Information about the risks of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

With the current policy, the hospital is committed to reducing serious complications to less than 1%

01. RISK OF NO OVUM, NO EMBRYO

The number of oocytes and embryos obtained per patient depends on many factors, the most important of which are ovarian reserve, egg quality and husband’s sperm quality.

The risk of oocyte atrophy may occur in the following groups of patients:

  • Ovarian failure.
  • Poor ovarian response.
  • Using ovarian stimulation drugs for the wrong indications, wrong usage.

Risk of not having an embryo:

  • Low number of oocytes, poor oocyte quality.
  • Severe abnormal sperm not able to fertilize.
  • Due to some genetic abnormality of the spouse

To limit the risk of no ovum, no embryo, women who are indicated for IVF should conduct early, to avoid prolonging the time of infertility. Normally, after the age of 35, women with ovarian reserve, the quality of eggs will decrease rapidly and the risk of having a baby with birth defects increases.

02. RISK OF MULTIPLE PREGNANCY

Multiple pregnancy means that during pregnancy, two or more fetuses develop in the mother’s uterus. In assisted reproduction, the rate of multiple pregnancies may be higher due to the use of ovarian stimulators that cause many follicles to mature and release many oocytes, causing multiple pregnancies. In addition, transferring many embryos into the uterus also increases the rate of multiple pregnancies.

Multiple pregnancy increases the risk of pregnancy diseases:

The most common complication is preterm birth, more than 50% of twins will be born prematurely, in cases of triplets, this rate is almost 100%.

In addition, multiple pregnancies also increase the risk of diseases during pregnancy such as:

  • Preeclampsia, eclampsia.
  • Gestational diabetes.
  • Increased risk of postpartum bleeding.
  • Threatening miscarriage, miscarriage.
  • Low birth weight, intrauterine growth retardation.
  • Placental abruption.

Having multiple pregnancies, feeding problems are difficult:

  • Disadvantage on the mother’s side: Mothers have a harder time taking care of 2 or 3 children at once, especially inexperienced mothers, with little support from the family:
    • Higher risk of postpartum depression
    • Prolonged physical exertion can affect the mother’s physical health
    • Difficulty in breastfeeding and taking care
    • High cost of raising, causing economic burden
  • Affecting the development of children: Children may not receive enough care and attention, which affects their development, including both physical and mental.

The most effective preventive solution is to reduce the number of embryos transferred to the uterus in each embryo transfer.

In cases where there are >2 pregnancies in the uterus, an abortion procedure will be performed in the hospital to reduce the number of pregnancies to 1 or 2.

The goal is to reduce multiple pregnancy rates to <10% of IVF pregnancies.

03. OVARIAN HYPERSTIMULATION SYNDROME

A condition in which the ovaries overreact to ovarian stimulators.

  • Signs of the disease:
    • Abdominal pain, abdominal tightness, abdominal distension.
    • Increasing shortness of breath.
    • Nausea, vomiting.
    • Rapid weight gain.
  • Most in mild form, patients can be monitored at home, following the regimen:
    • Eat more protein: Lean meat, fish, eggs, milk. Eat in small meals.
    • Drink lots of water: 3-4 liters/day, you should drink electrolyte-rich solutions like Oresol.
    • Monitor weight, waist circumference, urine daily.

These symptoms will go away on their own after 7-10 days, but there is a small percentage of severe ovarian hyperstimulation causing pleural effusion, pericardial effusion, affecting kidney function with manifestations:

  • Difficulty breathing.
  • Severe abdominal pain.
  • Urinating less.

These cases require hospitalization for intravenous fluids, electrolytes and albumin supplementation, and intensive resuscitation in necessary cases.

Currently, the use of Antagonist regimens in ovarian stimulation has significantly reduced the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation during IVF.

04. OTHER RARE COMPLICATIONS
  • Drug allergy.
  • Infection.
  • Bleed.
  • Torsion, rupture of ovaries.

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