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In Vitro Fertilization for Infertility
The number of women who have babies after in vitro fertilization varies, depending on many different things. Almost all assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures in the United States are done using IVF.
Age. Birth rates resulting from a single cycle of IVF using women's own eggs are about 30% to 40% for women age 34 and younger, then decrease steadily after age 35.4 The aging of the egg supply has a powerful effect on the chances that an assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedure will result in pregnancy and a healthy baby.
Cause of infertility. Infertility can be caused by problems with the woman's or the man's reproductive system. Some of these causes can include problems with the fallopian tubes, with ovulation, or with the sperm.
Pregnancy history. A woman who has already had a live birth is more likely to have a successful ART procedure than a woman who hasn't given birth before. This "previous birth advantage" gradually narrows as women age from their early 30s to their 40s.
Own eggs versus donor eggs. Birth rates are affected by whether ART procedures use a woman's own eggs or donor eggs. Many women over age 40 choose to use donor eggs, which greatly improves their chances of giving birth to healthy babies. For each cycle of in vitro fertilization:4
- Using her own eggs, a woman's chances of having a live birth decline from over 40% in her late 20s, to 30% at about age 38, and to 10% by about age 43.
- Live birth rates are the same among younger and older women using donor eggs. Women in their late 20s through mid 40s average about a 50% birth rate using fresh (not frozen) embryos.
Frozen embryos versus fresh embryos. Donor-frozen IVF embryos from a previous IVF cycle that are thawed and transferred to the uterus are less likely to result in a live birth than are donor-fresh (newly fertilized) IVF embryos.4 But frozen embryos are less expensive and less invasive for a woman, because superovulation and egg retrieval aren't necessary.
| By: | Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: March 19, 2010 |
| Medical Review: | Sarah Marshall, MD - Family Medicine Femi Olatunbosun, MB, FRCSC - Obstetrics and Gynecology | |
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