Frequently asked questions

Almost no hormones are given. An injection is usually given to trigger ovulation. If a so-called LH-peak is coincidentally detected at a consultation, the injection can be avoided because ovulation will be triggered naturally. Furthermore, low-dose hormones may be given if necessary to control ovulation to increase the effectiveness of the treatment in individual cases.

This question is difficult to answer, especially as centres in Germany and abroad work differently. Often, parameters or success numbers from couples are mentioned that place a centre in a particularly good light. This also explains the seemingly higher pregnancy rates abroad, as embryo selection preimplantation screening may increase the success rate in the first transfer cycle, but not the woman’s fertility or the overall chance of success after the transfer of all embryos. In other words: they are no different from anyone else. A woman's fertility cannot be improved by any laboratory in the world and every major fertility centre with a large laboratory demonstrates good quality. In Switzerland, the birth rate per cycle in 2015 with 2 embryos was 22% and per transfer 30%.

And now for IVF-Naturelle ®:

The success rate especially depends on the age of the woman, the duration of infertility and to some extent on the cause of infertility.

In an ideal collective of women younger than 34 years of age who have been trying to conceive a child for only 1-2 years, the pregnancy rate per first transfer with an embryo using IVF-Naturelle® treatment was 36.7 % in one of our studies in Bern. A transfer occurs using the treatment protocol developed in Bern in almost 2/3 of all cycles. An average of 1.1 embryos are transferred with a correspondingly low twin rate.

However, if all couples are considered, the pregnancy rate is slightly lower, at around 20-30% per transfer. The birth rate is slightly lower because of possible miscarriages.

Seen from a different angle: 3 cycles = 3 months of simple treatment with an IVF-Naturelle® are just as successful as a complex, traditional IVF with high-dose hormone stimulation and a transfer.

From another point of view: according to our studies, treatment with IVF-Naturelle® takes statistically 1/3 longer than traditional IVF, but costs 1/3 less per pregnancy. Details can be found in the section "Our scientific research" on this website.

In Bern, an average of 1.2 consultations lasting 15 minutes are necessary before follicular puncture. Patients who live further away can have an ultrasound and blood test performed in their own local obstetrician and gynaecologist’s practice and have the results sent by e-mail or fax. The blood test results should be available by the afternoon of the day on which the ultrasound was performed. Consequently, patients who live further away can also be treated in our specialist IVF-Naturelle® centres.

When the technique is perfectly optimised and when very fine instruments are used, the puncture is as or even less painful than a blood test in most cases. According to a survey in Bern, 80% of women said that the puncture was no more unpleasant than the prior blood test. In more than 3,000 cycles performed in Bern, not a single patient stopped treatment because of the puncture. Our ladies can go home or return to work straight after the puncture, which takes only 2 minutes.

According to our patients and a large study, yes.

We conducted a scientific study in Bern together with psychologists in Fribourg, comparing the psychological strain of a traditional IVF therapy cycle with three IVF-Naturelle® therapy cycles. Validated questionnaires were used, which were filled out by the patients at home without the influence of doctors, and were evaluated by independent psychologists.

The study showed a significantly lower psychological strain from the three IVF-Naturelle® cycles with the same pregnancy rates in both groups. Details can be found in the section "Our scientific research" on this website.

In IVF therapy, couples place large parts of what is actually a very intimate and personal reproductive process in the hands of reproductive medicine. This team not only artificially stimulates follicle formation, stimulates ovulation artificially, fertilizes the egg cell in the laboratory and administers hormones during the implantation phase, but also selects which embryo should be transferred in the laboratory and freezes excess embryos which may need to be disposed of later.

It is therefore more than understandable that the couple wishes to avoid many of these artificial processes and to leave as much as possible to nature and the woman’s own body. IVF-Naturelle® eliminates the stimulation of follicle formation, the hormone administration during implantation, embryo selection and freezing and thus possibly the disposal of surplus embryos. Thus, in IVF-Naturelle© many parts of reproduction are left to the couple, without the chance of success being reduced.

In our IVF Naturelle® centres, the decision-making process for IVF is completely turned on its head. Typically, the reproductive medicine specialist will decide if IVF therapy is required and will determine the type of IVF therapy. In our IVF-Naturelle ® centres, however, the choice of IVF therapy is oriented primarily to the wishes of the couples. We apply the principle that applies in all other areas of medicine and, in our view, should also apply to IVF therapy: If different therapies have the same effects, the simplest and most natural treatment should be carried out first. This procedure is illustrated in detail in the section, "IVF-Naturelle® - how it works".

In specialized IVF-Naturelle® centres, a transfer is possible in 60% of the cycles on average, i.e., at least every 2 months. Transfer probability is one of the key factors that differ between specialized and non-specialized centres.

About 10% of women have premature ovulation, the egg cell cannot be collected in ca. 10% of punctures, about 10% of egg cells are immature and approximately 20% cannot be fertilised or do not mature properly. This is about 40% in total. These figures may appear high to some patients; however, they are among the best success rates in the world. These “losses” are significantly higher for traditional IVF treatment, however they are of less consequence because of the number of egg cells. Traditional IVF treatment does not always lead to a transfer.

In Switzerland, preimplantation screening (PIS) is now largely unlimited and is permitted for certain indications in Germany and Austria.

PIS does not increase the success rate of IVF, but it is likely to decrease because of embryo manipulation. Only the pregnancy rate of the first transfer increases because the embryos with the highest pregnancy potential can be selected. Thus, there are less embryo transfers per stimulation and follicular puncture. PIS is expensive and requires hormone stimulation to collect as many eggs as possible.

Using PIS, the woman may become pregnant a little quicker, but not better. There are very few indications for which PIS makes sense: they include women around the age of 40 with a high ovarian reserve. Since time is of the essence at this age, it makes sense to select and, if possible, to transfer only the very best embryos and start the next stimulation as soon as possible, if necessary.

In the case of the IVF-Naturelle®, the aim is to minimize manipulation and selection by the laboratory. The risks of PIS for the children are still unclear, and we prefer to rely on nature’s own selection. PIS does not make any sense with IVF-Naturelle®, as there is usually only one embryo.

Therefore, PIS is not competition for IVF-Naturelle®. PIS cannot usually increase the chances of pregnancy, and IVF-Naturelle© is and remains the technique with a lower strain on the patients.

Success rates depend greatly on the patient`s age and the treatment used.

We have conducted studies to estimate the success rates. Because of these studies, we know which couples IVF-Naturelle® is ideally suited for.

Broadly speaking, the following success rates are to be expected among women under the age of 40:

• Pregnancy rate per transfer: 25 – 30%
• Likelihood of transfer per cycle: 50-60% (a transfer does not take place in every cycle because ovulation occurs too early in ca. 10% of cycles, the egg cell cannot be collected in ca. 10% of punctures, ca. 10% are immature and ca. 10% of the egg cells cannot be fertilised or do not further develop.)
  All these things are natural and happen when you naturally want to become pregnant; in this case, it all happens in secret.

The costs vary from centre to centre. You can find the costs on the individual centres’ websites or request them from the centre.

The costs per treatment cycle are generally lower because expensive gonadotrophins are not used. When the costs per realised pregnancy are calculated, they are an average of 1/3 less than the cost of traditional IVF-treatment.