Risks and side effects of IVF
In vitro fertilization embryo transfer (IVF-ET) has become an important way for many infertile couples to achieve their reproductive aspirations. However, this technology also has certain risks and side effects. This paper will elaborate on these issues from four aspects.
Fertility success rate
The success rate of IVF is affected by many factors. The first is women's age and egg quality. Older women will lead to a decline in egg quality, thereby reducing the probability of successful pregnancy. The second is the quality and quantity of male sperm. If men have sperm problems, such as low sperm activity or insufficient sperm quantity, the success rate of IVF will also be affected. In addition, suffering from some diseases, such as polycystic ovary syndrome and endometriosis, may also reduce the success rate of IVF.
In some clinical studies, the successful pregnancy rate is usually between 30% and 40%. Therefore, the failure of an IVF cycle may require multiple attempts to succeed, which will not only cost time and money, but also bring psychological pressure to couples.
Multiple pregnancy
Multiple pregnancy is one of the common side effects of IVF technology. In order to improve the success rate, doctors usually implant multiple fertilized eggs into the uterus. If multiple embryos are successfully implanted, multiple pregnancy will occur. Multiple pregnancy has certain risks to both pregnant women and fetuses.
For pregnant women, multiple pregnancy will increase the risk of complications such as hypertension, diabetes and anemia. In addition, multiple pregnancies often overburden the uterus, which may lead to premature delivery, placental abruption and other complications, which pose a threat to the health and survival of the fetus.
Psychological and social pressure
The psychological and social pressure of IVF technology on couples also needs attention. Due to the low success rate of IVF, couples may need to try many times to succeed. This process may bring depression, anxiety and loss to the couple. In addition, once successfully conceived, couples also face the pressure of selecting and screening embryos.
In society, IVF is still held by some people with negative and biased attitudes. This makes couples need to hide the fact that they are working hard for IVF, or face doubts and pressure from relatives and friends.
Increased risk of genetic diseases
IVF technology is usually accompanied by reproductive genetics screening. This means that doctors can choose safe embryos for implantation to reduce the risk of genetic diseases. However, even through screening, there is still a certain risk of genetic diseases.
On the one hand, the accuracy of screening is not 100%, and some genetic diseases may be missed or misdiagnosed. On the other hand, there are only a limited number of genetic diseases within the scope of screening, and not all genetic diseases can be screened out. Therefore, IVF technology cannot completely eliminate and reduce the risk of genetic diseases.
summary
The risks and side effects of IVF technology mainly include low fertility success rate, multiple pregnancy, psychological and social pressure, and increased risk of genetic diseases. Couples should fully understand these risks and side effects when choosing IVF technology, and make decisions according to their own conditions and doctors' suggestions.
