Am I allowed to smoke cigarettes during treatment?
Smoking increases the hormone doses necessary for ovarian stimulation. Therefore, we recommend stopping smoking before you start fertility treatment. Smoking also reduces the weight of the newborn child.
Can I use semen from open donors?
No. The Danish Law says explicitly, that physicians are only allowed to treat with anonymous donor semen.
Do I have to inject myself during treatment?
Yes, the hormone stimulation substance is given as subcutaneous injections into the abdominal skin. Our nurses will demonstrate for you how to do this. If you feel difficulties in doing it yourself, your partner or a good friend can do it for you.
Do I use all my eggs during hormonal stimulation?
No. Every single day, a certain number of eggs start the maturation process towards ovulation. Normally, only a single egg or follicle continues growing, the others die. By adding a little amount of hormone, more eggs continue growing and mature until ovulation instead of dying due to shortage of follicle stimulating hormone.
Does smoking affect the semen quality?
Yes. It has been shown, that sperm cells from smokers contain more DNA-injuries than sperm cells from non-smokers. Especially men with severely reduced semen quality can improve the chances by stopping or reducing the number of cigarettes.
How many embryos are transferred after IVF?
Transferring more than a single embryo increases your risk of having twins. The risk depends both on the woman’s age and the embryo quality. The Danish National Board of Health has the following recommendations: If the woman is younger than 37 years and she has more than a single embryo of top-quality, it is advisable to replace a single embryo and freeze the others at the first and second replacement. If there are no embryos for freezing, two are often recommended. In women over 40 years we are allowed to replace up to three fresh embryos, depending on the embryo quality.
Is IVF free of charge?
Unfortunately not, even not for Danish citizens covered by the Danish health insurance (Sygesikringen). Only treatments in public hospitals are free.
Is there a risk of having an ectopic pregnancy using IVF?
Yes. One to two percent of all pregnancies after IVF are ectopic, even though the embryos were placed correctly inside the uterus.
Is there an age limit for treatment?
Yes. We are allowed to treat women up to their 46th birthday. However, due to the very poor prognosis for insemination-treatment after 43 years, we do not perform inseminations on women 44 years or older.
Who is allowed to have treatment in Denmark?
According to Danish Law, we are allowed to treat
* heterosexual couples
* lesbian couples
* single women