IVF Treatment during COVID-19

Fertility problems and IVF are stressful enough. Now throw a pandemic like a coronavirus (COVID-19) into the mix, and it is easy for you to get more stressful. 

If you are undergoing fertility treatment, you are probably wondering things like, “should I go forward with my IVF egg retrieval?” “Is this the best time for an embryo transfer?” or “Should I freeze eggs/embryos now before things get worse?”

Do not worry; at a time like this, we thought it is beneficial for us to share our knowledge regarding COVID and IVF with you.

What to do about your IVF Treatment?

The question in your mind right now may be whether you should delay your treatment.

Well, according to Dr.Hirishikesh Pai, a Consultant Gynecologist and IVF specialist, if your reproductive age is not in the high-risk group, there is no need to delay the treatment.

Moreover, Dr.Hirishikesh Pai’s clinic offers telemedicine appointments for the initial or follow-up consultations. This helps to curate a treatment plan for you. Also, to avoid transmissions, the clinic follows all guidelines suggested by the authorities. 

Does Corona Virus Impact your Fertility?

Right now, there is less evidence if coronavirus could affect fertility. However, there is a chance that the infection could cause high fever, which might affect fertility treatment.

A study has suggested that high fever during the IVF cycle or egg freezing may require a higher need for medications. However, there is no evidence showing that COVID-19 fever has an impact on fertility.

Will Corona Virus affect your Pregnancy?

The risk of COVID infection in a pregnant female is the same as a non-pregnant female. Moreover, there is no sufficient evidence suggesting that pregnant women can pass COVID infection to their babies. Coronavirus is also not present in breast milk or amniotic fluid.

So, according to the facts, it is highly unlikely that COVID-19 can affect your pregnancy.

Clinical Changes for IVF Treatment

Dr Hirishikesh Pai’s clinic has undergone the following changes to ensure their patient’s safety during IVF treatment:

• Video consultation: The clinic has introduced digital consultation and counselling to reduce their patient’s visits and clinic footfall.

• Reduce patient exposure: To minimize your exposure, the clinic provides home blood collection. If you have suspected semen problems, your semen collection can happen at home. It is then transported to the laboratory for analysis. The clinic also offers home delivery of medications along with a prescription.

• Staff: Dr Hirishikesh Pai’s clinic staff is on the daily triage questionnaire for COVID-19, which are questions that help to find infection risk. They are also tested with RT PCR test for possible risks of COVID infection. When you visit the clinic, you will meet the staff at reception with a smile and no handshake! The team in the clinic will request you to sanitize your hands and check your temperature.

• Face mask and PPE: In line with government guidelines, the clinic’s staff will be wearing PPE kits during all your procedures. Also, they will request you to wear a face mask while in the clinic as per government advice.

• Sanitizing: The clinic has also installed ultraviolet lights (used during non-working hours). They carry out sterilization to sanitize the air and surfaces.

• COVID screening: You and your partner will receive screening for COVID using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) before starting the treatment. The clinic will repeat this procedure before all your treatment stages, including embryo transfer or ovum pick up. The cycle stops if either partner is detected positive for COVID. If your cycle is cancelled, the clinic provides discounts in the next IVF attempt, to compensate for your cycle cancellation.

All these precautions, followed by Dr.Hirishikesh Pai’s clinic, have resulted in very less transmission rate to his patients.

We understand the past few months have been hard. However, now you can safely achieve the most optimal outcomes with your IVF treatment at Dr.Hirishikesh Pai’s clinic. 

If you have not started your IVF journey till now, get in touch with your IVF specialist and start your treatment today.