Given the attention ‘all-natural’ consumables receive these days, it’s easy to wonder if there’s a more natural approach when it comes to in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment in Mexico. Natural Cycle IVF Mexico with ICSI uses conventional in vitro fertilization procedures without the use of fertility drugs to stimulate egg production.
Natural Cycle IVF Mexico and a traditional IVF cycle look very similar in terms of the timeline and the procedures followed. The difference is the patient does not use medications to stimulate multiple egg development in a natural IVF cycle.
Good Candidate for Natural Cycle IVF
In Natural Cycle IVF Mexico, the usual high-dose hormone stimulation is avoided. Such a therapy may be suitable for younger women with regular cycles who require IVF or ICSI treatment but do not want or would not tolerate a high-dose hormone therapy because of a coagulation disorder.
Women whose ovaries fail to react adequately to high-dose hormone therapy are also offered this successful treatment option with the top IVF clinics in Mexico.
Natural Cycle IVF Mexico with ICSI Procedure
The woman’s natural menstrual cycle is monitored by an IVF doctor in Mexico through blood tests and ultrasound allowing the specialists to determine the correct time for mature egg collection.
Patients are monitored with several ultrasound and blood tests to follow the development of the single follicle. Operative egg retrieval is then performed to try to remove an egg from the single follicle. If the egg retrieval is effective, an attempt is made to fertilize the egg in the laboratory in the same way as conventional IVF. If a practical dividing embryo is produced, it is relocated back to the uterus.
How to Choose the Best Treatment — IVF or Natural Cycle
Before you make a decision about which treatment to pursue, investigate claims closely, especially if a center touts that a particular treatment approach is less stressful, less costly, and less risky. Ask how that treatment performs on your most important criteria—delivering a baby:
• What are the success rates per cycle?
• Can I preserve embryos for future use?
• What is the financial cost of each cycle?
• What are the risks involved?
• What is the emotional cost of each cycle?
Success Rates with Natural Cycle IVF
Ask the hard questions, specifically, what are the pregnancy and live birth rates per initiated cycle?
Pregnancy and live birth rates for traditional IVF cycles are dramatically higher than natural cycle IVF. In fact, one may have to undergo three to four natural cycles in order to achieve a successful pregnancy — compared to one stimulated IVF cycle. One important element that influences this success rate is the retrieval of multiple mature eggs.
The main reason success rates for natural cycle IVF are so low is that, without the use of medications, there is a much higher chance of a cycle being cancelled at each stage. Many patients will prematurely ovulate, or an egg cannot be retrieved at the time of egg retrieval. And many others will have a cycle that doesn’t result in fertilization, and therefore, no embryo. The resultant delivery rate per initiated cycle for women 37 or under is low, and very low for women over 40.
Risks and Side Effects of Natural Cycle IVF
Advantages of natural cycle IVF with ICSI: Natural cycle IVF treatment is an option preferred by women whose infertility problems are not related to ovulation. Some consider natural cycle IVF with ICSI to be an advantage over drug-assisted IVF because the side effects associated with the fertility drugs are avoided. In addition, the treatment can be done repeatedly in consecutive months, whereas with regular IVF the patient is advised to wait 3 months before undergoing a further treatment cycle. Natural cycle in vitro fertilization is a more affordable infertility option as fertility drugs are not needed.
Disadvantages of natural cycle IVF with ICSI: Fewer eggs are produced during natural menstruation cycles than if ovulation is induced using fertility medication. When fewer eggs are produced; selecting quality, healthy eggs for use in treatment becomes more difficult. As a result, the success rates of natural cycle IVF are lower than conventional IVF.
Recovery from Natural Cycle IVF
Natural Cycle IVF Mexico will reduce patient discomfort, reduce the risks of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, and the additional risks associated with multiple births, therefore, making the recovery process extremely feasible and comforting.
FAQs
Do I have the option to freeze extra embyros?
In addition, patients doing natural cycle IVF do not have the possibility of freezing embryos, which nearly 50 percent of patients have after doing a traditional IVF cycle. Frozen embryos have the same pregnancy rates as fresh cycles of traditional IVF—without the ovarian stimulation or egg retrieval and at a third of the cost of a new cycle. These embryos essentially provide a second or even third chance at pregnancy, all from a single traditional cycle of IVF. Additionally, we can perform genetic testing on frozen embryos.
What is the cost difference in choosing natural cycle IVF?
While it’s easy to understand that natural cycle IVF costs less than a standard IVF cycle because it uses fewer medications, what’s critical to understand when comparing costs is that, from a value perspective, the choice is clear. For the money you spend doing a traditional IVF cycle, your chances of pregnancy and live birth are far greater than with natural cycle IVF. In fact, your chances are better with one stimulated IVF cycle than they are with three or four cycles of natural cycle IVF. Add to that the possibility of having frozen embryos available at the end of a traditional cycle of IVF and its value becomes even greater.
Medications can certainly be costly, however, this is not the biggest expense associated with an IVF cycle. The biggest costs in an IVF cycle are the monitoring, egg retrieval, and laboratory costs.