By Raina Kelley
Newsweek
July 4 issue – Three years ago, Leslie Bienen, a veterinarian from Missoula, Mont., easily became pregnant with her first child, a boy she named Pel. Now 39 and ready for her second child, Bienen isn’t taking any chances. After seven months of trying, she saw a reproductive endocrinologist who started her on fertility drugs. If they don’t take effect after three months, Bienen will go straight to in vitro fertilization. “Time is not your friend,” she says.
In vitro fertilization used to be the last resort for couples who had endured years of invasive diagnostic tests and unpredictable fertility drugs. Now experts say more women are turning to IVF, and they’re doing it sooner. That’s partly because the odds have improved along with lab techniques: about 25 percent of all IVF cycles now result in a live birth, up from 12 percent in 1998, reports the American Fertility Association (theafa.org). The price has also come down: the average IVF cycle now costs $9,000, down 33 percent from five years ago. “The popularity [of IVF] is soaring,” says Dr. Zev Rosenwaks, director of the Cornell University Center for Reproductive Medicine, many of whose patients now undergo IVF after less than a year of trying.
If you’re considering IVF, start with a board-certified Ob-Gyn, with a subspecialty in reproductive endocrinology. You can also get referrals from Web sites like resolve.org or theafa.org. To compare success rates, check the CDC’s report on fertility clinics at cdc.gov/reproductivehealth. Then contact your insurance company to find out what it’ll pay for—and get it in writing. We’re not saying this is a quick and easy solution; the procedure is time-consuming and invasive, and some women can be very sensitive to the drugs used during IVF to stimulate egg growth. But for those considering the treatment, here are some questions to help them figure out if IVF is for them.
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