BACKGROUND Infertility is an increasing medical and social problem. In vitro fertilization (IVF) has become a common and accessible treatment for a wide variety of indications that have variable outcomes. Natural killer (NK) cells have been identified as relevant immunological factors involved in reproductive success or failure. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to compare the percentage of...

This paper reviews psychological research within the context of in vitro fertilization (IVF). The focus will be on psychological reactions before entering an IVF-procedure, during an IVF-treatment, and after both unsuccessful and successful IVF. The effects of psychosocial factors on the treatment outcome after IVF and interventions on conception rates will also be discussed. Undergoing an IVF-...

BACKGROUND In unexplained and mild male factor subfertility, both intrauterine insemination (IUI) and in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) are indicated as first line treatments. Because the success rate of IUI is low, many couples failing IUI subsequently require IVF treatment. In practice, it is therefore important to examine the comparative outcomes (live birth-producing pregnancy), costs, and cost-...

BACKGROUND In vitro fertilization (IVF) with single embryo transfer (SET) has been proposed as a means of reducing multiple pregnancies associated with infertility treatment. All existing cost-effectiveness studies of IVF-SET have compared it with IVF with multiple embryo transfer but not with intrauterine insemination with gonadotropin stimulation (sIUI). METHODS We conducted a systematic re...

BACKGROUND This report details a follow-up study of the parent-child relationship and the child's psychosocial development after IVF. The pilot study compared 31 IVF families and 31 families with a naturally conceived child when the children were aged 2 years. Twenty-seven IVF and 23 control families participated again when the children were aged 8-9 years. METHODS Fathers and mothers complet...

Rough set theory was proposed by Pawlak [1] as a mathematical tool to handle imprecision and uncertainty in data analysis. It has been successfully applied tomachine learning, intelligent systems, inductive reasoning, pattern recognition, mereology, image processing, signal analysis, knowledge discovery, decision analysis, expert systems, and many other fields [2–5]. The basic structure of roug...

BACKGROUND Although older maternal age is a risk factor for pregnancy complications, an increasing number of women delay conception until the age of 40, and some must resort to IVF with oocyte donation. Our objective was to study the association between IVF, both with and without oocyte donation, and maternal and perinatal outcomes in a population of older women. METHODS This retrospective st...

Since the introduction of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in 1978, over five million babies have been born worldwide using IVF. Contrary to the perception of many, IVF does not guarantee success. Almost 50% of couples that start IVF will remain childless, even if they undergo multiple IVF cycles. The decision to start or pursue with IVF is challenging due to the high cost, the burden of the treatm...

Women who suffer from fertility issues often use in vitro fertilization (IVF) to realize their wish to have children. However, IVF has its own set of strict administration rules that leave the women physically and emotionally exhausted. Feeling alienated and frustrated, many IVF users turn to internet IVF-centered forums to share their stories and to find information and support. Based on the o...

BACKGROUND Blood coagulation plays a crucial role in the blastocyst implantation process and its alteration may be related to in vitro fertilization (IVF) failure. We conducted a prospective observational longitudinal study in women eligible for IVF to explore the association between alterations of coagulation with the IVF outcome and to identify the biomarkers of hypercoagulability which are r...