IVF – Is It For You?
The decision to undertake IVF Fertility treatment is not one which anyone would undertake lightly. But there is no standard way of deciding whether this is the right treatment for you. There are general issues which are of concern to all prospective IVT patients. The most obvious being that the treatment may not be successful. It could also be that in vitro fertilization could be considered an unaffordable option. Another possible stumbling block is that the techniques used may be incompatible with a couples moral or religious beliefs. All of these concerns are highly valid, and completely understandable.
Coming to the decision of opting for IVF treatment can be daunting. Reliable information can be difficult to find and sometimes difficult to understand. Perhaps it would be helpful for people trying to make this decision to first consider ethical, moral and religious value systems. By its very nature, IVF can raise some complicated and unusual issues. Emerging views and opinions must then be fully discussed with your life partner, as it is crucial that you both agree on how best to enlarge or create your family. Try to ensure that neither you nor your partner ever feels under pressure to conform to a certain treatment.
When you have reached this point, next arises the issue of getting quality infertility treatment, if that is your wish. The management of infertility can be an extremely complicated and lengthy process. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine has set guidelines for providers of infertility services, with three levels of care. Some patients may decide to have diagnostic tests and some treatment by providers with only basic capabilities. There is nothing wrong with this, assuming that you are referred to more experienced care providers when the guidelines indicate.
Most of the IVF program providers give very good care, but you would be wise to make sure that the IVF clinic you select belongs to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART). This will ensure that you are comfortable with the quality of lab work and medical care.
Probably during your first visit, you will be asked to complete an in depth medical evaluation. You should also check out alternative treatments other than IVF from this clinic, to ensure you fully explore all your options. Once this stage is complete, decide upon a plan of action, and some kind of timescale. Figure out your fiscal options, and put plans into place. You will also need to consider how your present lifestyle will need to adapt to incorporate your chosen way of creating or starting, a family.
While trawling the web for information, you will come across many people offering advice. Several suggest analytical ways of deciding whether IVF is for you, or not. One actually suggests that the costs be analyzed in detail. While this certainly is a major consideration for most couples, and definitely an issue which must be addressed as soon as IVF is decided upon. Surely it must be extremely difficult to step back from such a highly emotive issue and analyze it? It is surely not possible to quantify the anguish a childless couple feels at not being able to produce a child through regular methods, or the longing such a loss creates. But to some degree, it is prudent to put aside the emotional side of IVF and try to apply logic. And although this sounds impossible, it may be highly productive for you, long term.
