Woman in her 40s Successfully Gives Birth After 26 In Vitro Fertilization Attempts?

"A woman who underwent 26 procedures over 7 years, including at other hospitals, gave birth healthily at Seoul Medical Center Fertility Clinic"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Ms. A, a 43-year-old resident of Jeju Island, finally held the long-awaited child in her arms. However, she had to endure many trials and tribulations before giving birth.

Due to left fallopian tube blockage and ovulation dysfunction, natural pregnancy was difficult for Ms. A. In 2015, she underwent her first in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure at a local hospital. However, the first procedure resulted in a chemical pregnancy, marking the beginning of her more than seven-year-long challenge to become a mother.

Ms. A subsequently underwent six more procedures at the same hospital, all of which failed, and was eventually diagnosed with blockage in her remaining right fallopian tube. In 2017, she moved to Seoul and visited several hospitals, receiving multiple fresh and frozen embryo transfer procedures, but ultimately failed to conceive.

Struggling with prolonged infertility and repeated procedures, Ms. A searched for a new hospital and visited the Seoul Medical Center Fertility Clinic in August 2020 at age 40 to undergo IVF again. After five rounds of egg retrieval and preimplantation genetic testing, she attempted pregnancy through two embryo transfers but suffered miscarriages at 6 and 7 weeks respectively.

Traveling between Seoul and Jeju for infertility treatments, Ms. A succeeded in becoming pregnant with her third embryo transfer in May 2022. However, she faced a miscarriage risk early in pregnancy and was hospitalized at Seoul Medical Center for intensive care. She then secured accommodation near the hospital and continued prenatal check-ups until the fetus stabilized at 12 weeks. Afterward, she returned to Jeju and finally welcomed the long-dreamed child safely in January.

Seoul Medical Center (Director Song Gwan-young) Fertility Clinic announced on the 17th that a woman in her 40s who underwent a total of 26 infertility procedures over the past seven years successfully conceived and gave birth.

Dr. Kim Min-jung, head of the Fertility Clinic who managed Ms. A’s infertility treatments, stated, “We tailored the procedures to a patient case involving repeated implantation failures and miscarriages, leading to a successful pregnancy.” Dr. Kim also noted, “The success rate of the first IVF cycle varies from 15% to 30% depending on age, and the cumulative success rate after 3 to 4 cycles ranges from 25% to 60%. Therefore, many cases, like this one, achieve success even after more than three embryo transfers.”

Since opening in 2019, Seoul Medical Center Fertility Clinic has played a significant role in infertility treatment based on the skilled experience and know-how of medical and research staff from specialized infertility hospitals. It has especially contributed to setting appropriate service standards for infertility procedures in public healthcare institutions. The clinic provides professional and systematic medical services that lead to successful pregnancies and healthy births for couples suffering from long-term infertility, like Ms. A and her husband.

Dr. Kim Min-jung said, “Despite the long infertility treatment process, Ms. A and her husband had a strong will to have a child,” and added, “The important thing is an unyielding spirit.” She urged couples facing infertility not to give up on their dream of becoming parents.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.