General questions

1. How long does it usually take before a woman becomes pregnant in the natural way?

If a woman has regular sexual intercourse, she should become pregnant within 3-6 months.

2. How long should a couple wait until they come for examination to the clinic for assisted reproduction (i.e. IVF clinic)?

It primarily depends on the age of the woman. If the woman is younger than 35 years, it is advisable to consult eventual problems with conceiving after 6 months. If she is older than 35 years, it is advisable to visit a clinic after 3 months of unsuccessful attempts to become pregnant. But it is only about basic tests, i.e. the examination of possible causes of infertility, not the treatment itself. Unfortunately, it appears that an overwhelming percentage of couples undergoing basic examination will need fertility treatment. At the age of 35+, there is also a significant decrease of the quality of eggs of women, thereby increasing the possibility of congenital defects.

3. What is the difference between infertility and sterility?

Infertility or bareness is internationally defined as reduced fertility and is used in the event that a woman does not get pregnant within one year of regular sexual intercourse. After two years, we already talk about sterility.

4. What is the extent of male and female involvement in fertility problems?

The cause of infertility is approximately the same in males and females, and is 40% for each sex. In the remaining 20%, there ​​are unexplained causes or problems of both of the pair.

5. Is it necessary to be married to undergo treatment of assisted reproduction?

No, marriage is not required. According to current legislation, a written request for the treatment with the signature of both partners of a couple formed by a man and a woman is required, even if it is necessary to use donated reproductive cells (oocytes or sperm) in the treatment.

6. A child at the age of 40?

Methods of assisted reproduction can be legally done in women up to the age of 49 years in the Czech Republic. However, pregnancy success rate declines rapidly in women after the age of 35, although the desire for a child persists. You should not hesitate for a long time about the treatment.

7. Do the partners need a medical advice before visiting IVF CUBE clinic?

Medical advice is not required at IVF Cube. You can directly schedule an initial consultation with a doctor, where the pair discuss individual problems with conceiving. Then, basic tests are proposed to help determine the cause and solution to the problem. However, the first step is very often a warning of the gynaecologist about a potential problem, which should be dealt with at the assisted reproduction clinic and medical advice is provided.

8. What basic examination do man and woman undergo?

The basic examination includes sperm count in men and hormonal profile and ultrasound in women. Then both can undergo extra immunological and genetic testing. Another important examination in men can be the test of functional properties of sperm and DNA integrity test.

9. What does a normal sperm count look like?

Normal sperm count is at least 15 million sperm per ml of semen, of which at least 32% move progressively and 4% are normally formed. However, the values ​​of sperm count can change and fluctuate. In the event of abnormal findings, it is necessary to repeat the test after 1-3 months.

10. Can a man undergo preventive sperm examination? How much does the testing cost?

Yes. IVF Cube offers the option of preventive ejaculate examination, the so called sperm analyses. You will pay 50 EUR.

11. How much does the therapy of assisted reproduction cost?

The price of the treatment is different for each pair.  Our clinic provides basic medical procedures associated with individual special medical techniques to help increase treatment success rate. However, we hold the philosophy that the patient should require only such procedures, which he/she really needs and which the doctor recommends as the most appropriate ones. The cost is based on your medical history, i.e. what individual treatment you need. After a detailed analysis of your problems with conceiving, we will suggest treatments, which have a purpose in your case. At the same time, we will inform you about the cost of the treatment. One of our coordinators or a doctor will inform you about different types of treatment and their prices. You can use the contact form for your questions.

12. What are the risks associated with assisted reproduction?

Our experienced doctors try to minimize stress and health problems of female patients. However, there may be occasional complications - as with any medical procedure. A typical complication of hormonal therapy is OHSS, i.e. hyperstimulation associated with increase of ovaries size, ovarian cysts formation, pressure in the lower abdomen, and occasionally also the accumulation of bodily fluid in the abdominal cavity. In rare cases, especially in case of pregnancy, the patient may require a short hospital stay. Hyperstimulation symptoms then regress spontaneously.

13. What method to choose - IUI or IVF?

Less invasive IUI method is surely preferred by every physician. However, basic requirements for this method must be met, i.e. a sufficient quantity of motile sperm with normal morphology must be introduced in the uterus. Fallopian tubes must also be free an ovary must be ovulating. Sperm should be investigated for the presence of antibodies. Even after meeting of all these requirement, IUI success rate is about 10 percent or less. IVF (ICSI), although more invasive than IUI, has a higher chance of success.

14. When to perform ICSI/PICSI or IMSI?

IMSI or PICSI are extra methods for selecting a suitable sperm cell for extra-corporeal fertilization. They are individually recommended e.g. in low levels in sperm count. PICSI is a method that selects an appropriate sperm cell according to its functional properties - it searches for a so called mature sperm. IMSI method selects sperm cells with correct morphology using a very large microscopic magnification. ICSI is a micromanipulation method, which consists of the incorporation of a single sperm cell into the oocyte cytoplasm. This method is recommended for all cycles of in vitro fertilization. It is not always true that the more expensive method is the best one. A doctor from our clinic will recommend the best suitable method based on your investigation.

15. How long to cultivate embryos?

The longer the embryo culture, the more it shows their quality and ability of further development. After two days of culture, embryos have 4 cells and the chance of pregnancy is about 25%. On the third day, the embryos have already 7-10 cells and the chance of pregnancy is about 35-40%. On the fifth and sixth day, blastocysts are formed, which have about 120 to 200 cells, and cell division begins to the cells, which will form the embryo, and the cells, which will form placenta. Only about 30% of embryos reach this stage, but the chance of growth of such embryos in the uterus is about 50-55%. Blastocyst transfer lowers the number of unsuccessful embryo-transfers.

16. What's PGD and what is it for?

PGD is preimplantation genetic diagnosis of embryos. It is a highly specialized technique that identifies chromosomal aberrations or hereditary diseases before embryo transfer into the uterus. It is particularly appropriate in couples who have a high risk of these deviations, genetic defects tied to the child's sex, recurrent miscarriages, history of premature births or miscarriages of a foetus with a chromosomal disorder or couples who have already undergone multiple failed IVF cycles.