Giving Nature a Little Help
In vitro fertilisation, or IVF, is a procedure by which an egg is fertilised and then placed inside the uterus of the prospective mother. The egg may or may not be one her own body produced, and the sperm which fertilised it may or may not be that of her husband or partner.
In IVF, fertlisation of the egg takes place outside of the woman's body, typically in a petri dish. The fertilised egg is then implanted into the fallopian tubes or the endometrial lining of the woman's uterus through a simple surgical procedure.
IVF represents a costly but reasonably effective alternative for couples who wish to experience pregnancy and childbirth together, but whose bodies are incapable of creating a baby due to complications. The most common reasons couples use IVF are faulty or collapsed fallopian tubes in the female, and low or absent sperm count in the male. As long as the woman has a uterus capable of housing a growing fetus, IVF can greatly increase their chances of having a child. In fact, multiple births (twins and more) are common for couples using IVF.
Is It Guaranteed?
Like anything else in life, IVF is not a guaranteed solution, though it does have a reasonable success rate. 50% of people under 38 become pregnant on their first cycle, however this may not necessarily end up with a viable pregnancy in all cases. Couples may have to try many times to achieve success. After the egg is implanted, the woman may want to take a pregnancy test and pay close attention to her body's cues to evaluate the state of her hopeful pregnancy. There's a chance the woman's body may simply reject the egg, especially if it isn't her own. It's not uncommon for a pregnancy test to register a 'false positive' due to the IVF medication so check with your doctor. If your medication does increase the chances of a false positive result then you can only have full confidence once you obtain a blood test. Despite the higher chances of false positives whilst on medication, many couples still choose to use them every few days to try to get some feedback on the IVF process.
IVF can be very stressful, especially if the couple is very concerned about having children. The strain of continuously taking a new pregnancy test, visiting the IVF clinic, and worrying about complications can cause stress and depression. It is important to understand that if you want to be 100% sure of your results, a pregnancy test taken at home whilst on IVF medication can only be interpreted as a chance that you may be pregnant, and the most accurate pregnancy test is a blood test.
Helpful Tactics
If you find yourself stressing out about each pregnancy test during your IVF cycles, why not ask a friend or your partner to read them for you? Or you could turn it into a learning experience by trying to find the best pregnancy test available on the market (although you're likely to feel that whichever one yields a positive result is the best pregnancy test ever!).
Once you get a positive result on a pregnancy test, you don't need to worry about taking them anymore, unless your doctor at the IVF clinic says otherwise. In cases where a 'false positive' occurs, you may need to continue taking one pregnancy test a week for several weeks to ensure the results are either 'yes' or 'no'. Just think, though - after all this experience, when a friend mentions she might be pregnant, you'll know what pregnancy test to recommend.
