In-vitro fertilization (IVF) has given hope to aspiring parents struggling to conceive naturally. There could be many reasons for your Infertility diagnosis. Some are treatable; some are unexplained, and others might simply be too complicated to allow you to get pregnant naturally. For these couples, IVF can be an option to achieve pregnancy. However, like any medical treatment, this procedure has its share of risks. 

It’s important to understand the side effects of IVF and the potential complications that can crop up at any stage of the treatment. For couples wondering about fertility treatment side effects and what can be done to minimize them, we’ve created this detailed post that answers all your questions. Let’s simplify your journey to parenthood. 

Common Side Effects of IVF on the woman

IVF carries short-term and long-term risks, although researchers are still studying the long-term health complications from the treatment. Let’s take a quick look at the common side effects you might incur during and after the procedure.

Reaction From Hormonal Medication

To trigger egg maturation and ovulation, your fertility specialist will prescribe hormonal medication, which mainly includes gonadotropins and other fertility drugs. These are highly effective in inducing ovulation, but they can cause a range of physical and emotional symptoms. 

Some women experience mild and manageable symptoms. Others report excessive bloating, cramps, hot flashes, mood swings, restlessness, irritability, headaches, and a lot more. The side effects often mimic those of birth control pills, especially when taken in high dosages. 

Emotional symptoms can be intense for some women. The symptoms can be uncomfortable but are short-lived. Contact your fertility clinic if you experience persistent symptoms that keep getting worse and interfere with your daily life.

Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS)

A rare yet possible side effect of hormone medication is Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS). Fertility drugs that speed up egg maturity and trigger your ovaries to release multiple eggs at a time can cause OHSS. Your ovaries can become overactive and may cause symptoms like bloating, abdominal pain, nausea, and a feeling of fullness. 

These symptoms are often confused with the mild symptoms of IVF. However, OHSS can be severe in some cases. It can lead to more complicated side effects, like shortness of breath, gaining excessive weight over a short period, dizziness, decreased urinary frequency, fluid leakage in your abdomen, and blood clots. These side effects of IVF treatment can be life-threatening. So, if you notice any of these symptoms, notify your healthcare provider immediately. To address these concerns, your fertility specialist will carefully monitor your hormone medication dosage, especially if you are at high risk of OHSS or have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).

Pain and Tenderness on the Injection Site

Multiple shots of gonadotropin injections can be painful. The area can get sore, red, and bruised from HCG injections. Ice packs can offer relief to the site. It’s also advisable to rotate the injection site to minimize discomfort. 

Emotional Side-Effects 

With the ongoing medication, frequent visits to the fertility clinic, the anticipation, and anxiety, there’s no doubt IVF can take a toll on your emotional health. The most common cause of anxiety is hormone fluctuation, but that, coupled with the natural fear and stress of the treatment not working out or not giving the results you’ve anticipated, can be very overwhelming. The issues aren’t confined to anxiety. It can lead to depression, especially in cases where the women undergo multiple cycles of failed IVF.

Cramping and Spotting

Egg retrieval is a minimally invasive procedure in which the surgeon extracts the mature eggs from your ovaries to combine them with the sperm outside your uterus in the IVF lab. Egg retrieval is performed under anesthesia, so you won’t feel any pain during the procedure. Cramping and mild spotting are common after IVF, but the symptoms usually last a day or two. You can take prescribed painkillers.

Side Effects of IVF on the Baby

IVF doesn’t just pose health risks to the mother but can lead to many fetal-related side effects. This includes:

Miscarriage

IVF itself doesn’t cause a miscarriage, but the reasons why couples choose IVF can be the culprit for pregnancy loss. For instance, increased age is the most common reason that encourages people to consider assisted reproductive technology. An older woman’s egg quality is comparatively lower compared to that of a young female. 

So, even if IVF results in a successful implantation, there’s a risk of chromosomal abnormality, which can hamper fetal growth. This leads to miscarriage. Uterine abnormality, scar tissue, Polyps, and Fibroids are a few other causes of miscarriage, whether you are trying natural pregnancy or through IVF.

Ectopic Pregnancy

Another major complication of IVF is ectopic pregnancy — a medical condition in which the embryo implants outside the uterus, most likely in your fallopian tubes. Ectopic pregnancy can be life-threatening if left undiagnosed and untreated. The embryo keeps growing in the tubes, causing them to stretch and eventually rupture. See your doctor immediately if you experience sharp abdominal pain, vaginal bleeding, and dizziness.

Multiple Births

The risk of multiple births (twins, triplets, quadruplets, and more) is higher in IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies than in natural pregnancy. That’s because fertility specialists often recommend transferring multiple embryos in the hope that one of them will be implanted. This increases the likelihood of multiple embryos being implanted successfully, resulting in multiple births. The risk here is that pregnancies with twins or triplets are riskier compared to singleton pregnancies. It can lead to stillbirth, low birth weight, and premature delivery, to name a few.

Low Birth Weight or Premature Birth

There’s a possibility of your baby being born prematurely or having low birth weight after birth compared to the pregnant women who conceived naturally. This is more likely to happen in women who conceive multiple babies through IVF, but the cases are also observed in those with single babies. Maternal age, fertility medication, and underlying health conditions that can make your pregnancy complicated are blamed for this.

To learn more about the risks and complications associated with IVF, it’s advisable to reach out to Plan B Fertility, one of the best fertility centre in Hyderabad, we are here to assist you throughout your IVF journey and answer all your questions regarding conception through ART. 

As the success of any fertility treatment relies on teamwork, our team of fertility specialists in the fields of reproductive medicine, Embryology, and Andrology assist you through your journey of parenthood.