IVF treatment guide to taking care of mother, baby: Preconception health to emotional support, doctor shares insights

IVF or In-Vitro Fertilisation refers to the process when the eggs are taken out of the body and mixed manually with the sperm in a lab to fertilise the eggs. Then, one or two of the fertilised eggs are planted directly into the uterus for pregnancy. Throughout the process of IVF, the mother’s health, and later after the delivery, the baby’s health is of primary concern. In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Samhitha, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist of Prashanth Hospitals, Chennai, shared how we should be careful to ensure that the mother and the baby’s health are fine.

Preconception health:

Preconception health is extremely important because lifestyle and body habits pose a lot of issues. Obesity and PCOS are directly linked, and there is a risk of azoospermia (absent sperm) in a lot of obese and diabetic male patients. It also has a direct impact on the semen parameters of males and the ovarian reserve of females.

Genetic screening:

Genetic screening is not routinely recommended for all couples undergoing IVF – it is only done in case of recurrent abortion history or a history of a previous anomalous baby.

Emotional support:

Emotional support is the most important need when a couple undergoes IVF, especially for a mother, because it’s a long, tenuous procedure involving a lot of appointments, scans, and procedures under anaesthesia. Sometimes, watching failures after embryo transfer cycles can be very emotionally distressing.

Prenatal care:

Prenatal care is essential for every pregnancy. For IVF, pregnancies require a lot of support in the form of progesterone, other hormones and a healthy lifestyle. Antenatal yoga and physiotherapy are recommended because mobility is of paramount importance.

Follow-up care post-childbirth:

In older adults, issues of diabetes, hypertension, thyroid and cardiac diseases can be seen, which requires follow-up care post-pregnancy and childbirth.