Older Women Can Get Off the IVF Train With Ovarian Rejuvenation Therapy

If you’re a passenger on the fertility train, you know the disappointment of several failed IVF cycles. You get excited – and you are ready for that positive pregnancy test – but it didn’t work. Today: There are now many last chance treatment options for older women who think they were on a dead-end IVF path.

IVF Train

• Multiple cycles of hormonal stimulation
• Pain of injections
• Discomfort of bloating
• Surgical harvesting of eggs
• Fertilization of eggs in vitro with sperm
• Waiting for PGS to be performed on the embryos
• Transferring an embryo to the uterus
• Waiting for the pregnancy test results

Today’s older women – between 38 and 42 – have more fertility treatment options than ever before. Women who are past their reproductive prime used to be automatically placed on the fast-track to IVF. This was typically the most effective treatment option for older women to conceive quickly and cost-effectively. Look: Time is of the essence. Before undergoing IVF, older women can now consider Ovarian Rejuvenation Therapy. Bottom Line: As a first line measure, both Ovarian Rejuvenation Therapy and IVF can avoid repeated failed infertility treatment cycles.

IVF Treatment for Older Women

A recent study has favored going straight to IVF treatment.

• IVF is the most cost-efficient treatment
• IVF results in fewer treatment cycles
• IVF results in less multiple pregnancies
• IVF results in higher live birth rates

IVF success rates vary in the context of patient and treatment characteristics. Researchers have found that older women were more than twice as likely to become pregnant through IVF within the first two cycles of treatment. The best part? They were twice as likely to have a healthy baby from their IVF pregnancy.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Funded IVF Study

A randomized clinical study by NIH analyzed 154 couples who had been trying to get pregnant for six months before seeking infertility treatment.

The female study criteria included:

• Women between the ages of 38 and 42
• Women having regular menstrual cycles
• Women with at least one functioning ovary
• Women with at least one open Fallopian tube
• Women having an acceptable ovarian reserve
• Women with no reproductive organ disorders
• Women with no history of ectopic pregnancy

The couples were randomly assigned to one of three groups:

• IVF using injectable fertility medications to stimulate egg production
• IUI using oral fertility medication to stimulate egg production
• IUI using injectable fertility medications to stimulate egg production

Within two cycles of treatment, here’s the deal:

• 49 percent of the IVF patients became pregnant and 31 percent gave birth!
• Only 22 percent of IUI patients using oral medication became pregnant
• Only 16 percent of IUI patients using oral medications gave birth
• Only 17 percent of IUI patients using injectable medications became pregnant
• Only 14 percent of IUI patients using injectable medications gave birth

What happened to those patients who failed IUI and went on to IVF treatment?

• 71 percent experienced a clinical pregnancy through IVF treatment
• 46 percent gave birth to a healthy baby through IVF treatment

Ovarian Rejuvenation Therapy

All older women – even menopausal women – have egg follicles in their ovaries. These eggs are dormant and don’t grow because their environment for development is not optimal. This occurs when a woman’s rigid ovarian wall pushes on follicles and keeps them dormant. When a woman is unable to ovulated, Ovarian Rejuvenation Therapy can coax her ovaries into producing viable eggs for fertilization.

Ovarian Rejuvenation Therapy

Ovarian Rejuvenation Therapy may be recommended when:

• A woman’s egg follicles cannot be seen on an ultrasound; or
• A woman’s body is not responding to fertility medications administered during IVF

At New Hope Fertility Center, Ovarian Rejuvenation Therapy is performed in a non-invasive manner compared to other techniques currently being used by other clinics.

Here, Ovarian Rejuvenation Therapy is similar to an IVF egg retrieval procedure and is performed in office:

• A woman’s ovaries are punctured multiple times transvaginally
• Pressure on egg follicles is relieved from the rigid ovarian wall
• Dormant eggs are revived and freed from follicles

Candidates for Ovarian Rejuvenation Therapy

• Women in their advanced maternal years – late 30s and over 40
• Menopausal women
• Peri-menopausal women
• Women who have a low egg reserve and low Anti Mullerian (AMH) hormone levels
• Women suffering from Premature Ovarian Failure (POF)
• Women suffering from primary ovarian failure
• Women with unexplained infertility
• Women having multiple failed IVF treatments due to poor embryo quality

Pregnancy Success for Older Women

We welcome difficult patients – those previously diagnosed by other fertility specialists as hopelessly infertile.

• No age restriction
• No FSH level requirement
• No requirement to produce multiple eggs per cycle

World Renowned Fertility Expertise

It is important to work with a fertility doctor having the expertise required to design a customized fertility treatment plan meeting your personal needs. To schedule your initial consultation Dr. John Zhang at New Hope Fertility Center – call 917.525.5496.