Despite the fact that it has recently been spotlighted by candidates to further their political purposes, fertility care is a deeply personal and often very emotional journey for both men and women – and understandably so. Many parents who spend years longing for a son or daughter are heartbroken when they learn that they may never be able to conceive a child together.
It’s for this reason that so many couples turn to Invitro Fertilization (IVF), the process during which a child is created by joining the mother's egg and the father’s sperm outside the womb in a medical setting. While IVF may appear to be a solution for those struggling to conceive, its ethical and medical downsides make it far from an effective treatment plan.
As a physician specializing in precision medicine, my patients are overjoyed when they learn that comprehensive fertility treatment without the use of artificial reproductive technologies is within reach.
Many patients are unaware that IVF comes with many negative side effects that endanger both mothers and children. In fact, children born through IVF face a higher incidence of health challenges, including premature birth, congenital birth defects, and leukemia. Mothers who choose IVF are also at risk for severe life-threatening complications, such as ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, a condition where the body reacts to excess hormones involved in IVF and can lead to serious illness and death. Because IVF is still a relatively new medical technology, additional long-term side effects on mothers and children are yet unknown.
On top of its medical risks, IVF poses significant bioethical concerns. By design, IVF brings several embryos into existence but only the ones with the best chance of growing to term are implanted in the mother’s womb. Although parents can donate unused embryos to other parents, oftentimes the remainder of the embryos are discarded in the process or used for experimentation. In fact, some research found more than 90% of embryos created through IVF perish. So many innocent lives are wasted to justify IVF’s low success rate: less than 25% of women under 35 “who undergo a cycle of IVF” will “experience a live birth.” For those over 35, the rate decreases exponentially with age.
In many cases, fertility clinics give couples false hope while extracting more than $10,000 for each IVF round, putting women through a daunting, and at times debilitating process – not to mention the ethical concerns.
To be clear, the dignity and worth of children brought into the world through IVF is absolutely equal to those conceived naturally. Their lives are precious and have inherent value - but so do the lives of the countless children lost to IVF technology. There is a better path forward for couples, for women, and for their children.
Patients who come to me in pain and hopelessness are relieved to learn that they do not have to face the medical risks and ethical concerns that come with IVF or have the root causes of their problems overlooked by the IVF industry. Many achieve natural pregnancy when these root causes of infertility are addressed, such as hormonal imbalances, nutrient deficiencies and severe chronic disease.
Christina Jacobeen, a young wife who struggled with infertility for eight years, was finally able to conceive – not because of IVF – but because of a personalized, comprehensive, and life affirming strategy that revealed she was suffering from Lyme disease.
Although traditional health insurance rarely covers them, there are a wide range of holistic, life-affirming alternatives to IVF available to support couples’ health and honor human life. My health sharing ministry recognizes the value of these alternatives and shares into them because they are effective and help our members facing fertility struggles without the ethical issues or medical problems of IVF.
Natural Procreative Technology (NaPro Technology), for example, offers families fertility treatment that works in harmony with the body’s natural processes instead of circumventing them as IVF does. Couples can achieve pregnancy through hormonal therapy, cycle monitoring, and/or targeted surgical interventions addressing the underlying cause or causes of infertility. This path upholds the sanctity of life and the dignity of every human person, starting from conception, while providing safe, individualized treatment focused on long-term health of mother, father and child.
Like NaPro, Regenerative Ovarian Injections using Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) can also offer hope to families. PRP is a non-invasive way to use the patient’s platelets from their own blood to treat their ovaries to improve ovulation. This new procedure is showing promise with female reproduction and endocrine dysfunction, especially among women suffering from premature ovarian insufficiency (when the ovaries stop ovulating early) and/or PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome).
With deep compassion and optimism, I encourage all couples to seek out medical providers committed to finding integrated solutions to every health problem, including infertility. When families have access to a personalized, comprehensive, and life-affirming strategy for their fertility struggles, the results can be transformative.
Dr. John Oertle, Chief Medical Officer of Solidarity HealthShare, is an expert in precision genomic medicine.
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