# IVF and falling pregnant naturally or ICSI?



## bells123 (Sep 22, 2012)

Hi ladies myself and my partner have just recently had our first attempt at IVF but sadly for us it didn't work  
Unfortunately for some reason the sperm didn't take to any of the 8 eggs that were collected and the dr said that from working at the hospital for over 15years he has very rarely seen this happen considering we already have a child of 6 already aswell. It has been a very hard emotional journey and were just now trying to decide what to do next as we both so desperately want another baby. The dr did say that people do stand a good chance of falling pregnant naturally after having IVF treatment so obviously we have EVERYTHING crossed that this will be the case but we are also really considering going down the ICSI route. I was just wondering what your opinions/thoughts were and what you would do in this case,also do you think we would of stood more of a chance if we went down the ICSI route first as then your guaranteed that the sperm is actually injected into the egg. Just sooo much to think about and would just love some other people's views on this.
Thank you for listening xx


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## bombsh3ll (Apr 19, 2012)

Hi bells123,

Your chance of falling pregnant naturally after IVF really depends on your diagnosis and reason for needing IVF in the first place - if you have had all the tests and nothing has been found wrong then yes there is certainly a good chance!

If I were in your position and the possibility of natural conception existed I would definitely give it a go before going through the physical, emotional and financial toll of ICSI. You could set a time limit on it, 6months, a year, whatever you decide, just to have peace of mind that you tried and then moving on with no doubts.

Fingers crossed it will happen for you!

B xxx


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## bells123 (Sep 22, 2012)

Thank you for you reply B! All the tests that myself and my partner done all came back absolutely fine so it does hopefully sound promising that it could happen naturally and yes i think giving ourselves a time limit for this would be a gd idea as then at least we know we have tried our best before having to go down the emotional,physical and financial route of ICSI.
Hope everything is going well for you

Claire x


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## bambibaby12 (Oct 29, 2012)

Hi bells,

It's definitely worth a shot, as you can see from my signature it worked for me 

We would have been doing another round of ICSI about now,however we were advised that even with ICSI it doesn't always mean u will get 100% fertilisation as to get the eggs ready for ICSI they have to mess with the outer shell of the egg and some eggs don't like this and it can damage them irretrievably.

Perhaps plan your next cycle and think/focus on that for 6 months and just have regular sex with DH and see what happens. Try and be healthy and just relax and enjoy your life in the meantime. I know this is easier said than done hunny and fingers crossed it will all work out xxx


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## goldbunny (Mar 26, 2012)

I think it's a no brainer to go for ICSI - but then again you haven't said how long you were trying before starting ivf...

if you've just finished IVF it's probably going to be a few months before you're lined up ready for ICSI anyway, i'd say try at home for 3 months then get ICSI organised... good luck!


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## Artypants (Jan 6, 2012)

Hi there

I fell naturally 6 weeks after my first failed round of IVF, sadly this did not end well but it does happen. All the best x


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## Cay23 (Jan 12, 2011)

I agree with Goldbunny - go for ICSI. We were an 'unexplained' couple too with all the tests coming back normal, but after 3 failed IVF's and 2 failed FET's we discovered, through NK cell testing that the 'unexplained' was explained with immune issues. It's 99.9% unlikely that I'd ever fall pregnant naturally without IVF/immunes treatment so for me to try naturally would've been pointless. If you've conceived naturally before though (you say you have a 6 year old), it could happen again but I'd be getting the ball rolling for ICSI and ttc while you're waiting for that cycle to begin. 

Good luck xx


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## bells123 (Sep 22, 2012)

Thank you ladies for all your replys,it does help hearing what other people would do!

Thank you Bambibaby12 that gives me such hope and i hope everything goes well for you  

Goldbunny we tried for 3 years or more to conceive again and yes the Dr said that they wouldn't do anything until the beginning of next year so i guess it just a matter of hoping that we will conceive naturally in the next 3 months!

Artypants-Thank you for your comment and i'm really sorry to hear that things didn't work for you x

Cay23-Wow you have been through alot,can i ask what NK cell testing is as i haven't heard of that also what is immunes treatment? From literally just finishing our first cycle of IVF we won't be able to do anything until next year anyway and also it is such alot to think about  financially and emotionally going through the journey all over again!

xxxx


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## Cay23 (Jan 12, 2011)

Bells, I know what you mean about the emotional and financial cost of IVF. At the moment I'm thinking what price will we put on a child, but we have to draw the line somewhere! 

NK Cells stands for Natural Killer Cells. They're the army of cells in your body that fight infection - from colds to cancer (your immunity to disease/illness). Some ladies have either a lot of NK cells or an average amount but with high killing power which means that they try to get rid of everything which is 'foreign' to your body. So when you have an embryo transfer they see the embryo as 'foreign' and send out their NK cell army to kill it. When you're tested for NK cells, if they find too many/too higher killing power, they can test them with various drugs (steroids, intralipids or IVIG (intravenous immunoglobulin)) to reduce their potency so they don't kill any embryos. I had my NK cell testing done at the Lister and it cost £590, but then you have to cycle with them. I know Dr Gorgy at the Fertility and Gynaecology Academy will do NK Cell testing for £750 without you having to do a cycle there.

xx


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