Why is natural IVF healthier for the mom and the baby?

Wanting to have a baby is the most natural thing in the world, and feeling bad when difficulties arise to achieve it is also natural. It’s a new situation that touches the most sensitive fiber. If you are reading this text, you have already taken the first step in trusting a fertility expert.

Before embarking on this journey, it’s important to know that traditional treatments can cause stress in the body due to the intensive use of stimulating medications and hormones.

But there is an alternative: natural cycle IVF.

What is traditional IVF?

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a type of assisted reproduction treatment in which eggs are retrieved, prepared in a specialized laboratory where they are fertilized with sperm before being transferred to the uterus when they have developed into embryos.

Side effects associated with traditional IVF

However, traditional treatments require intensive use of medications that can cause more or less intense side effects that vary from woman to woman:

• Mood swings
• Vaginal dryness
• Weight gain
• Headaches
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Hot flashes
• Menstrual bleeding or spotting
• Fatigue
• Difficulty sleeping
• Acne

Serious side effects associated with traditional IVF

Although they are uncommon, some women may experience side effects that require urgent medical attention:
Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS)

• Ovarian torsion (twisted ovary, associated with OHSS)
• Allergic reactions to medication
• Multiple pregnancies, which doctors discourage due to the high likelihood of needing a cesarean section, causing gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, preeclampsia, and premature birth.

What is IVF in your natural cycle?

In Vitro Fertilization in the natural cycle (Natural IVF) is paradoxically a very advanced alternative. Its main advantages are: It does not cause side effects associated with medication. No hormones that could affect the embryo are used. It allows linking cycles without your body needing to rest between them, which maximizes the use of your time. At the precise moment of ovulation, we aspirate the egg that your body has naturally selected in a simple procedure that does not require anesthesia. Once in our specially designed laboratory, we fertilize this egg with sperm, we culture it in one of the world’s most advanced incubators until it develops and reaches the blastocyst stage. After about five days, we carefully transfer it to your uterus in the same cycle.

What are the advantages of Natural Cycle IVF?

Many fertility clinics offer high stimulation IVF from the start, but after many years of experience, we have found that excessive use of hormones exposes your health and that of your baby to unnecessary risk. Natural Cycle IVF is a much gentler alternative that takes a more natural approach to solving infertility issues. Although they are simpler for the future mother, these treatments require specialized experience and equipment that few centers still possess. The main advantages of so-called Natural IVF are:

• Little or no stimulating medication. By reducing the frequency and use of artificial stimulating medications, we limit the side effects associated with their excessive use.
• Few or no daily injections, no continuous blood tests, nor artificial hormones.
• Reduction of the risk of OHSS (Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome), a dangerous side effect caused by medically induced artificial stimulation.
• Elimination of the risk of multiple pregnancies. During a Natural Cycle, we obtain a maximum of three eggs, allowing us absolute control over the number that are fertilized and ultimately implanted.
• Higher quality eggs, and a healthier uterus. Studies repeatedly show that the high levels of stimulation typically used in traditional IVF cycles can negatively affect embryo implantation. By avoiding hormonal medications, your uterus is more receptive, its lining is healthier, which increases the chances of successful implantation. Moreover, in Natural Cycle IVF treatments, the best specialist of all: your own body, naturally selects the best oocyte from each cycle.

Next steps

We know that the decision to trust an expert is not easy. But when you find the right clinic, one that puts your needs and health first, you are one step closer to starting your new family.