Introduction and improvement in IVF techniques have increased the chances of women with infertility issues to conceive. Milder Stimulation protocols in IVF are now gaining increasing popularity, given the belief that they are safer and have more chances of success than conventional IVF methods in selected patient groups.
Aster IVF & Women Clinic is the only fertility clinic in UAE to efficiently perform both conventional and minimal stimulation IVF techniques. Mild stimulation IVF or Aster’s IVF Lite is a new and improved technique that can be used to help women get pregnant with minimal risks. Conventional IVF and IVF Lite are forms of ART (Assisted reproductive technology).
IVF is a procedure in which the egg and sperm are fertilised outside the body in a laboratory dish and the embryo is later transferred into the uterus. With IVF a woman is stimulated with fertility injections or hormone treatments to control egg production. These fertility injections are usually high dosage injections and are high stimulants which cause the woman to produce multiple eggs. Conventional IVF techniques have certain side-effects, the major ones being the risk of causing OHSS (Ovarian Hyper Stimulation Syndrome) and risk of multiple births. Multiple births is a pregnancy problem that causes certain complications like increased chances of pre-term births, chances of having a C-section, miscarriages, baby being born with birth defects/ genetic disorders etc. Multiple pregnancies conceived by assisted reproductive technology poses a greater risk of pregnancy problems.
OHSS occurs in certain susceptible women taking hormonal injections to stimulate the production of eggs, where the ovaries over react and produce an excess number of eggs. Mild cases of OHSS can be managed with conservative measures but extreme cases may even lead to the death of the patient. These complications occur in very few woman and there are ways of preventing them.
Conventional IVF methods have been used for a long period of time and have had success rates as well. Now with the presence of an improved technique of ART called IVF Lite, more and more couples tend to prefer this technique over the conventional one.
IVF Lite or minimal stimulation technique is a simpler treatment method that Aster IVF & Women Clinic provides to make the process of ART less invasive for women. IVF Lite involves oral fertility medications instead of fertility injections leading to milder stimulation with better quality eggs. It is often said that the older a woman, lesser are her chances of conceiving which is true because, with age, a woman’s ovarian reserve becomes less. This belief holds true in today’s time and age where couples wish to grow professionally and are completely financially sound before having a baby. Even IVF success rates drop after women cross the age of 40. IVF Lite is a technique that helps couples increase their chances of getting pregnant even after a designated age. IVF Lite technique can be used to treat women who wish to get pregnant even after the age of 40 and Aster IVF & Women Clinic has been successfully treating women over 40 with the low ovarian reserve with this method. IVF Lite technique can be used to treat women who have had failed prior IVF attempts, poor and hyper responders and women with endometriosis.
Dr. Gautam Allahbadia, IVF Consultant and Head of Aster IVF & Women Clinic states that “Infertility is a major issue in this region and the number of women seeking infertility treatment only seems to be increasing. A common issue faced here is that couples delay their pregnancy due to various reasons and also delay in seeking medical help. They consult a specialist only years after unsuccessful attempts at being pregnant. Age, health complications like PCOS, obesity are all reasons of infertility and IVF success rates drop drastically after a certain point. Age is surely a reason to cause infertility, but it is a misconception that this issue is seen only in older women. At Aster IVF & Women Clinic we have seen patients below the age of 25 with fertility issues. Of late easier and less expensive fertility treatment techniques have greater demand because of its advantages. IVF Lite is one technique of ART, which was originally introduced to treat women with low ovarian reserve but in the recent past, it has shown to have positive results in women over 40 as well, which a great advantage in today’s age is given the changing ideologies and lifestyle preferences.”
Mild ovarian stimulation method or IVF Lite has a great number of advantages over conventional IVF techniques including fewer medications, safer and with quality eggs. IVF Lite is also a feasible choice for couples who chose the cost-effective technique. IVF Lite also presents very favourable pregnancies in women who are over the age of 40 and those who have had previous unsuccessful IVF attempts.
Experts recommend IVF Lite as a new approach for women who are poor or hyper responders, suffer from endometriosis, have previous unexplained IVF failures or are over 37 years old. Aster IVF & Women Clinic offers IVF Lite as a safer and patient friendly alternative to conventional IVF treatments.
