Natural Cycle IVF

Natural cycle in vitro fertilization (IVF), which requires no fertility medications to produce multiple eggs, may represent the “greening” of the fertility field. This approach assumes that pregnancy for the “fertility challenged” can occur using just one embryo, and is closer to what occurs in nature. But as in traditional IVF, the woman’s egg must be harvested, fertilized, and implanted in her uterus. Yet for women who want to avoid the emotional roller coasters and potentially unknown long-term effects of fertility drugs, natural cycle IVF may be an ideal option.

What It Is

In this process, after careful menstrual cycle tracking, during an out-patient procedure, the doctor retrieves one egg through a small abdominal incision usually done with transvaginal ultrasound It’s then fertilized with her partner’s or donor sperm in a lab, incubated for several days before implantation. If successful, the embryo will develop into a healthy baby.

In contrast to regular IVF where women must take hormones to prompt the release of numerous eggs and to ripen them, in most natural IVF cycles only the hormone hCG is used to trigger release of the eggs. This not only saves money in drugs and workup procedures, but it also quells worry about the long-term effects of fertility drugs. The only health risks involved in natural cycle IVF is the surgical procedure to retrieve the egg.

History of Natural Cycle IVF

Natural cycle IVF dates back to the first successful human conceived using IVF. Louise Joy Brown, born July 25, 1978 in Manchester, England, resulted from natural cycle IVF. Her mother, who tried to conceive for nine years, used no artificial hormones to produce the single mature egg. The egg was retrieved during a normal cycle, combined with her father’s sperm, fertilized in a lab and implanted.

Its Use Today

In the 1980s, infertility doctors turned away from this more natural IVF method when they discovered that hormone injections could control the timing of ovulation, and could also stimulate ovaries to release numerous eggs per cycle. Fertility specialists believed that the more eggs a woman produced each month, the more that could be fertilized, thus increasing her chances of pregnancy. But as embryo stimulation and retrieval techniques improved over the last 10 to 15 years, fertility clinics have begun transferring fewer embryos per cycle, about 2 or 3, into the uterus, to reduce chances of multiple births. Success with natural cycle IVF is highly dependent on the age of the women.