Towards the journey of parenthood

Dr Richa Sharma, Dr Amit Basnotra
Dear Readers, We Thank all of you for appreciatiating our write ups which encourage us to do more further. In this article we have tried to sum up the various queries which couples may have in mind some of which they may ask the treating doctor and some may remain in their mind only due to hesitation and many other reasons but to be aware and seek information is important so that you can make a decision with open mind.
1) How pregnancy happens naturally and how much fertility naturally ?
Ans= For a natural pregnancy to happen we need healthy eggs, sperms, patent fallopian tubes and fertile womb and of course regular unprotected intercourse to happen and if all goes well then fecundity rate of human species is 2-5%.It sounds very low as we maynot be coming across the infertile couples around us. For a young fertile couple, the chances of pregnancy are between 20-37% during the first three months.The chance of success increases to 80% by one year and 90% after two years of trying.Women over the age of 35 and men over the age of 50 have lower fertility rates
2) What is Infertility
Its inability to conceive after one year of unprotected intercourse
3) What are various causes of infertility
It can be male, female, comined and unexplained factors. Now we see a rise which can be both absolute and relative. Absolute as there is actual rise due to various environmental and lifetsyle factors and relative as more accessibility and awareness with varied options which is a plus point but minus point is upsurge in the unethical prcatices for which lack of education and illiteracy are major factors
4) What are various treatment options for infertility
Treatment options follow a hierarchy ranging from Timed Intercourse with ovulation induction to IUI, IVF, ICSI and Third Party Reproduction (Donor Eggs, Donor Sperms and Surrogacy)
5) What is incidence of infertility in India and worldwide
Approx 10-15% couples suffering with variation as part of Country and world and even state to state and race to race
6) What all indicates there is no choice but IVF
IVF is the highest form of treatment and some have this only as the option and others have this as the last option
Broadly classifying indications can be tubal, uterine, ovarian, male, unexplained
7) How you see corona can impact pregnancy and fertility potential
Corona pandemic we all facing and its a very difficult situation we all facing more so its a new kind virus (threat) which no one clearly knows as how to tackle.There are varied observations over period its there with some showing there is an impact with some showing no impact. Definitely time only van tell but better to take as much precautions as possible to avoid catching corona and stay safe as it has an unpredicatble course
8) Surrogacy status and challenges
ART bill for ART centres and for surrogacy was presented in Rajya Sabha in 2020 and is awaiting for more than a decade to become law.New Bill helpful in some aspects and too strict in some other aspect.I think if it becomes law def it will help check functioning of centres which are mushrooming like anything with unqualified and unauthorized people into it as there is nio check but it needs some laxation considering welfare of the couples.With time we can come to know how it goes but so far suggested no age limitations there,surrogacy banned for international even international donors cannot be taken and surrogacy is more of willing than commercial with no compensation so definitely it wont be easy to apply than done
9) What is IVF and steps of IVF
IVF is invitro fertilization or test tube baby and it involes various steps- preivf to ivf to postivf stage
Pre IVF- when you prepare the couple for treatment
IVF- Involves stimulation phase followed by retrieval phase and at last Implantation phase(Embryo Transfer)
Post IVF- its a very crucial phase as its generally with lots of hopes and expectations and above that waiting of 14 days which adds to stress further
10) What impact my age has on treatment when its an artifical process
Age of the female partner plays a pivotol role in IVF treatment even its articial process as we need good quality and appropriate quantity eggs which keep on declining with age.In females,there are fixed number of eggs they are born with and there are no ways to improve it and it declines as one age especially after 30 years age and more fast(exponentially) after 35 years age.Even male age has an impact on the outcome. Irrespective with advanced age there is a rise in the risk of certain congenital anomalies and more so if there are comorbidties like Diabtes Mellitus.
We Hope our article must have helped to solving various queries as we believe if you have right and required information then your half things are done and you can proceed further with a stress free and relaxed mind which definitely one of the factor in improving the pregnancy chances.Do write us for any suggestions.Stay Safe and Stay Healthy
(The authors are Senior IVF Consultant Delhi NCR and Senior Gastroentrologist)