Ovulation Management: Maximize Your Chances of Conception

A successful in vitro fertilization {IVF} cycle is the end goal for many fertility patients. After what can amount to months or years of pregnancy tests, consultations and fertility treatments, learning that your IVF cycle was successful is a dream come true for future parents. Sometimes, fertility specialists will recommend an additional step in your treatment plan in order to help ensure an IVF cycle that results in healthy pregnancy. This additional step is called ovulation management, or ovulation induction.

Ovulation management is a process which uses fertility medication to stimulate the female patient’s ovaries to produce multiple mature eggs in one cycle. The more mature eggs available for use during intrauterine insemination (IUI) or IVF, the better your chances are to conceive. The medications that are typically used during ovulation management are clomiphene and gonadotropin, and your fertility specialist will talk through any possible side effects that can occur through use of either medication. Patients are monitored closely during this time. These drugs mimic hormones that your body would normally release. Ovulation management is not required prior to IVF.

The difference between an IVF cycle which uses ovulation management and one that does not is simply the number of mature eggs that your fertility specialist can retrieve during IVF. Having a high number of mature eggs to choose from is ideal, and this is a key benefit of the treatment. Any extra embryos that result in the process can be stored for later use (future IVF) if the patient so wishes.

There are certain situations in which ovulation management is more likely to be recommended by a fertility specialist. These include for women who do not regularly ovulate, women with a low ovarian reserve or women with hormonal imbalances {PCOS}. These conditions can of course affect a woman’s fertility but can also play into the predicted success rate of an IVF cycle.

If you are interested in ovulation management and whether it is right for your particular fertility diagnosis, we encourage you to contact Washington Fertility Center for more information on this procedure.