Recession and Infertility

The recent economic recession has forced many infertile couples to carefully assess various fertility treatment options. Fertility treatment can be very expensive and there is virtually no guarantee of a 100% certainty that patients would achieve success. 

Most insurance plans do not cover the cost of fertility treatments. In those patients with insurance coverage, the cost of fertility treatments varies widely depending upon the specific treatment utilized. In many fertility clinics the price tag of the IVF cost with ICSI, freezing of extra embryos, and assisted embryo hatching and  can reach approximately $14,000 to $16,000 plus the cost of injectable fertility medications which may cost $2,000 to $4,000. 

Many fertility clinics now offer Natural Cycle IVF, or Mini IVF cycle utilizing Clomid with a reduction of the IVF cost per attempt as compared to traditional stimulated IVF. Still, in most cases the more expensive, more invasive fertility treatment options tend to result in the higher pregnancy rates, and therefore couples are advised to carefully consider the proposed course of treatment and the costs that may be involved.

At Xpert Fertility Care of california, we offer the  money back guarantee program: The iShare IVF Plan. The iShare IVF Plan offers an upfront, discounted fee, which allows for up to 3 "fresh" attempts at IVF treatments to achieve a live birth. The patient will know from the start how much money they will need to have a baby. If after 3 attempts, treatment has not been successful, they will be eligible for a 100% refund which you may choose to use in pursuing other family planning options such as adoption.

Besides, XPert Fertility Care also provides the Multiple IVF Cycle Cash Discount Plan that reduces the cost of IVF cycle to less than $6700 per cycle.

The economic recession may persist a few years, but for many patients the biological clock does not stop tickling down either!

December 13th, 2008 | No Comments »

Coffee Reduces Fertility in Infertile Women

 
 
According to a study conducted by researchers from Radboud University in Nijmegan, the Netherlands, and presented at the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology conference in Barcelona, female coffee drinker with infertility may further reduce their chances of conceiving if they drink more than four cups of coffee per day.

Among 9000 women who had undergone unsuccessful in vitro fertilization treatment in the Netherlands between 1985 and 1995, women who drank more than four cups of coffee each day had 26 percent lower chance of conceiving that women who drank less.

Women who drank alcohol three times a week or more had a similarly reduced chance of conception, while being an overweight person who smokes more than one cigarette per day hampered fertility even more.

A 36-year-old overweight woman who smoked and who drank large amounts of coffee and alcohol would have only one-third the chance of conceiving as a woman of normal weight who had none of those unhealthy behaviors, the researchers calculated.

Fertility expert Bill Leger of the University of Sheffield, speculated that caffeine might lower fertility by having a mildly toxic effect on sperm and egg cells. In a woman with no fertility problems, the effects might be too [...] Continue Reading…

December 13th, 2008 | No Comments »

Becoming Pregnant After 35 Not So Easy

 
ATLANTA –  Iris Pinsky finished college and veterinary school, went into practice and was in her late 30’s before deciding to have children.

She was shocked to find out it wouldn’t be that easy.

"I was given a one percent chance of conceiving with my own eggs. Of course, that hits you like a ton of bricks."

Today, many women are trying to have it all - a career, a great marriage and then children. That means many are waiting until their late 30’s and even 40’s to try to become pregnant. Doctors say that many are surprised to learn they may have waited too long. That’s because the best and healthiest time for a woman to become pregnant is in her mid-20’s.

Dr. Lisa Hasty is a fertility specialist with the Atlanta Center for Reproductive Medicine. "We’re born with all the eggs we’re ever going to have. By the time we reach the mid-30’s and into the 40’s, the quantity of those eggs as well as the quality of those eggs that are remaining is really dwindling."

It’s called diminished ovarian reserve, and it happens to all women - even those who take very good care of their health.

Dr. Hasty said it’s a [...] Continue Reading…

November 27th, 2008 | 1 Comment »

Once-Daily Hormonal Therapy More Effective Than Twice-Daily Dosing for Patients Undergoing IVF

 
SAN FRANCISCO — November 13, 2008 — For patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF), once-daily dosing of hormonal therapy appears to be superior to twice-daily dosing, according to research presented here at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) 64th Annual Meeting.

The prospective, randomized, comparative, open-label study is one of the first of its kind to perform a side-by-side comparison of once-daily and twice-daily dosing of follicle stimulating hormone in combination with human menopausal gonadotropin (FSH:hMG).

"Our hypothesis — our expectation — was that we would find little difference between the 2 groups," explained investigator Carole Wegner, PhD, The Center for Reproductive Biology of Indiana, Indianapolis, Indiana, who presented the findings on November 11 on behalf of the research team.

In the study, 27 women received once-daily injections of FSH:hMG and 16 women received twice-daily injections of FSH:hMG. Patients were aged 24 to 42 years, and all underwent ovulation induction as part of the IVF process.

Study endpoints included the number of oocytes retrieved, fertilization rate, progression to blastocyst, and clinical pregnancy rates.

Results showed that the rate of pregnancy, as measured by fetal cardiac activity at 6 weeks, was much greater in the once-daily dosing than in the twice-daily regimen (85% vs [...] Continue Reading…

November 27th, 2008 | No Comments »