Why multiple treatment cycles may be needed?
All about chance
A successful pregnancy relies on a complex combination of factors. Everything needs to be in the right place, at the right time! Even a couple without fertility issues where the woman is 30 years old has only a 20% chance of achieving pregnancy in any given month. However, fertility declines with age. By the age of 40, the probability of conception in a given month falls to about 5%. Lifestyle factors or medical problems can reduce the odds still further.1
Fertility treatments attempt to remove barriers to conception. In doing so, they restore fertility chances to what they ought to be – or sometimes even beyond.
Why are multiple cycles often necessary?
Getting pregnant usually takes multiple attempts even if there are no fertility problems. A large study followed nearly 2,000 couples trying to conceive. 57% of couples conceived within 3 months, but it took a year before 81% succeeded.2 In other words, often multiple attempts are necessary to give yourself a good chance.
The same holds true for fertility treatments. Even if known barriers to conception are removed, the probability of getting pregnant in a given cycle is far from guaranteed and multiple attempts may be necessary.
