Many couples who could benefit from IVF treatment fail to take advantage of it. Although roughly half of the three million infertile couples in the U.S. look to doctors for assistance in having a baby, the vast majority do not ultimately go through with IVF. This is true even when they meet all of the criteria and their chances of successfully having a baby by under-going the treatment are good.
The question is then, what are the barriers that cause so many people to not to proceed with IVF? The answer to that question is complex, because what is a stumbling block to one couple can be considered irrelevant to another couple. It is fair to say, however, that there are some general issues that tend to be causes of concern to the majority of would-be IVF candidates.
One is that it is unsafe for the mother, baby, or both. Another is that it is too expensive. A third is that it is incompatible with religious beliefs. A fourth is that the mother, or even the father, will not be able to fulfill their professional and personal responsibilities for the duration of the treatment period.
However, all of these issues can successfully be addressed, and the barriers overcome. By spending some time learning about what exactly IVF involves - there are lots of good websites from which to gather this information - and having discussions with experienced IVF professionals and couples who have previously undergone the treatment, most couples will see that their concerns are unfounded.
That does not mean that IVF is the best option for every infertile couple, in some cases it is not, but it should at least be one of the options which is seriously considered during the decision-making process. To simply dismiss it could well be one of the biggest mistakes that a couple ever makes. - 31802
The question is then, what are the barriers that cause so many people to not to proceed with IVF? The answer to that question is complex, because what is a stumbling block to one couple can be considered irrelevant to another couple. It is fair to say, however, that there are some general issues that tend to be causes of concern to the majority of would-be IVF candidates.
One is that it is unsafe for the mother, baby, or both. Another is that it is too expensive. A third is that it is incompatible with religious beliefs. A fourth is that the mother, or even the father, will not be able to fulfill their professional and personal responsibilities for the duration of the treatment period.
However, all of these issues can successfully be addressed, and the barriers overcome. By spending some time learning about what exactly IVF involves - there are lots of good websites from which to gather this information - and having discussions with experienced IVF professionals and couples who have previously undergone the treatment, most couples will see that their concerns are unfounded.
That does not mean that IVF is the best option for every infertile couple, in some cases it is not, but it should at least be one of the options which is seriously considered during the decision-making process. To simply dismiss it could well be one of the biggest mistakes that a couple ever makes. - 31802
