fertility specialist will retrieve an egg from the woman’s ovaries. This usually occurs within 36 hours after this shot is given. Once the eggs are retrieved they are closely examined to see if they are at their peak maturity level and are capable of conceiving. Then an embryologist will attempt to fertilize those eggs with approximately 10,000 sperm in a culture dish. Once penetration of the sperm into the egg is achieved, those eggs will be implanted into the woman’s uterus.
How Much Does IVF Cost?
While this procedure is lengthy and very costly, there are many risks involved with this type of procedure. As holds true with most medical procedures, some women may experience side effects or complications with the procedure. The most common complications that women will experience include multiple pregnancy, problems with egg collection, ectopic pregnancy, and the failure of the treatment itself. Failure of the treatment itself is the most common side effect of IVF. While the pain of not being able to conceive traditionally is great and overwhelming, without adding to it the lengthy and costly procedures and tests that need to be done to determine the cause of infertility, treatment failure, especially after multiple failures, is the most emotional side effect a couple will experience.
The Emotional Cost of IVF
The emotional overload couples and single women experience while going through these lengthy procedures is exhausting. Going through many years of unsuccessful attempts to conceive naturally becomes disappointing and may even come to the point where couples wish to give up trying. If a couple hasn’t reached this point and decides to go through to processes of conceiving with the help of medical technology, it could take many years to determine the reasons why infertility has occurred and even longer to come up with the money or the emotional strength to begin the pursuit of using medical technology to assist in getting pregnant.
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