Most Have Success within 5 Years of Starting Fertility Treatment

A population-based study involving nearly 20,000 Danish women found that about 7 in 10 became pregnant and gave birth within 5 years of starting fertility treatment. Among the successful, 57 percent became pregnant following treatment and 14 percent conceived spontaneously.¹

Overall results. The Copenhagen researchers looked at live birth rates 2, 3, and 5 years after the first treatment with either intrauterine insemination (IUI) or assisted reproductive technology (ART). Overall live birth rates were 57 percent, 65 percent, and 71 percent, respectively.

ART as first treatment. When ART was the first treatment tried, birth rates after ART were 46.1 percent at 2 years, 51.1 percent at 3 years, and 52.9 percent at 5 years.

IUI as first treatment. When IUI was the first treatment, 34.2 percent delivered after IUI within 2 years. There was no significant increase in birth rates after 3 and 5 years. However, shifting to ART resulted in birth rates of 15.1 percent at 2 years, 21.1 percent at 3 years, and 23.7 percent at 5 years.

Age differences. Birth rates 5 years after beginning of treatment were:

80 percent for women under age 35
26.2 percent for women 40 and older

Presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), these findings may help physicians give couples starting treatment a better sense of what to expect before beginning fertility treatment.