In my last post, Fertility Comments: “You Can Always Just Adopt,” I talked about how choosing to adopt a child is not a casual decision. The same is true of in vitro fertilization (IVF). In an effort to comfort a person facing fertility issues, many people will say, “Why don’t you just try IVF?”, as if the procedure is just another choice. IVF is a much more complicated procedure that cannot and should not be undergone lightly.
IVF is Expensive
Most people do not appreciate how much more expensive IVF is when compared to other forms of fertility treatments like intrauterine inseminations (IUIs) or hormone therapy. When my husband and I were going through fertility treatments in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, we were paying about $250 a cycle to pay for hormones and IUIs. When our doctor asked if we would like to try IVF, he quoted the cost as being between $8,000 and $12,000 a cycle. That is a huge difference in financial investment. I was not willing to gamble $8,000 on 10% to 20% odds. I decided that I would rather invest that level of money into an adoption, which would be a “sure thing.”
IVF is Physically Taxing
IVF involves injecting hormones to cause the woman to super-ovulate so that multiple eggs can be harvested. From what other people have told me, neither the hormones nor the harvesting process is fun. A person has to be committed to the process in order to endure the physical discomfort involved in IVF.
IVF Raises Moral Issues
For people who believe that life begins at conception, attempting IVF should not be taken lightly. If you choose to have multiple embryos implanted and do not want to give birth to multiple babies, you might have to choose to eliminate some of the embryos through selective reduction. I, personally, could not bring myself to “abort” any embryos, nor did I want to have a high risk pregnancy with three or four babies in my uterus, so I chose not to pursue IVF as an option.
I do not judge the people who choose to pursue IVF or to reduce selectively the number of embryos in the uterus. This is a personal choice that every couple must make for themselves. It was just not for me.
It is not my intention to dissuade anyone from pursuing IVF. I know a couple who conceived with their first IVF attempt and are now the proud parents of a beautiful little girl, as well as a baby brother who came along later as a “surprise.” Their family is a strong argument in favor of the procedure. I just want people to appreciate that IVF is not to be taken lightly and that anyone pursuing the procedure will have these issues to work through.
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Photo credit: Lynda Bernhardt
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