Have you had IVF?

[Newmum2011]

Hi - I am extremely lucky to have had a baby this year as the result of IVF. It was our first time and I still can't quite believe it. I am already desperate to have another baby and I know that IVF is my only option. I'm terrified to go through it again cos I feel I have been lucky this time and can't possibly be as lucky next time.

Do you know of anyone who has had more than one pregnancy through IVF? What are the success rates like for second time round?

Any ideas?

Thanks

My closest friend has had more than one pregnancy through IVF.

She had one full IVF round, which was unsuccessful, and froze the unused embryos.
She then had FET, which was a twin pregnancy although she lost one early on (around 6 weeks), which resulted in a lovely little girl.
She had one frozen embryo remaining so decided to have that implanted before embarking on another full round of IVF, not expecting it to work. It did, and split, so she got identical twin boys. She describes this as "the ultimate buy one get one free deal".

She recognises that she was extremely lucky and did rather better than the 1 in 3 statistical success rate.

Have a look at this. It's a sort of calculator that predicts your chances of IVF/ICSI working. Article about it in the guardian here. The article that came up with the research is on the site too. I found it really interesting, as I like to know exact facts and figures- it's helping me be realistic about our chances. In general, having a first baby by IVF increases the chance of having a second baby successfully.

Congratulations Newmum! Wonderful news. I too was lucky 1st time round with IVF (result DS1). 2nd attempt didn't work even though they collected more eggs. While waiting for 3rd attempt I gave acupuncture a go; amazingly this was successful right away (result DS2).
Biggest surprise was DD who arrived 3 years later as a happy accident!
Good luck!

Thanks for the replies. I had a go on the calculator and it gave me 24% chance which is quite low considering I was given a 50% chance at the clinic this time. Unfortunately my embryos weren't good enough to freeze so I'd have to do the whole thing from the beginning if I were to go again.

Your stories have made me feel a little more positive. I know I will definitely have to go through IVF again if I want another as I have damaged tubes and PCOS. If anyone else has any facts/figures or real life experience I would love to hear them.

Thanks