Conception is a natural event that is largely independent of human control. In normal, healthy couples practicing unprotected intercourse, the probability of conception is only 20% to 25% per cycle. The majority of embryos created from fertilized eggs (whether or not they result from an IVF procedure) do not become babies. Most probably, this is nature's way of preventing abnormal offspring in cases where there is an imperfection in the embryo.

The probability of having a successful pregnancy during any given IVF cycle is approximately 18%, with a take home baby rate of approximately 14%. These rates, which are not so very different from those which occur during natural cycles, vary throughout different parts of the country and through different parts of the year. There is no real explanation for these variations, nor is it possible to predict which cycles will result in a pregnancy.

It is our philosophy at AFS to attempt to maximize the number of eggs produced and fertilized for each cycle and to facilitate patient participation in a sufficiet number of IVF cycles to optimize the probability of a successful outcome.