The potential problems associated with IVF are outlined below.
Drug reaction
Most women will have some reaction to the drugs. Most of the time the side effects are mild and include:
- hot flushes
- feeling down or irritable
- headaches
- restlessness
- nausea and vomiting
- shortage of breath
- abdominal bloating due to an accumulation of fluid
- ovarian hyperstimulation (excessive ovarian response to the gonadotrophins, with abdominal pain and swelling, shortage of breath and enlargement of the ovaries). It may be necessary to cancel the cycle and restart with a lower dose of gonadotrophin.
If you have these symptoms, see your doctor immediately, especially if you have abdominal pain and swelling.
Multiple births
If more than one embryo is replaced in the womb as part of IVF treatment, there’s an increased chance of producing twins or triplets.
Having more than one baby may not seem like a bad thing, but it significantly increases the risk of complications for you and your babies:
- Multiple pregnancy can raise your blood pressure significantly.
- You’re two to three times more likely to develop diabetes during pregnancy if you’re carrying more than one baby.
- Around half of all twins and 90% of triplets are born prematurely or with a low birth weight. The risk of your baby dying in the first week of life is five times higher for twins than for a single baby. For triplets, the risk is nine times higher.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) recommends that a maximum of two embryos may be replaced in the womb, and that consideration be given to the transfer of a single embryo during treatment in women under the age of 40.
The HFEA encourages a single embryo transfer in women who are at most risk of having twins (for example, younger women who have produced a lot of embryos). For more information, go to the One at a time website.
Ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome
The ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome (OHSS) is a rare complication of IVF. It occurs in women who are very sensitive to the fertility drugs that are taken to increase egg production. Too many eggs develop in the ovaries, which become very large and painful.
OHSS is more common in women under 30 and in women who have polycystic ovary syndrome. OHSS generally develops in the week after egg collection.
The symptoms of OHSS are pain and bloating low down in your abdomen, nausea or vomiting. Severe cases can be dangerous. Contact your clinic if you have any of these symptoms.
Ectopic pregnancy
If you have IVF, you have a slightly higher risk of an ectopic pregnancy, where the fertilised egg implants in the fallopian tubes rather than in the womb. This can cause vaginal bleeding or bleeding into your abdomen.
If you have a positive pregnancy test, you’ll have a series of hormone tests and a scan at six weeks to make sure that the embryo is growing properly.
Tell your doctor if you experience vaginal bleeding or stomach pain after having IVF and a positive pregnancy test.
- Ectopic
- Ectopic refers to a pregnancy that occurs outside the womb, most commonly in the fallopian tubes.
- Embryo
- An embryo is an unborn baby, from when the female egg is fertilised by the sperm until the eighth week of pregnancy.
- Fallopian tubes
- Fallopian tubes (also called oviducts or uterine tubes) are the two tubes that connect the uterus to the ovaries in the female reproductive system.
- Ovaries
- Ovaries are the pair of reproductive organs that produce eggs and sex hormones in females.
- Womb
- The uterus (also known as the womb) is a hollow, pear-shaped organ in a woman where a baby grows during pregnancy.
