IVF counselling for couples

Introduction

Many couples are telling success stories about IVF treatment. But it is not true that every childless couple will get a child through this procedure. There are couples who have spend a lot of time and money on this and got nothing. But most childless couples need not worry, the chances of getting a child through IVF are high. But it may take a few tries though. Why is counselling important for IVF? let us see.

Why is counselling necessary

Many people meet bad luck during the first IVF attempt. They become discouraged for a second trial. Hence the counselling. Only around 30% of childless couples get good results during the first time. Around 60% to 70% of the couples get good results during the second or third time. Unfortunately 30% of couples do not get any success at all despite a number of tries. It is unfortunate to see that simple counselling is not provided at many IVF clinics. This simple counselling could have stopped the hearts of many couples from shattering after bad results. Many IVF clinics of Delhi and Mumbai provide psychological counselling to couples. Most IVF doctors agree that many couples who come to them for treatment are under stress. Another reason why counselling should be provided to couples seeking IVF treatment is so that the couples don't feel cheated if the treatment fails. counselling provides couples with mental strength. counselling can also increase the sucess rate of the IVF technique by 20%. counselling is of three types-

Pre treatment counselling.
Intra treatment counselling.
Post treatment counselling.

Pre treatment counselling

The number of couples seeking IVF treatment has increased. The reason is that people have become more aware about the efficiency of this treatment. More and more couples are also ready to shell out a lot of money for this. Most couples who come for the IVF treatment are between 30-36 years. In the initial stage of the treatment the reason for not being able to conceive is determined. Couples are asked to submit all previous medical reports. Couples are also told about the procedure of the treatment. As per the IVF technique, fertilization takes place outside the body. Women are given special injections that make them produce more eggs. The eggs are then kept in a test tube. The semen of the husband is added and the mixture is stored for two days. The developed embryo is then placed back in the body of the women. The woman is also put on medications which support fresh cells. The woman is then asked to wait for 2 months to see whether the embryo starts growing into a baby. In the counselling session couples are told everything about the treatment and doubts are addressed. The cost of the treatment is also told. In some cases it is seen that the embryo does not develop even though both the mother and father are healthy.

Intra treatment counselling.

This counselling is done after the treatment starts. Couples are told not to get too optimistic even though the procedure seems to be going okay in their eyes. In some cases no good results are seen forthcoming even though the concerned couple has spent a lot of money. Intra treatment counselling is for such couples. In the first cycle of IVF, the estimated expenditure is 1 lakh. But some couples give a reduction of 20-30% in the second or third cycle of the treatment.

Post treatment counselling

Couples under 35 years of age get 35-40% success rate. But in elder couples the treatment is usually not a success during the first cycle. Post treatment counselling is done when there is no luck at all during the treatment. Couples are told the reason why the treatment was not successful and what went wrong during the course. Sometimes the doctor gets to know the reason for the failure of the treatment and sometimes not. The doctor also offers counselling as to whether the couple should go in for a fresh course of IVF treatment or not. Couples are encouraged to go for a revised treatment only if the doctors feel that there is some scope. If the couple has successfully given birth, the doctors offer counselling on the welfare of the baby. They say that there is no difference between a child born through normal method and a child born through IVF method. The doctors say that the child can also be delivered through Cesarean method. After giving delivery to a child through IVF method, a couple can also conceive normally the second time. There have been such cases too.

IVF facts

The chances of sucess of the IVF treatment is greatly increased if the males eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and abstain from alcohol, coffee and smoking.
1 out of every 3 couples get a baby during the first IVF treatment cycle itself.
30% couples never conceive through IVF despite numerous cycles.
The main reasons why a couple should go for IVF treatment includes faulty or blocked fillopian tubes in the woman, non production of eggs, low spem count in the men etc.
The approximate cost of the IVF treatment per cycle is Rs 1-1.5 lakh.