Success rates

The chances of falling pregnant with ovulation induction or insemination are approximately between 10-15% per attempt. Because the likelihood of pregnancy is fairly low, these treatment methods should usually be attempted several times, which will increase the chances. When donor sperm is used, the success rate is slightly higher, approximately 15-20% per treatment.

With the IVF treatment, one treatment effort entails a 30-50% success rate for falling pregnant. This rate is the same regardless of whether "traditional" IVF or micro insemination techniques are used. The success rate particularly correlates with the woman's age and the overall medical diagnosis of the couple. With egg donation treatment, the success rate is similar, or better. With transfer of frozen embryos, the likelihood is slightly lower, about 20-30% per transfer.

Should the first treatment effort not lead to pregnancy, it is normally not due to some fault, but rather a result of a coincidence. Not all fertilized eggs develop to be embryos, which could attach themselves into the uterus and develop normally in nature. Therefore, one should enter IVF treatment with the thought that more than one treatment might have to be carried out. Several studies suggest that the success rate of pregnancy at the fourth attempt remains at the same level as at the first one.