What is Natural Cycle IVF?
Have you been wondering what “Natural Cycle IVF” and “Minimal Stimulation IVF” are all about? These methods were employed in the early days of IVF in the 1980s, before modern fertility drugs were developed, to achieve IVF births. As the names imply, natural cycle IVF does not employ fertility drugs and minimal stimulation IVF uses reduced doses of these drugs. These techniques appear to be simpler routines than current IVF methods which use higher doses of fertility drugs, yet they are not part of mainstream practice in fertility clinics. The reason is that these methods are difficult for both clinicians and patients to manage and they have resulted in lower egg and embryo yields as well as lower pregnancy rates. For most patients, current, conventional IVF stimulation methods are far more efficient and effective ways to have a baby.
