IVF

Over two million American couples are having problems getting pregnant.[1] The standard treatment which can help these couples conceive is in-vitro fertilization (IVF). IVF can change lives but can also be very emotionally, physically and financially draining.
The DuoFertility programme is a highly effective method to help couples conceive. The programme is totally non-invasive and drug free, yet published studies have shown a pregnancy rate similar to that of a cycle of IVF after just six months of use[2].

A recent report states that there is a higher risk of complications and multiple births in pregnancies that result from IVF techniques.
A report by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said there were increased risks of premature births, low birth weight and congenital abnormalities. However, it said the vast majority of IVF children were as healthy as other children. IVF accounts for over 1% of UK births. Advances in fertility research have allowed more infertile couples to have children and at an older age.

Risks

The news could hardly have been more devastating for policeman John Powell. Diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 32, he was given only six months to live and told that aggressive chemotherapy would leave him infertile.
That was 21 years ago – and now he and his wife are celebrating the arrival of a daughter. Mr Powell had a sperm sample frozen before he began the treatment and, when he was finally given the all-clear after two decades, it was used to create baby Jasmine.

She spent two years undergoing IVF treatment, and after four failed attempts thought she had lost all hope of becoming a mother So it’s little wonder Kate Silverton looks overjoyed as she shows off the baby she never thought she would have – conceived naturally within weeks of stopping the treatment.

A cut-price test that could dramatically increase the chances of having a healthy baby through IVF could be available within 18 months. Oxford University researchers say their test could ‘revolutionise’ the treatment as it is half the price of existing tests and may be just as effective.

It may be cheap enough for use by the Health Service. And, unlike existing tests, it does not involve the potentially risky step of taking a sample of cells from the egg or fledgling embryo, making it safer and more ethically acceptable.

The number of people accessing fertility treatments such as IVF and ICSI has risen in the UK by almost six percent in the past year.
Statistics released by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HEFA) revealed the number of fertility cycles carried out in 2010 stood at 57,652 – a 5.9 percent increase on treatments in 2009. It was also found that the age of women having such treatments is rising; within the last 20 years it has increased by 18 months.