SEATTLE, April 24 (UPI) -- The best U.S. fertility centers will soon achieve an 80-percent chance of pregnancy for women age 40 and under, a fertility expert says.
Dr. Michael Soules, a physician and senior partner at Seattle Reproductive Medicine, says he has been treating infertile patients from Washington, Montana and Alaska, as long as in vitro fertilization has existed.
The first U.S. baby born via in vitro fertilization was delivered in 1981, when the odds of achieving a pregnancy from in vitro fertilization were roughly 1-in-10. Today the odds are approaching even or better for most women, and the best fertility centers will soon reach an 80-percent chance of pregnancy for women 40 and under, Soules says.
In the past several decades, constant improvement and refining of techniques has led to in vitro fertilization success rates of nearly 60 percent for women age 40 and under.
In contrast, the chance of a highly-fertile couple naturally conceiving through unprotected sex is about 20 percent per month, Soules says.
