ART: how long should we try?
Adjusting expectations to your treatment programme
Giving yourself time
If your initial experience of fertility treatment hasn’t ended in success it’s natural to feel discouraged. But be reassured. Improvements in medication, microsurgery and Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) make pregnancy possible for the majority of couples.
You’re in the hands of a group of medical professionals dedicated to identifying the source of your fertility problems. Often that takes time. It may be just too early to expect a positive result. In most cases multiple cycles are necessary.
Talk to your doctor about your specific case. Every journey is different depending on the results of tests and the kind of treatment you decide to pursue. In the meantime, take encouragement from these statistics:
A high success rate
A Danish study from 2009 shows that within five years of starting ART treatment, almost 70% of couples succeed in having at least one child.1
Reaching success often takes time and multiple attempts
Most couples who succeed undergo multiple treatment cycles. In the same study 28% conceived within a year, but it took three years for 62% to conceive. More than 40% of couples went through four or more cycles during the length of the study.1
