Infertility is an unfortunate, often stressful reality for many suffering couples in the U.K. today. Approximately one in seven couples in the country struggle with infertility. Many couples decide to either keep trying to conceive a baby naturally, or they stop actively trying, assuming it will never happen for them, and some decide to go down the road of adoption. Still others?close to 45,000 couples a year?seek fertility treatment from the U.K.?s 75 available clinics.

One of these types of fertility treatment for couples unable to conceive is called in vitro fertilisation, or IVF treatment. IVF treatment is sometimes referred to as a ?test-tube fertility treatment.? For infertile couples who want their own flesh-and-blood child, IVF treatment is definitely something worth considering, as it may be the only chance they have of conceiving and carrying a baby.

IVF treatment basically involves extracting eggs from a woman's ovaries and mixing them together with the man's sperm in a dish. Then, if fertilisation occurs, the resulting embryo or embryos are placed inside the woman's uterus. With IVF treatment, the woman is instructed to take an injection of combined hormonal drugs in order to stimulate the ovaries for egg production, to hopefully produce more than one egg for higher chances of one being healthy enough for extraction. This process is done over a course of two to five weeks.

One drawback of IVF treatment is that it can become quite expensive. For private treatment, it can cost between ?2500 and ?3000 for just one cycle of treatment, even upwards of ?3K per round. The other problem is that fertilisation and subsequent conception rarely works on the first try?most couples undergoing IVF treatment normally go through three cycles, and some more. Furthermore, NHS (National Health Service) in the U.K. will currently only cover a single cycle of treatment for women up to the age of 37.

Another potential drawback is that the success rate of IVF treatment is not very high. On average, chances of success average out at about 33 percent, with a slightly higher percentage for younger women and a lower percentage for older women. Although 33 may seem like a small number, and IVF treatment fails more often than it succeeds, it's important for couples to realise that the percentage of IVF treatment cycles resulting in a birth is in fact gradually rising, according to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. It's also necessary to realise that success rates do vary, depending on a number of factors, including the woman's age and overall health and the type of IVF treatment practised at specific clinics.

Moreover, there are certain risks involved for the woman with IVF treatment. Women receive injections of hormonal drugs, which may cause complications, such as hyper-stimulation of the ovaries for egg production, which occurs when the woman's ovaries actually respond too well to the drugs. Ovarian Hyper-stimulation Syndrome, as it is called, can be mild but can also create more serious complications that require hospitalisation.

Something else to consider is the emotional and financial stress involved in using such a procedure. Because of the potentially high costs, the health risks involved and what may be perceived as low success rates, undertaking cycles of IVF treatment may cause a lot of stress for the couple and ultimately in their relationship to each other. Couples need to understand that as with any treatment, test, procedure or operation, IVF treatment does have associated risks, and these need to be taken into account and properly understood before going through with the treatment. Even so, some couples may require some type of therapy or counselling after a cycle of treatment fails.

Any type of fertility treatment is gamble, and IVF treatment is no exception. There are always risks associated with an extensive treatment process, and there are also no guarantees for any couple that they will be able to conceive and carry a child using IVF treatment. However, the potential rewards are real, and IVF treatment has proved a successful method for many infertile couples in the U.K. and worldwide, and the chance of having a baby for many of these childless couples makes IVF treatment worth considering.

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