Greg Bales

Natural-Cycle IVF

In 2008, after two years of failing to make a child organically, we learned the doom Kathy had already been feeling for more than a year was justified: I was diagnosed with male-factor infertility. Our only real chance to move forward would be in vitro fertilization. We couldn’t afford it; we couldn’t afford not to do it. One way we tried to work through that diagnosis, our anger, and our options was to start a secret infertility blog, “Less Than a Million.” This post and what comments from 2008 that are attached to it come from that blog.—gb

We have never talked about trying natural-cycle IVF. This literature review (2002) concluded that the process is more cost-effective and patient-friendly even though oocyte retrieval is often delayed by premature LH surges and ovulation. Apparently, doctors in the Netherlands have been recommending it for years. I wonder if our local clinic does it?