Even though acupuncture and Chinese medicine is much cheaper than the traditional IVF per cycle, treatment cost has the similar trend as IVF in that the more age advanced, the more cycles and cost will be.
In a survey conducted, most of women do not know or realize the age related cost of infertility treatment for different reason until the day they want to have baby. Generally one cycle of IVF standard will cost $15K in DC area IVF centers. For women age below 38 years old, local IVF center may offer risk sharing package which covers 6 cycles. For women who are above 38 years old, they can only pay for each cycle. Normally trying IVF 2 or 3 cycles will cost around 30 to 60K which is quite stressful financial burden to carry on. It is too late to point out the younger the age is, the cheaper cost of infertility treatment treatment. Most of women can easily get pregnant within the first one year TTC with almost no cost when they are twenties.
For people who considers low cost or nature treatment approach, here are my suggestions:
- Exercise regularly, although the female partner should do only gentle physical activity. Walking one hour per day during active TTC.
- Maintain healthy weight.
- Begin taking Chinese herbs with consultation to help your body get ready for pregnancy.
- Eat a healthy, balanced diet. Recommend Mediterranean food or follow the diet triangle chart.
- Stop smoking and drinking.
- Learn to forgive and have grateful heart.
- Acupuncture to work out the dysfunction/imbalance of your body/mind
- Make sure you get enough sleep, ideally at least eight hours per night in total darkness. Don’t watch TV before going to bed.
- Time your cycle for your most fertile moment.
(following is copied from fertilityfriend.com article about age related nature pregnancy)
Increasingly, many women are delaying childbirth until well into their thirties. Women who are trying to conceive beyond the peak reproductive years of their twenties, however, are often very concerned about their conception chances. While it is true that fertility rates decline with age across virtually all human populations (Wood 1989; 102; O’Connor et al 1998; 127) and the time to conception is generally longer for women who are past their mid-twenties, (Dunson et al 2002) the chances of conceiving within a year or two are fairly good for women in their late thirties, especially when intercourse is timed well in the fertile period.
The cumulative conception rate for women aged 35-39 is 60% after one year of trying and 85% at two years (Taylor 2003). While this may not sound so promising when you want to have a baby right now, these figures may be higher for women who are able to identify their fertile time and focus intercourse within the fertile window. Time to conception is considerably reduced when intercourse is focused within the most fertile window of the menstrual cycle (Hilgers et al 1992).
Women may delay childbearing for a variety of reasons. In a recent survey of women aged over 35 years seeking assisted reproductive technology, Hammarberg and Clarke (2005) found that 18% of the women in their survey cited “being unaware of the impact of age on fertility” as a reason for their delay in childbearing. Other reasons cited included the desire to complete one’s education, the lack of an appropriate mate, career ambitions, financial concerns, and not wanting a child earlier (Hammarberg and Clarke 2005).
Whatever the reason for delaying childbearing, the pressures of trying to conceive quickly are often greater for women beyond their peak reproductive years. It is generally recommended to begin investigations after one year of trying without conceiving or six cycles of trying with “fertility focused” intercourse (Gnoth et al 2005). Women who are beyond their mid-thirties, however, may want to consult their physicians earlier if they suspect any potential fertility issues or if they are concerned that conception is not happening as quickly as they hoped.
References
Dunson, D. B., B. Colombo, et al. (2002). “Changes with age in the level and duration of fertility in the menstrual cycle.” Hum Reprod 17(5): 1399-403.
Gnoth, C., E. Godehardt, et al. (2005). “Definition and prevalence of subfertility and infertility.” Hum Reprod 20(5): 1144-1147.
Hammarberg, K. and V. E. Clarke (2005). “Reasons for delaying childbearing–a survey of women aged over 35 years seeking assisted reproductive technology.” Aust Fam Physician 34(3): 187-8, 206.
Hilgers, T. W., K. D. Daly, et al. (1992). “Cumulative pregnancy rates in patients with apparently normal fertility and fertility-focused intercourse.” J Reprod Med 37(10): 864-6.
O’Connor, K. A., D. J. Holman, et al. (1998). “Declining fecundity and ovarian ageing in natural fertility populations.” Maturitas 30(2): 127-36.
Taylor, A. (2003). “ABC of subfertility: extent of the problem.” Bmj 327(7412): 434-6.
Wood, J. W. (1989). “Fecundity and natural fertility in humans.” Oxf Rev Reprod Biol 11: 61-109.
- For acupuncture treatment, mostly cost effective.
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