FAQs

Side effects may occur from the fertility drugs taken during your cycle. These may include hot flushes, feelings of depression or irritability, headaches and restlessness. ·

One of the major risks of fertility drugs is ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome (OHSS). OHSS is a result of sensitivity to the fertility drugs and the development of many eggs in the ovary which can become large and painful. Symptoms of mild OHSS include abdominal pain and bloating, nausea and vomiting. Occasionally cases of severe OHSS are observed which are associated with an increase in vascular permeability and the build up of fluid in the body resulting in cardiac, respiratory and renal problems. Our treatments aim to greatly reduce  your risk of developing OHSS.

There is a slightly higher risk of ectopic pregnancy with IVF by which a fertilised egg implants in the fallopian tube rather than the womb.

Multiple births are one of the major risks of IVF and the incidence of double or triple gestations is increased with treatment. While for many couples struggling to have children this may seem like a bonus, multiple pregnancies carry many serious medical risks to both the mother and the babies.

Multiple gestations can: cause your blood pressure to rise significantly, increase your risk of developing diabetes, increase the risk of a still birth. Approximately 50% of twins and 90% of triplets are born premature or at a low birth weight. It is approximately 5 or 9 times more likely (for twins and triplets respectively) that a multiple birth baby will not survive the first week of life over that of a singleton baby and babies from multiple gestations display an increased occurrence of cardiac defects.

To reduce the risk of multiple births there are strict guidelines regarding the number of embryos a woman can have transferred back. The governing body for IVF treatment in the UK, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), recommends that a maximum of two embryos are put back into the womb during treatment in women under the age of 40. HFEA also encourages elective single embryo transfer (eSET) in women who are most at risk of having twins such as women 37 years or under who have a good number of quality embryos. In the unit we suggest eSET for women under 37 years of age who have a good number of quality embryos at the day5/blastocyst stage.