Requests for mild or natural cycle IVF treatment
This chapter includes clinical cases, background, evidence-based practical management options, preventive measures and key-point summaries of mild or natural cycle in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. IVF is the major treatment strategy of assisted reproductive technologies for dealing with infertility. Ovarian stimulation protocols aim to generate many oocytes to compensate for the inherent inefficiencies of human reproduction and methodologies in the IVF laboratory. Mild ovarian stimulation protocols use low dose medications to obtain more than one oocyte, but preferably less than 10. The risks of multiple pregnancies and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) are reduced with both mild stimulation and natural cycle; however, natural cycle IVF consistently results in the lowest pregnancy rates of all ovarian stimulation regimens. Mild stimulation protocols for IVF may offer advantages to high responders. Mild stimulation protocols may be suitable for both low responders and high responders, providing a reasonable balance between potential treatment risks and outcomes for some couples.
