In vitro fertilization in women under 35: Counseling should differ by age

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015. Purpose The aim of this study is to evaluate the outcomes of in vitro fertilization (IVF), including cumulative live birth rate, among women \u3c25 years, 25 to \u3c30 years, and 30 to \u3c35 years. Methods A retrospective cohort study of all women 18 to \u3c35 years of age at their first fresh-embryo, non-donor IVF cycle from January 1995 through December 2012 at a single centerwas conducted. A competing-risk regression model was used to estimate the cumulative probability and 95% confidence interval (CI) of the first live birth in up to 6 cycles during the study period with IVF cycle number as the time metric. Results Among 7243 women who underwent 16,792 cycles, there were 163 (2.3%) women \u3c25 years, 1691 (23.3%) women 25 to \u3c30 years, and 5389 (74.4%) women 30 to \u3c35 years. Women \u3c25 years had the lowest cumulative live birth rate after each cycle, followed bywomen 30 to \u3c35 years. In both groups, the cumulative live birth rate after 6 cycles was significantly lower than that of women 25 to \u3c30 years; these rateswere 58%(95%CI 0.51–0.66) amongwomen \u3c25 years, 69% (95%CI 0.67–0.71) among women 25 to \u3c30 years, and 64% (95% CI 0.63–0.65) among women 30 to \u3c35 years. Conclusions Our findings are consistent with other reports of less favorable IVF treatment outcomes in women \u3c25 years of age following their first IVF cycle. This indicates that there are underlying factors in couples with a female \u3c25 years of age that should lead to different treatment counseling when they attempt IVF