Video: Optimizing an IVF Cycle

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Fertility doctor Mark Leondires of RMA of CT offers helpful information and tips for the different stages of the IVF cycle. To get started, IVF is approximately a six-week cycle, and prior to that time it's important that patients quit smoking, work to be at an optimal weight, and try to reduce their work-life stress.

Video Transcript

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How Can Patients Optimize an IVF Cycle?

Dr. Mark Leondires, Medical Director and Lead Physician, RMA of CT: I think it’s important that they understand that it is, approximately, a six-week process.

And as they move into the IVF cycle, there is about a two-week setup time.

Prior to that setup time, I think it’s important that they understand that they definitely should quit smoking, work to be at an optimal weight, preferably a body mass index of less than 30, and work on their work-life stress ratio.

Once they get into starting their medications, I think they need to understand that every single time they go into the office, they’re going to collect more information that, hopefully, is good news, but still represents a new stress for them.

And each visit, they can help themselves by asking questions that are important to them; staying focused on the details of the cycle and trying to block some of the other things out.

I think one of the things that is difficult as you move through an IVF cycle is every fertility clinic has a busy waiting room, and that busy waiting room actually represents some group stress.

So you can let some stress out by having a partner to go through the cycle with, and a lot of my patients actually find somebody who’s on the same schedule they are and that helps them through the cycle.

And that’s somebody who’s going through what they’re going through.

So, really, to set up what you’re going to do for stress relief through the cycle is important in the beginning and during.

As far as waiting for your pregnancy test, I think that’s a very difficult part of an IVF cycle, and patients can prepare for that by making sure they have something to occupy their time during that waiting period,
making sure they’ve communicated with their partner about their anxieties and making sure they understand that no matter what their pregnancy test is, this represents their single best chance for pregnancy,
based on all the literature and data out there, and they need to have every reason to be hopeful and optimistic.

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