Opportunities and risks of fertility treatment
The fertility treatment in the Fertility Centre Niederrhein has a high success rate.
With the help of modern assisted reproduction techniques, 60 to 70% of all couples with an unfulfilled desire for children can be helped to have their own child. The pregnancy rates are approx. 10 to 12% for insemination and approx. 29% for IVF or ICSI treatment on a national average (German IVF Register 2011). It is our duty to inform our patients about possible risks of the treatment.
Opportunities and risks of fertility treatment
In rare cases, hormonal stimulation can lead to an overreaction of the ovaries. This so-called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) can have varying degrees of severity. The ovaries may be very enlarged, in extreme cases with water accumulation in the abdominal cavity or chest. There is an early form of the hyperstimulation syndrome, which occurs during stimulation treatment, or a late form, which only develops after pregnancy has been achieved. In severe cases, the treatment of overstimulation must be carried out in hospital.
As after a pregnancy that has occurred naturally, ectopic pregnancies can also occur after assisted reproduction. The reason for this is that the embryo can move freely on the mucous membrane in the uterus as well as in the fallopian tube until the 5th/6th day after fertilisation, before settling down there. It may be the case that the embryo sticks in a fold of a fallopian tube and implants itself there. However, with careful monitoring, this can be detected in time, so that appropriate medical or surgical measures can be taken to terminate the ectopic pregnancy.