Almost 90 per cent of couples trying to have a baby through IVF greatly overestimate their chances of success
- Study is 'a reminder' for clinics to set realistic success estimates for IVF couples
- 85 per cent of women and 88 per cent of men overestimate chances of success
- Over-optimism may be a source of distress or a reason to discontinue treatment
- IVF patients have high expectations due to the media, the internet and clinics
Almost 90 per cent of couples trying to have a baby through in vitro fertilisation (IVF) overestimate their chances of conceiving, a new study reveals.
Researchers found 85 per cent of women and 88 per cent of men current undergoing their second course of IVF overestimated their chances of success.
Official statistics state that only 30 per cent of IVF treatments result in a successful pregnancy, with live birth rates a little lower.
Scientists say many people believe many couples believe the average success rate does not apply to them and that they will be more successful than other people.
The new study is 'a reminder' for clinics to set realistic success estimates for IVF couples undergoing treatment
Researchers caution that over-optimism may be a source of distress to many hopefuls, potentially resulting in the discontinuation of the IVF treatment.
Inflated expectations stem from reports of success stories in the media and on social media, researchers say.
'Clinics do share average success rates on their websites but these are often only relevant to a reference population of younger patients and many patients do not think that average success rates apply to them,' said embryologist Johanna Devroe from the University Hospital of Leuven, Belgium.
'They expect greater success, thinking of their healthy lifestyle or their experienced doctors.
'So the message to clinics is, work on setting realistic expectations.
'We are now investigating this, to see if disclosing an individual's predicted success rate rather than a clinic's average success rate helps to set realistic expectations.'
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During IVF, an egg is removed from the woman's ovaries and fertilised with sperm in a laboratory.
Previous reports have suggested that couples usually have some degree of optimism when embarking on IVF treatment.
This is despite a success rate ranging from 29 per cent for women under 35 and just 2 per cent for women aged 40 to 42, according to the NHS.
Private clinics typically refuse to treat women aged 45 and over, while NHS clinical commissioning groups do not generally allow women a second round of IVF after they turn 40.
The scientists at the University Hospital of Leuven, who led the recent study, conducted a prospective study of 69 couples having at least their second IVF treatment attempt.
The team measured a couple's individual expectations about their treatment and their natural disposition to optimism through a questionnaire.
In addition, the study used a mathematical model to calculate each couple's realistic chances of the IVF being successful.
This allowed the study to calculate the degrees of what they called 'mis-estimation' for both the male and female partner of each couple.
The mathematical prediction stated that only around 32 per cent pf the participants would be successful.
During in vitro fertilisation (IVF), an egg is removed from the woman's ovaries and fertilised with sperm in a laboratory. IVF helps people with fertility problems have a baby. Private clinics typically refuse to treat women aged 45 and over, while NHS clinical commissioning groups do not generally allow women a second round of IVF after they turn 40
However, the vast majority of women (85 per cent) gave themselves a better chance than this figure.
On average, female partners estimated a 66 per cent chance of success, an overestimate of 34 per cent.
Men were even more prone to overestimating their chances of success.
Eighty-eight per cent of men in the study overestimated their outcomes.
More than half of men (54 per cent) thought the odds of their success was more twice the actual figure.
Over-optimism may be a source of distress or even a reason to discontinue their IVF treatment
The study, the researchers say, is a reminder for treatment clinics and the media to set realistic estimates of positive outcomes for both female and male partners.
'We are currently following up the couples from our study group to correlate levels of unrealistic expectations with levels of disappointment and uptake of another IVF cycle,' said Dr Devroe.
'To the best of our knowledge, the live birth rates expected by patients during their IVF cycle have yet to be studied and compared to their individual prognosis.
It is not known whether the expected birth rates, as revealed in this study, are affected by factors like gender and an individual's general level of optimism, Devroe said.
The results of the study will be presented today by Devroe at the 36th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.
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