Concieving

[Noorjan]

We have been trying for a baby for 3 years but no luck have been referred to ivf due to my age 44 what is the chances of getting pregnant at 44 with low egg count

[JoyfulStar]

Hi there, just noticed that you have not had a response. As someone of a similar age- I am 43 going to be 44 in June, I thought I should share my experience.

The best thing will be to shortlist some IVF clinics that specialise in IVF for over 40s. After initial consultations and tests, they will tell you specifically what your chances are. There are some general stats out there but I would look to get something more tailored. There is no obligation to go with a particular clinic after the initial consultation- The costs range from £200 to £350 in the UK. Some clinics also offer some free webinars if you don’t want to pay.

After a failed first IVF attempt, I went to 3 different clinics before I settled on the one I am currently using. It is worth noting that multiple cycles increase your chances- this is what I am currently doing but I know that nothing is guaranteed. Good luck with your decision!

[Noorjan in reply to JoyfulStar]

Thank you, how long have you been doing IvF

[JoyfulStar in reply to Noorjan]

You’re welcome. I first started looking into IVF in early 2019 but had to put it on hold as I needed to have a myomectomy ( a fibroid removal procedure).

I did my first IVF cycle in March 2020 which was paused due to Covid. I got all the way to the egg retrieval stage and after 5 eggs were fertilised only I embryo made it to day 5. I had a frozen transfer which was unsuccessful in July 2020. After that I took my sweet time deciding which clinic to go with.

I am about to embark on the 2nd of 3 IVF rounds with my current clinic. The idea is to batch embryos and then have one transfer at the end.

All of my research suggests that this is usually a good strategy for those of us with lower chances. A lot of the consultants told me I had a 3-10%. This increases with additional rounds.

Good luck with it all!

[babycometrue in reply to JoyfulStar]

I am about to embark on the 2nd of 3 IVF rounds with my current clinic. The idea is to batch embryos and then have one transfer at the end.

So once they EC how do they store these eggs ? DO they freeze the eggs? DO they fertilise and freeze embrio? I though they do PGS and then they freeze. Which makes few PGS every month?

[JoyfulStar in reply to babycometrue]

It is embryo banking so they create an embryo after egg collection by fertilising the eggs with sperm and wait till day 5 to see if they become blastocysts. If your embryos make it to day 5, and form blastocysts, they are then frozen.

PGS testing is an optional extra and not always part of IVF. I was not interested in it and my current clinic did not recommend it for me.

Worth checking what the HFEA website says about it as well as doing your own research about whether it is right for you.

[babycometrue in reply to JoyfulStar]

So if you have 10 frozen embryos they will not be selecting which one or testing . They just start randomly ?

[JoyfulStar in reply to babycometrue]

All embryos that reach day 5 are graded eg 5AA, 4AB, 3BA etc. They use the grading system to select the best ones to put back. Starting with the best graded to the worst. You can google how the grading system works in IVF.

Any lucky person that has 10 embryos can further ask for PGS testing since they have so many. The reality is that most women even those in their 20s don’t have such large numbers by day 5.

10 eggs collected never equals 10 embryos, expect a drop off in numbers usually over 50 percent or more.

[JoyfulStar in reply to JoyfulStar]

I also think you should be aware of the fact that not all embryos will be considered suitable for PGS testing, If you are considering PGS testing worth doing your research on that too. Good luck

[babycometrue in reply to JoyfulStar]

A woman was discussing here ...lets say you have 3 embryos. One very good two not that much. They put the best one but no successIs it not good to freeze best one and ask the two worse to be put inside. Because some people say bad embrio can actually be lucky one

[JoyfulStar in reply to babycometrue]

This is obviously a conversation to have with your consultant when the time comes. My personal experience of doctors is that they usually follow the science over the odd “miraculous” story or luck.

[Noorjan]

Anyone else on here had a IVF baby

[SerrineV]

Hi hun, I’m sorry you’re facing this. I should say that AMH levels are considered satisfactory if they are above 21.98 pmol/l. Although age and other circumstances have to be taken into account. Low AMH is NOT a cause of infertility. It indicates a decreased egg reserve. In age-related low AMH, the quality of the eggs may also be affected. This is because eggs accumulate mutations over time. Often women with low AMH results are told that they need to receive high amounts of stimulation. However, women with low AMH tend to not respond well to fertility medication, since they have low numbers of eggs. So the approach should be centered on focusing on the quality, not quantity of eggs. So you'd better to find the place and option when they either use no or low amounts of stimulation, focusing on the eggs that are naturally selected by the body. Our dr at BTC told us they’d better try using donor’s mitochondria in order to rejuvenate my own eggs before fertilization. Have you heard about this option? If no, please research. It must be useful to know. BTW, we ended up successfully then. They created 3 awesome embies for us. Cannot be thankful enough.