Peculiarities of labor after IVF

The probability of becoming pregnant as a result of IVF is estimated at an average of 30-45%. But one offensive "interesting situation" is not enough, you still need to endure and give birth to a baby. Only 80% of those lucky women who managed to get pregnant thanks to the efforts of reproduction specialists, preserve the pregnancy in the early stages. In about 40% of cases, preterm delivery occurs.

Pregnancy costs only two out of ten women without complications, and no more than 25% of the baby’s life is up to 25%. What is the peculiarity of childbirth after IVF, what should the expectant mother need to tune in and what are the forecasts, we will tell in this article.

Is it possible for a woman to give birth on her own after her pregnancy has taken place as a result of an IVF protocol, only an obstetrician-gynecologist who is leading the pregnancy can answer. In most cases, in 90% of cases, independent birth is naturally not welcome. The fact is that usually the health of the future mother leaves much to be desired. The very fact that she had to resort to the services of fertility specialists suggests that there are certain disorders in the body that prevented natural conception, created many difficulties during gestation and may well complicate childbirth.

Information on how the pregnancy proceeded also influences the choice of tactics of childbirth. Usually, after IVF during pregnancy, women are more likely to interrupt early, and in the second half of the gestation period the risk of giving birth to the baby increases prematurely. Often develops or low water, there are pathologies of the formation or development of the placenta. Since 2-3 embryos are usually placed in the uterus during IVF, the chance of multiple pregnancy is much higher.

Twins or triplets with harder reproductive health are even harder. The fact of multiple fertility does not imply mandatory caesarean section, but after in vitro fertilization, such a delivery is recommended, since the risks are twice as high as with single-born IVF pregnancy.

Medical statistics states that only every fifth IVF pregnant woman carries a baby without noticeable problems and complications, and the frequency of natural childbirth after using assisted reproductive technology does not exceed 10%.

Future parents should be well aware that it is not the IVF itself that is to blame for this state of affairs, but the problems that the woman had before the entry into the protocol. If a woman is completely healthy and IVF was performed due to the absence of a sexual partner with donor sperm, as well as with the male factor of infertility, independent childbirth is quite possible, since pregnancy is not much different from pregnancy that occurred naturally.

For the choice of delivery tactics, it is also important how the in vitro fertilization protocol proceeded. There will be more complications in the process of carrying if a woman has passed a long or ultra-long protocol, if her body has been affected by large doses of hormonal preparations. After a short protocol or protocol in the natural cycle, the chances of a lighter pregnancy are somewhat higher.

The Ministry of Health, in turn, does not want to risk, because IVF is a costly procedure, and future parents, who have already traveled a long and difficult path to their happiness, should not risk their mother’s and child’s life. From this point of view, a caesarean section looks more appropriate.

It should be noted that among the pregnant "ekoshnits" few people insist with foaming at the mouth on natural childbirth. Women who are familiar with the concept of "infertility" value the life and health of babies more than their own ambitions. That is why on cesarean section agree willingly.

If it is decided to carry out the delivery in a natural way, the woman should go to the selected hospital in advance. Doctors need time to understand the features of pregnancy and develop tactics of coordinated actions in childbirth. It is usually recommended to go to the hospital at the beginning of week 39. If a woman bears twins, hospitalization should be earlier - at week 37.

Whether to stimulate labor activity, doctors decide in a maternity hospital or perinatal center. Natural childbirth takes place according to the classical canons, complications are most likely in the case of natural childbirth with multiple births - one child can slow down the progress of the sexual ways and “block the way” to the second, also children can start to be born at the same time. If any complications occur at any stage of labor in a woman who becomes pregnant through IVF, doctors have clear instructions to stop trying to have a baby on their own and to have an emergency caesarean section.

A planned caesarean section for IVF pregnancy is prescribed for a period of 38-39 weeks, if twins are born, then at 36-37 weeks. A woman should also go to the hospital in advance, do all the necessary tests, undergo preliminary consultations with the surgeon who will perform the operation, as well as with the anesthesiologist who will decide on the choice of anesthesia for the patient.

In recent years, a new method of caesarean section, the so-called “slow caesarean”, is gaining momentum in Russia. This is an attempt to choose something between natural childbirth and surgery. Doctors make a small incision in the lower uterine segment, and the baby is really born, but not through the genital tract, but through this small hole in the uterus.

A woman is given epidural anesthesia. Such operations are carried out far from every region and not in every maternity hospital, but if you get puzzled in advance, a woman may well find a obstetric institution, whose specialists will undertake such “work”.

A woman who becomes pregnant through IVF needs a special approach during pregnancy. More often than other future mothers, she visits her doctor in the antenatal clinic, she is assigned an extended list of tests and examinations in order to notice any pathological changes in time, if they manifest themselves.

Preparation for such an important event as childbirth begins from the moment of registration.Women are encouraged to attend courses for expectant mothers, where they will learn to eat right, to monitor the weight gain. It is important to avoid complications of the last trimester - preeclampsia, the risk of which after IVF is usually estimated as increased. A woman should monitor her emotional and psychological state. If she has a chronic illness, be sure to visit a narrow-profile doctor to prevent the development of exacerbations of ailments.

Psychological readiness for childbirth in women after IVF is always noticeably better than in women who become pregnant by natural means. There are several good reasons for this:

• Pregnancy conscious and long-awaited, the woman in her head “lost” the birth many times long before she saw two strips on the test or a baby egg on the ultrasound monitor.
• The child is mutual - and the father participated in IVF, and he went with his wife every stage, and therefore the joy was common, and now waiting is common.
• The woman is calm and confident in the future.In any case, in its financial side - if the couple allowed themselves to pay the expensive IVF protocol, with high probability, everything is fine with the finances in the family. Even if IVF was done at the expense of quotas, the couple had time to prepare, both financially and morally, for an important event - the birth of an heir (or heiress).
• High level of awareness - women who first planned pregnancy for a long time, then fought long hours with infertility, and then went through several extracorporal fertilization protocols, usually very well aware of the intricacies of pregnancy and childbirth as physiological processes, they read a lot on this topic, talked a lot with doctors. A high level of knowledge in this area gives a certain clarity and calm - a pregnant woman knows exactly what to expect.

The postpartum period in ECO-mummies is the same as for the other women in labor, without significant differences. After natural childbirth, a woman recovers somewhat faster than after a cesarean section, although today the technique of performing this abdominal operation has leaped forward. So, the seam is done in the lower abdomen almost at the upper line of the pubis, it is thin and neat. This means that it will be unnoticeable, even if a woman wears an open swimsuit.

Recommendations after childbirth gives the doctor who took delivery or underwent surgery. He recalls the need to eat fully to provide the baby with the right amount of breast milk. With lactation after cesarean section, there are significantly fewer problems than may seem from the abundance of questions asked by women in the forums. Milk comes, only a little longer than after natural childbirth, but in the first few days the baby’s needs will be able to satisfy even colostrum.

Repeated IVF after childbirth is recommended to do no earlier than 2 years. If the delivery was performed surgically, the most optimal is a period of rest and recovery that lasts at least 3 years. Before the next IVF it is necessary to be examined, to pass all the necessary tests. Doctors emphasize that during the recovery period, women need to be protected using barrier contraceptives. Hormonal drugs should not be used, because they can affect the state of the endocrine system, and this is very important if a woman is going to do another IVF.

Pregnancy and childbirth stimulate the reproductive system of women, sometimes the problem of infertility, which existed earlier, passes by itself after childbirth and the woman becomes fertile.In this case, the early onset of pregnancy will increase the risk of its unfavorable completion - miscarriage, missed abortion, premature birth will become likely because the endometrium of the uterus, its muscles and the endocrine system have not yet “rested” after previous birth.

And finally, important advice - carefully approach the choice of obstetric institution. It will be good if you give birth in a clinic that conducted IVF, if such services are included in its license. If not (and this happens often), then it is best to stop the choice on modern perinatal centers. Having a birth certificate gives a pregnant woman the freedom to choose a maternity hospital.

See if the IVF results in a cesarean section, see the following video from the fertility doctor.