Myth busters
When it comes to trying to conceive, there are countless misconceptions and falsehoods out there. Here are some key ones
IVF is a miracle worker
While the success rates for in vitro fertilization have gone up a great deal in recent decades, Dr. Lora Shahine cautioned that it can’t fix everything. “IVF is only as good as the eggs and sperm we are using,” she said. “We have come so far in the past decade, but we still have so much to learn.”
IVF is extremely painful
“It’s not that long, and it’s not that painful,” said Dr. Janelle Luk with Generation Next Fertility. When it comes to egg retrieval, which requires putting a needle through the vagina, she said, it’s important to remember that the vagina is not as sensitive as the skin. The procedure doesn’t have to be done under general anesthesia; many opt for IV sedation.
Miscarriage is rare
“Miscarriage is much more common than people realize,” said Dr. Jamie Grifo with NYU Langone. And, he noted, “there’s an age-specific miscarriage risk that’s quite variable. At age 25, it’s 10 to 15% miscarriage risk, and at age 40, it’s a 40% miscarriage risk.”
Freezing embryos is better than freezing eggs
“I hate this myth. Patients come in here all the time in a panic,” said Dr. Brian Levine, founding partner of CCRM in Midtown. Often, single women feel pressure to get a sperm donor so they can freeze embryos instead of eggs, but he cautions against that. The benefit of embryos over eggs has been overstated, he said, because freezing embryos has been around much longer and there’s more data around it. “Don’t feel pressure to go make embryos with random sperm.”
You have to have a ton of sex to get pregnant
While couples tend to think they have to have sex at least once a day around ovulation, that’s not true, said Levine. “Every other day around the time of ovulation is all you really need,” he said. Feeling like you have to be getting busy all the time “adds unnecessary stress and strain on the relationship, and it also accentuates the unsuccessful cycles.”
Nothing can be done about aging eggs
“[Many assume] that the decline in egg quality that occurs with age is inevitable . . . but the scientific research shows that is simply not the case,” said Rebecca Fett, author of “It Starts With an Egg.” “Studies show that supplements such as CoQ10 can counteract some of the effect of aging on egg and embryo quality.”