The impact of the time interval on in-vitro fertilisation success after failure of the first attempt

Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify the optimal time interval for in-vitro fertilisation that would increase treatment success after failure of the first attempt. This retrospective study evaluated 454 consecutive cycles of 227 infertile women who had two consecutive attempts within a 6-month period at an IVF centre. Data were collected on duration of stimulation, consumption of gonadotropin, numbers of retrieved oocytes, mature oocytes, fertilised eggs, good quality embryos on day 3/5 following oocyte retrieval and clinical and ongoing pregnancy. There were significant increases in clinical pregnancy rates at 2-, 3- and 4-month intervals. The maximum increase was after two menstrual cycles (p = 0.001). The highest rate of ongoing pregnancy was in women that had the second attempt after the next menstrual cycle following failure of IVF (27.2%). After IVF failure, initiating the next attempt within 2–4 months increases the clinical pregnancy rates.

Keywords::

• Attempt
• GnRH antagonist
• IVF failure
• normoresponder
• time interval

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.