Hello,
Thanks for your consult at DoctorSpring.com.
IVF success rates range anywhere between 20 - 40 %, depending on various factors.
This is not mathematics purely, as till now many factors influencing IVF success rates are under research.
The most important factors are -
1. Age obviously
2. Ovarian reserve, which is the capacity of ovaries to respond favourably and produce good oocytes ( eggs ) after stimulation protocols in IVF . Nowadays, the best indicator of ovarian reserve is measurement of AMH levels.
3. Expertise and reputation of the lab performing IVF
4. Concurrent complicating medical histories
5. Presence of uterine fibroids, endometrial damage, endometriosis, hydrosalpinx etc.
In your case, I would put the sucess rate at anywhere between 25 - 30 %( pregnancy rate ) and the live birth rate as between 20 - 25 % ( your doctor gave you a spot on idea it seems ).
Your age and low AMH levels are the two things that prevent me from giving you more optimistic figures.
I wish you all the best of luck with your IVF attempt, and urge you to keep a positive attitude - our beliefs and optimism always influences happenings around us ! Please feel free to ask for further clarifications. Regards
Patient replied :
One more question. I may have be mistaken on my AMH, is might have been 0.38. Probably doesnt change anything. My Dr. is having me do acupuncher (i have not idea how to spell it correctly). He said it can help improve IVF odds. At ~$150 per treatment, it seem expensive. Is their scientific evidence that acqupuncher can help with IVF/Fertility success. I dont see how sticking needles in someone can make someone have better odds. What are your thoughts?
Hi
A low AMH is a cutoff value, I mean less than a particular number.
Then 0.3 and 0.4 do not make that much difference, the value is still low, I guess you know what I mean.
Regarding acupuncture, its benefit has NOT been proved , in improving IVF success rates.
You would have various opinions on blogs, on the internet, from various individual practitioners, what matters are scientific studies that provide corroborative evidence for or against it.
Please go through the following link , it will make sense to you, I can sense a keen and intuitive mind that you possess -
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19276803
The cost is not justified at all.
All the best anyways.
Please feel free to contact me anytime regarding the doubts you might have.