Is IVF Really The Last Resort?

Experts weigh in on the method.

- Simona Terron

For those of us who want to become parents, there’s nothing more disappointing than trying and failing at every known method to conceive naturally. And when the fertility experts indicate that perhaps IVF is really the only method to get pregnant, most couples have already ruled out all other options and approach this as their last resort. Speaking to experts from the medical fraternity and couples who have undergone the procedure, we try to ascertain why the whole discussion surrounding IVF is one of confusion when, really, it’s quite simple

FOR couples who are trying very hard to make their dreams of starting a family come true, IVF can be a scary word. It can spell a long and trying time ahead, where the ordeal will be uncomfortable, expensive and perhaps, even futile. There are no guarantees with the procedure and only a handful of people truly understand what it is or why it comes recommended by doctors when all other methods of conception have failed.

POSSIBILITY OF FRAUD?

Is there a possibility that unscrupulous doctors can mislead couples into opting for this procedure even when there may be another way out? Dr Shobha Gupta, gynaecologist and IVF expert from Mother’s Lap IVF Centre, vehemently disagrees, “The procedure is so expensive that not a lot of couples immediately agree to go in for it, even if it is their only and final option. So, the chances of some quack trying to persuade people who don’t need it, to undergo it is not really possible.”