PRO CON

Sanctity of life
Meaning of marriage
Confidence of identity
Helps many patients who would otherwise unable Some patients may be concerned about ethical
to conceive – make successful pregnancy and a issues. The idea of selecting some embryos and
healthy baby a reality. potentially discarding others may not sit well with
everybody. Before starting treatment, consider
your own stance and what you would be
comfortable with. If you are uncomfortable with
the creation of multiple embryos, we can support
your choice by using Natural Cycle IVF, or by
freezing additional eggs rather than ersonalize
them to create embryos.
IVF provides opportunity to: There may be associated side effects and
women with blocked or damaged fallopian tubes risks. As a medical treatment, IVF comes with a
(to use their own eggs) small chance of developing side effects, the most
older patients/patients with a low ovarian reserve severe of these being severe ovarian hyper-
infertile male (laboratory techniques are used like stimulation syndrome (OHSS). Fortunately, the
the cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) use of fewer or no drugs in natural and mild IVF
unexplained fertility (1 in 6 couples suffer fertility cycles means that the already small likelihood of
problems and some are remained undiagnosed developing unwanted risk of OHSS is
after investigation) (in PH, 1 out of 10 Filipinos dramatically decreased or eliminated. CREATE
suffer from infertility. This is based on the 2013 Fertility takes the possibility of side effects very
survey of a market research company Synovate). seriously.
Women with PCOS (polycystic ovarian
syndrome) – where they cannot conceive with
ovulation induction.
Endometriosis
Premature ovarian failure or menopause (they can
have IVF treatment using donor eggs).
It has been used for a long time and has a safe Multiple pregnancy. In IVF treatments, there is
track record. often more than one embryo put back into the
The first ‘IVF baby’, Louise Brown, was born uterus, and this leads to a higher likelihood of
using natural IVF in 1978. Since then, the multiple pregnancy; around 20-30% of IVF
technology has advanced, and techniques refined pregnancies can result in multiple pregnancies.
in order to create safer and successful treatment. Multiple pregnancies do carry associated health
We use only the safest forms of IVF with fewer risks to mother and baby: there is an increased
drugs in order to reduce the risk of side effects chance of premature labour, miscarriage, need for
such as Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome caesarean, stillbirth and infant health problems
(OHSS). with multiple pregnancies. It is important for all
fertility clinics to have robust single embryo
transfer policies, to avoid the risks of multiple
pregnancy. At CREATE, we have a low multiple
birth rate and focus on the reduction of multiple
births.
IVF can be more successful than IUI and other There is a slightly higher chance of ectopic
forms of assisted reproductive technology. pregnancy. With IVF treatment, the risk of an
Although IUI (intra uterine insemination) and ectopic pregnancy doubles, to 1-3%, particularly
other forms of assisted reproduction technology in women with damaged fallopian tubes.
can be successful for some patients, on the whole
they have not undergone the same level of
improvement, and do not currently have as high
success rates.
It can help single women and same-sex There is evidence that high estrogen levels
couples. For single women or same-sex associated with high stimulation IVF can
couples who wish to have a child, IVF can increase the risk of prematurity and low birth
provide a great opportunity for helping them to weight in babies. There is growing evidence that
become parents if IUI has not been successful. giving high stimulation during IVF increases the
IVF with donor sperm can help potential patients chance that a baby is born prematurely and with
achieve this goal. lower birth weight. This has been linked to long-
term health problems for the child. It is ersonali
 that high oestrogen levels can affect the intra-
uterine environment. With drug-free and low drug
approaches, it has been observed that babies born
are more likely to be born at full term and with a
higher birth weight than those born through high
stimulation IVF associated with high oestrogen
levels. This is one of the reasons why we are
committed to Natural and Mild IVF, as we believe
that the success of treatment is not just a live
birth, but is a healthy full term live birth.

IVF can help to diagnose personalized IVF treatment can take an

problems. In some cases of unexplained emotional/psychological toll. Going through IVF
infertility, there could be a problem with treatment can be a highly emotive and stressful
ersonalized . Cases such as these may not be experience. For patients undergoing treatment, it
diagnosed until fertilization is attempted in the can be physically and emotionally demanding. For
laboratory. Although this would be a partners it can be difficult to watch a loved-one go
disappointing outcome, it is useful to be able to through a stressful experience. It is important to
uncover such problems so that solutions could be prioritise your psychological health, and this is
reached for future treatment with ICSI. also good for the health of the body. Our short,
lower-drug protocols should help to ersonal the
amount of stress.
Unused embryos can be donated to research or IVF treatment can be expensive. IVF treatment
another couple. If you are lucky enough to have is not cheap, and after paying for medication and
embryos to spare, these can be used to help other blood tests, the costs can quickly mount up. It is
people and even save lives. With the permission good to have a clear idea of the costs involved
of the biological parents, unused embryos can be before starting treatment, and to have your
donated for research purposes, or to another finances in order before beginning. With fewer
couple to enable them to have a child.  drugs, the cost of a cycle is reduced at CREATE
Fertility. There are also options for low-cost
treatment, such as our sister clinic abc ivf.
Embryos can be used to screen for inherited An IVF cycle may be unsuccessful. The success
diseases. For individuals who are known carriers of IVF is not guaranteed, and patients often have
of genetic disorders such as cystic fibrosis, to undergo more than one cycle of treatment
Huntington’s disease and muscular dystrophy, before they are successful. This naturally varies
IVF with pre-implantation genetic diagnosis woman to woman, and a fertility specialist will be
(PGD) is one of the most reliable ways to ensure able to give a more accurate and ersonalized
that a child conceived will not suffer from the likelihood of success. It is important to be realistic
disorder. Pre-implantation genetic screening but positive about the chances of success.
(PGS) can improve the chances of a successful
outcome, as it screens embryos for chromosomal
disorders such as Down’s syndrome. Both of
these techniques are available at our clinics.