For some women, having a child feels like a calling or a purpose in life. It can be devastating for them to try again and again for motherhood and continue to not conceive. Fertility experts and various centers for reproductive medicine have come a long way in their field and now not all is lost if natural methods for getting pregnant are not successful. IVF (or in vitro fertilization) has become one of the most common fertility treatments available (the other is artificial insemination). Naturally, before starting IVF treatment, you’ll want to consider the particular situation you’re in, what the IVF price might look (will your health insurance help cover some or all of it, for example?) and you’ll want to consult with your doctor on the best way to move forward. It can feel very isolating for some women who can’t conceive naturally, but they should take heart in the fact that they’re not alone — millions of women have sought fertility treatments at some point in their lifetime!
How Widespread is Infertility and Who’s Seeking Treatment?
It’s predicted that around 12% of women (a little under seven and a half million women) have had some type of infertility service. A little over 10% of married women have difficulty getting pregnant or bringing a pregnancy to full term. Even younger couples between the ages of 29 to 33 (often the time of life when couples are considering having babies) who have a normal and functioning reproductive system have a 20-25% chance of getting pregnant during any given month. And almost 7 million women between the ages of 15 and 44 have an impaired ability to conceive or fully carry a baby to term.
Naturally, fertility decreases as a woman gets older — after the age of 40, only two out of every five women who want a baby will be able to successfully do so. Fertility naturally wanes for women after the age of 30 and the chances of getting pregnant drop even more drastically past the age of 35. However, unlike in past eras, the men can take just as much of the weight for being infertile as women — about a third of infertility can be attributed to the male partner and a third can be attributed to both partners. Additionally, the CDC analyzed data from a 2002 survey called the National Survey of Family Growth and found that between three to almost five million men who were younger than age 45 had reported seeing a fertility doctor.
What Is IVF?
Like mentioned before, IVF stands for in vitro fertilization and is a common type of fertility treatment. An egg is fertilized by a sperm outside of the woman’s body (unlike artificial insemination) and then put back inside the woman’s body after fertilization has successfully occurred. Naturally, the success rate depends highly on the woman’s health, how healthy the male sperm is, and how old the woman trying to get pregnant is.
What Should I Know About IVF Treatments?
There are studies that show women are more likely to have multiple babies with IVF and IVF price is not cheap. Although fifteen states have passed laws that mandate insurance policies to cover infertility treatment to some degree, it highly depends on what insurance you might have and whether you live in those states. (The states are Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas and West Virginia.) IVF price can be anywhere from $12,000-$17,000 on average — and if it doesn’t work the first time, some couples may even look into doing it again and again. It can cause a serious emotional and financial strain on couples who are not prepared. However, for women under the age of 35, the live birth rate is a little over 40%!
Couples should always consult their doctor before embarking on fertility treatments. It’s important for them to be prepared for the journey they’re about to undertake and to know all the risks, such as IVF price, (as well as all the joys) that lie ahead of them.