Frequently Asked Questions

What is infertility?
Is infertility a medical problem related to women only?
How common is infertility?
What are normal ranges of semen analysis?
I was told that my semen quality is poor. Is there any medicine that can help to improve my semen quality?
How long should my partner abstain before the IUI/ IVF/ GIFT procedure?
How long do sperms live after ejaculation?
How do I determine the first day of my menstrual cycle (period)?
Control ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) stimulates ovaries to produce a number of eggs. Will this treatment cause earlier menopause?
How big should my follicles be before I take my hCG shot?
How much do follicles grow each day?
How many Clomid cycle should I try before I move to IUI?
How many times should I try IUI before moving on to IVF?
Shall I stop working during the IVF cycle?
Do I need to be admitted during IVF cycle?
How soon can I know the outcome after IUI/ IVF/ GIFT?
I had miscarriage in my previous IVF pregnancy. Is miscarriage rate higher in IVF pregnancy than in natural pregnancy?
Will my baby be normal following IVF treatment?

What is infertility?
Infertile is defined as the inability of a couple to conceive after a year of regular unprotected intercourse. Regular intercourse means an average frequency of two times per week. If the female partner is above 35 years old, they should consult a doctor after trying for 6 months because pregnancy rate declines for women over 35 years of age.

Is infertility a medical problem related to women only?
No, it is a problem involving both men and women. Men and women are almost equally affected. That's why the men also have to be actively involved in the treatment of infertility.

How common is infertility?
About 1 in 10 couples is diagnosed as infertile nowadays. It is more common as age of the women increases and is as high as 1 in 3 couple at age of 35 years.

What are normal ranges of semen analysis?
The values obtained in the semen analysis can vary according to the recent change in physical health and the duration of abstinence prior to semen collection. So, it is advised to repeat semen analysis if the test is abnormal.

Semen Characteristic	Normal Ranges
Volume (ml)	≥ 2
pH	7.2 ¨C 8.0
Concentration (M/ml)	≥ 20
Total Sperm Count (M)	≥ 40
Motility (%)	≥ 50
Normal Morphology (%)	≥ 30
WBC (million/ml)	< 1.0

I was told that my semen quality is poor. Is there any medicine that can help to improve my semen quality?
There is no simple drug treatment that can help in improving your semen quality. A good way that can help is goes through assisted reproductive technique.

How long should my partner abstain before the IUI/ IVF/ GIFT procedure?
For most men, a 2-3 day break is ideal. This period gives the "sample" an opportunity to regenerate. Too "old" a sample raises the risk of poor motility, white cells, and other problems of "old" sperm. (An "old" sample would be one that is taken after more than 7 days of abstinence).

How long do sperms live after ejaculation?
Normal and healthy sperm lives approximately 48-72 hours after ejaculated.

How do I determine the first day of my menstrual cycle (period)?
Day 1 is the first day you see a red flow, not just intermittent spotting.

Control ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) stimulates ovaries to produce a number of eggs. Will this treatment cause earlier menopause?
Absolutely not. Normally, 30 eggs in a woman's ovary will grow and develop every month, but only one of them will become fully mature and released, while the rest will degrade and reabsorbed by the body. In COH, drugs are given to stimulate several eggs to become fully mature simultaneously.

10.    How big should my follicles be before I take my hCG shot?
         A lead follicle should be at least 18 mm before you can have your hCG shot. The hCG will
         induce the follicle to ovulate after 36 hours.

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11. How much do follicles grow each day?
Follicles grow approximately 1 to 2 mm a day.

12. How many Clomid cycle should I try before I move to IUI?
The vast majority of Clomid pregnancies occur during the first 4-5 ovulatory cycles.
You should try at least 2-3 cycles of Clomid before moving on to IUI.

13. How many times should I try IUI before moving on to IVF?
       Once you have had two IUI cycles, you might consider moving to IVF because the chance of a
       successful IUI cycle is reduced after two cycles. In addition, if you have blocked tubes, then
       IUI will not help. Thus, you should proceed directly to IVF treatment.

14. Shall I stop working during the IVF cycle?
       You can carry on your normal activities (including working) during IVF stimulation programme.
       But once the embryo is transferred back, you should have more rest. Heavy lifting, climbing
       and long journey of walking should be avoided. No bed-rest is required unless advised by
       your doctor.

15. Do I need to be admitted during IVF cycle?
Admission is not necessary for IVF cycle as both egg-pick-up and embryo transfer
are outpatient procedures.

16. How soon can I know the outcome after IUI/ IVF/ GIFT?
You can have the result two weeks after the treatment.

I had miscarriage in my previous IVF pregnancy. Is miscarriage rate higher in IVF pregnancy than in natural pregnancy?
The miscarriage rate is higher in ART pregnancy compared to natural pregnancy. In ART pregnancy, the miscarriage rate is about 20% while the natural pregnancy's is 10%.

18. Will my baby be normal following IVF treatment?
      The incidence of congenital malformations in IVF pregnancies ranges from 2% nation-wide. It
      is slightly higher than that of natural conceiving pregnancies. But the increased risk
      is attributable to maternal factors and not from any aspect of the IVF procedure as
      IVF mothers are older and produce poorer quality eggs.

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