Two years after the first visit to the fertility clinic – more than half of the couples treated left with a child

Background Each infertile couple has its own individual path if treated in public healthcare. Usually treatment starts with ovulation induction or insemination and continues further with a maximum of three in vitro fertilization cycles if necessary.

Methods Infertile couples who visited the Fertility Outpatient Department of Kuopio University Hospital for the first time between 1.8.2015–31.8.2016 were followed up for two years. We analyzed pregnancy outcomes for couples receiving fertility treatment and couples who did not receive medical treatment.

Results A total of 171 couples were included in the study. The baby take-home rate was 50% for all the couples and 56% for couples who received fertility treatment. Forty per cent of the babies were conceived with in vitro fertilization, 5% with insemination, 26% with ovulation induction and 29% spontaneously. One third of the couples did not receive fertility treatment at all and 18% of treated couples dropped out of the treatment.

Conclusions After the end of the 2-year follow-up 50% of the couples had given birth or were pregnant. Every other couple remained childless; 21 couples dropped out of the treatment and 35 couples did not start treatment at all. In two years, only 5% were still childless despite having undergone all the treatment public healthcare offered.