After the difficult path of preparation has been successfully completed, a new stage begins. Does carrying a baby conceived in vitro differ from a normal pregnancy?
The excitement associated with the course of pregnancy after IVF is quite understandable. However, it is very important that ideas that have long been refuted by science do not become a cause for unnecessary fears.
Misconceptions: at the dawn of the IVF era
One of the main statements requiring refutation is the opinion that pregnancy losses occur much more often after IVF than with the usual method of conception. Probably, this myth is a legacy of the times when only the first steps were taken in the field of reproduction: all available embryos were transferred to the uterus, which often led to very multiple pregnancies and their termination. Today, doctors do not resort to such manipulations – one, two, maximum three embryos are subject to grafting. Considerable doubts were also associated with the use of donor eggs. It was assumed that the woman’s immune system would cause a rejection reaction similar to what can happen during transplantation. However, further studies have shown that this is not the case: an embryo that is one hundred percent different in genetic terms is able to take root. There is an explanation for this immunological paradox: the more the genetic set of a man and a woman differs, the greater the potential for survival of their offspring.
Scientific view
Modern scientists have no evidence that pregnancy losses resulting from assisted reproductive technologies occur more often. But the list of improvements in the field of IVF is very long. However, science is not omnipotent. The reasons that caused the non-occurrence of pregnancy naturally do not disappear, and during gestation may pose a threat. Among the key factors are late reproductive age, severe hormonal disorders, as well as other pathologies.
During the preparation
To minimize the risks during pregnancy, a thorough diagnosis is carried out before entering the IVF program.
There are two categories of surveys:
•the purpose of the therapeutic profile is to exclude contraindications to pregnancy;
•diagnostic profile procedures are aimed at in-depth study of the problem with which a woman applied to the department of reproduction.
The list of the first category is standard. But finding the optimal way to treat infertility or miscarriage may require a wide range of studies – it all depends on the specific situation.
Special condition
Active stimulation of the female body in order to obtain eggs leads to noticeable hormonal changes. In order to minimize the impact of medications, ISIDA adheres to the most sparing protocols. They are selected individually, taking into account the characteristics of the patient: age, hormonal status, ovarian reserve. If the embryo is successfully implanted, an individual plan is also drawn up to support the pregnant woman. In some cases (for example, when ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome is at risk), embryo transfer is postponed and cryocycle is preferred – so doctors have the opportunity to prepare the female body for pregnancy.
Double your attention!
Knowing the characteristics of patients who have successfully undergone IVF, ISIDA clinic specialists can make an individual pregnancy management plan. Every day medicine can correct more and more situations that would have led to an undesirable result earlier. As for complex programs, the largest number of services contains the package “My pregnancy Plus”. Since the focus of special attention is on women carrying twins, ISIDA has developed a special package “My pregnancy is Twins”.
Birth
Should an IVF baby be born exclusively by Caesarean section? The answer to this question is mythologized in the same way as IVF pregnancy itself. The fact is that the protocols of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, which regulate the conduct of this operation, excluded in vitro fertilization from the list of indications a few years ago. The decision to deliver by caesarean section dictates not the method of conception, but the course of pregnancy. If a single pregnancy proceeds successfully, a woman is recommended to give birth on her own.
Expert Ksenia KHAZHILENKO, obstetrician-gynecologist, geneticist, ultrasound diagnostics doctor at ISIDA clinic
The course of pregnancy after IVF differs little from the usual gestation – which occurred after natural conception. The category of patients that requires particularly careful monitoring is women with multiple pregnancies.
