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Minimal Stimulation IVF
A balanced approach to fertility treatment. Discover your options for successful IVF with fewer eggs.
Minimal Stimulation IVF
What is Minimal Stimulation IVF?
Minimal stimulation IVF uses some combination of medications to stimulate the ovaries. In this method, fewer eggs are retrieved than with standard IVF, and more eggs than with natural cycle IVF.
Why choose Minimal Stimulation IVF to build your family?
People often choose minimal stimulation IVF because it's less physically demanding, carries a lower risk of side effects such as ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), and is considered more affordable due to lower doses of fertility drugs. Shorter treatment cycles, reduced hormone levels, and the appeal of a more natural fertility process also make it an appealing option for those considering treatment.
It can be particularly suitable for older patients, those with diminished ovarian reserves, or those who have had adverse reactions to the intensive hormone treatments involved in standard IVF. Additionally, it aligns with the desires of those looking to avoid the ethical dilemmas of excess embryos.
How does Minimal Stimulation IVF compare to other types of in vitro fertilization (IVF)?
Minimal stimulation IVF differs from other forms of IVF primarily in the intensity of ovarian stimulation. Unlike standard IVF, which employs a robust combination of medications to prevent premature ovulation and to stimulate the production of a large number of eggs, minimal stimulation IVF uses fewer and often milder drugs with the goal of collecting fewer eggs.
This is in contrast to natural cycle IVF, which does not use stimulation medication and relies on the natural selection of a single egg. While natural cycle IVF often has a higher cancellation rate due to the challenges of retrieving the single available egg, which may not always be mature or become fertilized, minimal stimulation IVF aims to strike a balance by retrieving more eggs than the natural cycle IVF method but fewer than the standard approach.
Minimal stimulation IVF can result in fewer embryos than standard IVF, but more than natural cycle IVF. This can offer a middle ground in terms of egg quantity and associated risks and side effects.
IVF with Ease: Minimal Stimulation Starts Here
Schedule a ConsultationMinimal stimulation IVF with Clomid is less effective than standard in vitro fertilization
Clomid is an oral medication that has been used for over 40 years in women with infertility. Clomid stimulates the pituitary gland to trigger stimulation of the ovaries. The result is the growth and development of a few eggs. When the ovaries are stimulated, at a certain point the pituitary gland will trigger ovulation. In order to perform IVF, this signal from the pituitary gland must be blocked or at least controlled. Otherwise, many IVF cycles would be cancelled. A group of medications known as GnRH antagonists may be used to prevent ovulation.
A few small studies have been published using clomiphene citrate for in vitro fertilization. One study, published in 2003, evaluated 33 infertile couples who used clomid and compared them to 156 couples who went through standard in vitro fertilization. The group that used clomiphene citrate ended up with fewer eggs, less embryos, less embryos transferred and less embryos that could be frozen. The pregnancy rate was less than one-half of the pregnancy rate of the standard in vitro fertilization group. This was due to a much lower implantation rate. In other words, the number of pregnancies produced per embryo transferred was much lower.
The authors suggested that the lower rate of implantation and pregnancy rate might have been due to adverse effects of the clomiphene citrate on the uterine lining rather than an effect of the embryos themselves.
Although each clomiphene citrate cycle was less expensive to perform, the couples would be predicted to spend more money overall because they would require a greater number of attempts to get the same number of pregnancies.
