A recent study has revealed that extending the use of in vitro fertilization treatment can increase odds of fertility.
Scientists at the universities of Bristol and Glasgow said the process is not a single shot because chances of success increase with the number of treatments.
The authors found that in all women, the live-birth rate for the first cycle was 29.5%, and remained above 20% up to and including the fourth cycle for women under 40.
Study author Professor Scott Nelson, a fertility expert at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, said: “Fertility treatments are being stopped prematurely.
“They should keep going – they can increase the chance of having a family just by persevering.
“We need to stop thinking of IVF as a single shot at having a family and think of several cycles as the standard.
“For most couples – and certainly those where the woman is younger than 40 and those of any age using donor eggs – two-thirds will achieve a live birth after five or six treatment cycles.
“This will take, on average, two years and is similar to rates that couples conceiving naturally take in one year.”