What went wrong? Why did the IVF cycle fail?

In cases of failure of an IVF cycle, patients are naturally curious to know what might have caused the failure. However, this is where some IVF doctors go wrong. They interpret the patients’ inquiry into what might have gone wrong to mean that the patient is casting aspersions on their competence. They therefore resort to carrying out numerous medical tests in their endeavor to leave the patients satisfied that the doctor is trying to get to the bottom of the matter and a solution will soon be found. This is a sad fallacy.

Doctors order tests knowing full well that medical technology has its own shortcomings and that it is not always possible to ascertain the true cause of IVF cycle failure. A mature doctor should be able to face a patient and honestly explain to her that there is no technology in place that determines what happens to the embryo while inside the uterus after having been transferred.

Conversely, patients should be well-informed and be willing to listen to the truth that even in a perfect cycle , the chances of success are always less than 50% . This would help reduce numerous complaints about IVF doctors;  and save the patient’s time and money spent visiting IVF clinics in order to do expensive and unnecessary tests.