Why Does IVF Fail?

Why Does IVF Fail?

Have you just been through an IVF cycle that didn’t work? Now is the time NOT to lose hope… There’s no better time to empower your fertility than after a failed IVF cycle.

Often, a question I get asked by patients is: WHY did my IVF cycle NOT WORK?

Sometimes there are no real answers to that question.

Whether or not IVF will work can sometimes be a matter of chance. 

It can feel like everything was perfect, the conditions for treatment were the best they could be, the embryo transfer went smoothly – like you did all the right things but it still didn’t work

There’s an element of chance that we should try to understand whilst going through IVF. That sometimes chance isn’t on our side.

BUT that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t evaluate what you did and everything that happened to see if there are places where things could be improved – as that could have been why the IVF did fail.

Aside from the whole ‘chance’ factor, I think there are some reasons why I think IVF can fail…

#1 Remember: IVF is an experiment

This one can be a little hard to recognize/digest… But IVF is an experiment.

There are parameters that all IVF clinics work within to base their treatment protocol off… but it is just an experiment. 

I’m not an IVF doctor and I don’t perform IVF – but this is a conversation that I have often with the patients that I work with who are going through IVF. 

IVF clinics base their experiment protocol on several factors: 

• Age
• Hormone levels
• Weight 
• Height

They use these factors to make a determination on where they should start IVF treatment for you. 

Using all of this information, they make their best guess on what they think is going to wield the right results for you. But, sometimes, the guess is not always right.

It’s an unfortunate thing because IVF is so expensive and time consuming. It can be hard to accept that the result comes down to an experiment.

BUT, hopefully, we’ve all learned from that first experiment and made some changes to improve on the second cycle.

A lot of people won’t like to look at IVF as being an experiment, but I think it’s important that we approach and understand it this way.

#2 Protocol is EVERYTHING

If your physician chooses the wrong protocol for you, then your body is not going to respond as well to treatment.

Protocol is everything: the type of medication your prescribed, how much you’re given, when you’re given it.

There are so many nuances to this – and there are so many different protocols you can be given based on your condition, hormone levels and your individual fertility case.

If you’re not given the best protocol, then this can of course affect the results of your IVF. 

None of this is purposeful – but if it does happen that you’re given the wrong protocol, then odds are your body is not gonna respond the way we want it to.

#3 Address the root cause

You need to have spent the time prior to IVF to investigate the root cause as to what has been causing your infertility.

If this hasn’t been addressed, it can impact your IVF success rates too. 

Without knowing why you haven’t been able to get pregnant, you can’t create a plan that addresses those root issues.

A good place to start when working to understand what’s holding you back from pregnancy, is by identifying the key areas of your health that could be affecting your fertility. (Click here for a free, simple exercise which will help you to analyse the 12 main influencers on your fertility.)

#4 Time for PREPARATION!

Once you’ve found out the root cause of why you need IVF in the first place, you should take time to address it and prepare before treatment begins. 

If you haven’t given yourself enough time to create the right environment, to nuture your ovaries and your reproductive health, then this can affect how your body reacts to IVF. 

Preparation is a key factor if you want your IVF to be successful. This can take 3+ months to achieve. 

It’s super important that you do everything you can to ensure that your uterine environment is healthy enough for successful implantation to take place. 

If you’ve had a failed IVF cycle, then firstly I’m really sorry. Do you know what it was for you that got in the way of a successful IVF cycle?

Want more support through your IVF treatment to make sure that you’re doing everything you can to make your treatment successful?

Spots are currently available in my IVF course and support group: CONQUERING IVF.

Don’t go through this feeling alone, uninformed and disempowered. 

Another huge part of IVF working is YOU. Are you an active participant in your treatment.. Are you working with your IVF?

LEARN HOW BY CLICKING HERE