COMPLEXITIES OF THE INVITRO-FERTILIZATION (IVF) PROCESS

  Invitro-Fertilization (IVF) is the treatment option reserved for certain forms of infertility whereby a baby (embryo) is formed by mixing sperms and eggs together, or by injecting sperms into eggs, It is usually done for couples with problems with the fallopian tubes, untreatable sperm issues and women who are menopausal.

Despite its role as a solution to otherwise hopeless cases of infertility, it comes with its problems.

IVF is a process that is naturally very expensive, irrespective of location of practice. This has made this procedure inaccessible to many infertile couples that would want to benefit from the procedure. Hospitals in low resource settings like First Fertility Hospital, Makurdi have adopted a strategy of reducing the cost on individual patient by running a batching system for running IVF. By this strategy, resources all polled from all potential clients and the procedure carried out for them at the same time to reduce cost.

A couple suffering infertility is usually put through a lot of psychological trauma. The process of IVF, despite being an effort to treat infertility also comes with its own psychological trauma. There is anxiety and doubts over the success of the procedure, There are concern about what to do in case of failure. there are worries about the couples body systems would respond in a manner that would be appropriate and acceptable for the procedure. These and many more worries abound, and that is why a clinical psychologist is involved all through the IVF process, offering much needed counselling to allay the fears and anxieties of these clients.

Some people for cultural or religious beliefs have a negative perception about the IVF process and its products. Some believe that babies produced from IVF are not normal, while for some, their objection is as a result of them feeling that the IVF team is taking the role of God. IVF babies are very normal as they are produced from washed sperm and eggs, where the bad ones are washed off. Doctors don't create the sperm and eggs they use in the process. These are gotten from clients or donors.

Another challenge some couples face when involved in IVF is that as a result of different responses of different people to treatments, which invariably leads to different outcomes, some couples would to carry out the procedure more than once to achieve success. This heightens the psychological and financial effects.

The IVF process is also physically draining. It involves adjusting of your schedules to accommodate the different stages of the procedure as well as endure injections and medications that for a reasonable length of time. In the event of failure, the thought of the physical effects of the procedure alone discourage some clients from coming for a repeat.

At First Fertility Hospital, Makurdi, we try to make the IVF experience as smooth as possible by deploying a multi-disciplinary team to work as professionally as possible to make our clients achieve their dreams despite the hurdles involved.

Dr Solomon Terzua Wombo