QuestionHello:
I am 29 yrs old and just did my 7th ivf transfer. We got pregnant on the 5th cycle but lost the pregnancy in week 5. The firt 5 transfers were
Highly graded blasts. This last transfer (2 days ago) they put in 3 day 3 embryos. They also did co-culture. I had inquired about holding the embryos tillk day 5. My doc said
It was not necessary at all. Do you think that day 3 is just as good?
AnswerHello Lee from Canada,
Yes, all the studies show that Day 3 embryo transfers are just as successful as day # 5 blastocyst transfers. I personally, feel that day # 3 transfers are better. I believe that the uterus is a better incubator than the lab. I only use day # 5 transfers in young patients that have too many good embryos to select from. In this case, going two extra days allows for us to weed out some of the embryos. That doesn't necessarily mean that the embryos that didn't survive were worst embryos, they just didn't culture well. I personally believe that the culture media is not perfected for blastocyst culturing, despite what many say.
I am shocked that at your age, and after so many IVF cycles, you have not gotten pregnant. Something else is going on. You might want to try a different center because many things including the lab, environment and transfer technique can affect pregnancy rates. Studies have shown that pregnancy rates can differ between doctors in the same practice and facility.
Sincerely,
Edward J. Ramirez, M.D., FACOG
Executive Medical Director
The Fertility and Gynecology Center
Monterey Bay IVF Program
www.montereybayivf.com
Monterey, California, U.S.A.
for additional information check out my blog at http://womenshealthandfertility.blogspot.com check me out on facebook and twitter with me at @montereybayivf.
