What are my chances of getting pregnant ?

This is the commonest question the IVF specialist is asked – especially by someone who has failed an IVF cycle.In one sense, it’s an easy question to answer. IVF clinics keep statistical records of the pregnancy rates we achieve in the women we treat, which means we can quote success rates in various groups of women ( for example, women under 35;  women over 40; and so on.)The trouble is that these figures apply to groups of women . How can we intelligently extrapolate these to the individual patient sitting in front of you and asking the question?Thus, not all 40-year olds are the same. Some have good ovarian reserve and produce excellent quality embryos; while others make embryos which are fragmented and which arrest in the lab. It’s not fair to lump apples and oranges together  when providing an answer, because it’s likely to be inaccurate and unreliable.The truthful answer is more nuanced. It is – It depends upon how many good quality embryos you make – which in turn depends upon the egg quality.Now while we do try to judge a patient’s ovarian reserve by checking her antral follicle count and measuring her AMH levels, these are fairly crude tests, with limited predictive ability. The final proof of the pudding is in the eating – and  its’ only when we actually superovulate her during an IVF cycle will be know how good her ovarian response is.While the pre-IVF tests will give us some idea, these tests have limitations, and it’s impossible...
Source: The Patient's Doctor - Category: Obstetricians and Gynecologists Tags: American Society for Reproductive Medicine Anti-Müllerian hormone Antral follicle Clinic In vitro fertilisation Ovarian reserve patient Pregnancy rate Source Type: blogs