Fertility Facts Versus Fiction #NIAW
Separating fact versus fiction when it comes to understanding infertility and the many treatment options can be hard. An interview with 43-year-old Kourtney Kardashian about her IVF experience is likely to create a few questions for patients wondering if IVF is right for them. We asked Dr. Gregory Zapantis from New York Reproductive Wellness here in Syosset to comment on Ms. Kardashian’s claims that IVF treatment put her into early menopause.
“After decades of research and millions of IVF treatment cycles in the U.S., there is no evidence that menopause or perimenopause will happen any faster because of fertility treatments. While we understand the frustration that she might be feeling and recognize that gonadotropins and other medications may create side effects, menopause is not one of them,” offered Dr. Zapantis.
It's well known that age, remains the biggest obstacle a woman has when trying to get pregnant or stay pregnant.
According to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, a woman is born with all the eggs (oocytes) that they’ll ever have. Usually, a million or more. But by the time they are in their mid-30's, that number has declined to 50,000 or less and keeps declining with age. A second issue is one of egg quality. By their late 30’s, more than 50% of embryos created from those eggs will likely be genetically imbalanced due to poor egg quality.
“At New York Reproductive Wellness we do an extensive workup on each patient to understand their clinical boundaries – as well as their emotional and physical ones too. We closely monitor our patients during their IVF stimulation cycle to make sure all goes well. If patients have questions, like the one Kourtney has, they should have access to their physician. And if they can’t access their physician, maybe they’re in the wrong place” added Dr. Zapantis.
