Natural and Mild IVF
Natural IVF
We often get asked about this type of IVF because it has the word natural in women often assume it must be the right type for them. Natural cycle IVF, or “natural IVF” consists of IVF, with or without ICSI, during which one egg is collected from your ovary in a natural menstrual cycle. Some drugs are used to stimulate egg production.
Success rates are very low, at about 7% per cycle. The procedure relies upon the natural growth of one follicle, which means spontaneous ovulation can often occur before egg collection. In addition, the single egg can’t always be retrieved, or might not be of sufficient quality to be used when it is, or it can fail to fertilise when it is placed into incubation.
Because success rates are so low, it is not suitable for all women, but may be appropriate for some as an assisted form of treatment.
Mild IVF
As the next step on from natural IVF, there is now a move towards women having mild drug stimulation because the possible side-effects of the stimulation drugs are reduced. The aim is to collect somewhere between two and seven eggs, whereas in “conventional” IVF we would try to get as many eggs as is safely possible, usually eight or more.
“What is important about IVF is that the type of IVF you have is appropriate to your individual circumstances and the aim is to give you the greatest chance of success” Dr Ndukwe
Mild IVF Success rates
Success rates are difficult to predict as they depend largely on the relative strength of the drug protocols employed but, as common sense would suggest, they are somewhere between those for “natural” and “conventional” treatments.