May 11, 2017.
According to a study conducted by a team of researchers from the Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, some people abuse in vitro fertilization (IVF), a method of assisted reproduction.
The success of IVF cannot be denied
IVF was a real hope for many couples who suffered from infertility. Since its discovery in 1978, demand has exploded and some abuses have emerged. This is what Dutch researchers denounce in a study published by theEuropean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology and spotted by our colleagues from Point.
According to this work, “ between 1997 and 2011, nearly 900,000 children were born by IVF in Europe, a number that may have surpassed 1.4 million today “. The success of this assisted procreation method is undeniable, even though the number of couples suffering from infertility has not significantly increased. How then to explain this ever increasing recourse to IVF?
Abusive practices in some centers
According to the authors of this study, the decline in maternal age would be a first explanation, but it alone would not be sufficient to justify these figures. It could also be that the change in the definition of infertility by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2008 (failure to conceive after at least 12 months of unprotected sex, instead of 24 months) could also play.
But researchers denounce more particularly the mercantile practices of centers of medically assisted procreation. It hardly seems believable, but some of them indeed offer their ” clients ” from ” special offers “And even offers” satisfied or refunded “. Before embarking on IVF procedures, however, couples should be well informed and should not assume that this method works every time. Failures can be painful.
Marine Rondot
Read also: IVF: a test to estimate your chances of success
