Cumulative pregnancy rate following in-vitro fertilization: the significance of age and infertility aetiology

During the years 1984–1992, 951 couples completed 2252in-vitro fertilization (TVF) treatment cycles at the In-VitroFertilization Unit of The Chaim Sheba Medical Centre. This studywas conducted to evaluate the success of IVF using the cumulativepregnancy rate (CPR), with special emphasis on the optimal numberof treatment cycles, the age of the patients and female infertilityfactors. It was found that the CPR showed a constant rise duringthe six initial IVF treatments (56% CPR), and plateaued in thesubsequent three cycles (63% CPR). Various female infertilityfactors did not influence this rate. Women >40 years of agehave a significantly lower CPR. Thus, it was concluded thatthe CPR in IVF declined after the sixth initial treatment cycle,and in women >40 years of age. The infertility factor didnot significantly influence CPR.