In 1984, the first baby conceived by in vitro fertilization (IVF) was born in Argentina and her name was Dolores Aceto. When this happened, the method was new in the country and in the world. However, in almost 40 years, forms and care have changed and even free access to treatment was guaranteed in the country with the Assisted Reproduction Law.
The desire to be a mother brings many pregnant people to the office when things don’t go as expected. The average age of those who come to the office is around 38 years. At that point, the specialist will be the one to identify the best assisted fertilization method for each patient, but most of the time IVF is chosen.
Who recently brought this issue to the media is Rocío Marengo, who announced that she would start a fertilization treatment and then it was not successful. At that time, Yanina Latorre told LAM behind the scenes of trying to get pregnant while acquaintances and journalists ask “when will the baby be?” Latorre stated that during this process “you put your body in every day and nobody talks about the pain.”
Such is the case of Liliana, who told The uncovering how was the process by which she was able to have twins despite being over 40 and having health problems: “I had considered adopting, but it is very difficult and with my partner we decided to exhaust the last resources to have a biological child.” For Liliana, the treatment lasted two years and she got pregnant on the first try, in some cases it can last much less. Today she is happy with her twins but she assures that she would not go through the treatment again, since she found it invasive.
Since 2013 in the country, all social and prepaid works must cover assisted fertilization treatments and the medications used in the process, benefiting pregnant people up to 44 years of age with their own eggs and up to 51 years of age with donated eggs. Nevertheless, Dr. Stella Lancuba, who directs the CIMER Fertility Center, assures that the age limit is set by how risky the pregnancy can be and varies according to the case.
Who can perform in vitro fertilization
Lancuba specialized in Europe when this method began to take shape and later worked on it in Argentina as a specialist. in conversation with The uncovering He stressed that women who have gone through menopause can have children through in vitro fertilization and also those with a fallopian tube ligation. In this order, he explained that it is not strange to receive people with their tubes tied who want to have children again when they form a new family: “The uterus is a highly dynamic tissue, the limitations are technical, ethical and legal,” he said.
How is the treatment
Lancuba did nearly 10,000 treatments in his professional life and explains the step by step of in vitro fertilization. It begins with a patient arriving at the office and A first diagnostic study and physical examination is done to assess the risk factors that may appear in the future and how to avoid them.. Then, it is explained pharmacological sequence and what the ovule aspiration process will be like.
This treatment seeks to generate a intensive hormonal state, which will affect the patient, so it is recommended that psychological treatment or alternative mindfulness or acupuncture therapies be done at the same time. The aim is to achieve a reduction in personal and environmental stress to avoid an unsatisfactory result.
In the event that IVF is carried out with donated eggs, the emotional component, explains the director of CIMER, is even more intense and the treatment effectiveness rate is 40% in each attempt. If the first attempt fails, it can be done again and there is no biological limit: It will depend on the person and their emotional stability to carry out each procedure.
How treatment changed over the years
The effectiveness rates are improved with genetic studies on already fertilized ovulesin this way the probability of implantation in the uterus is doubled.
In conversation with Lancuba, it was highlighted the importance of preimplantation genetic studies to detect anomalies and select which embryos can be implanted. this breakthrough decreases the rate of spontaneous abortions in the first trimester, and, therefore, reduces a large component of anxiety and anguish. From the beginning, mental health has been taken into account as part of well-being, but research is now also directed at towards improving ovarian stimulation protocols, improving embryo culture and even seeking to determine the best day to have an excellent selection.
In these four decades, more is known about the importance of the environment in fertility and the positive and negative effect of certain foods and nutrients. Over the last decade there has been a shift in focus and the aim is to preserve fertility to avoid aging of the ovules. In this line, It is now known that the best time to freeze eggs is before the age of 30. This process is not covered by the Assisted Reproduction Law and is quoted in dollars. Before that age, according to the specialist, it is achieved that 90% of the ovules have “competence to generate a born baby”. Science also understands that at this age few people decide or consider doing it, so they work on an optimal sample up to 34 years of age with more ovarian stimulation and egg aspirations.
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