IVF or insemination?
Photo: @ihnebilder/Ihne Andersen
Which method gives the best results? And what is the most economical? For the Farmen couple Lene Sleperud and Tonje Frøystad Garvik, there was no doubt. They had made up their mind.
The couple started with a fertility test – really just to check their fertility status. Maybe it would give them an indication of which of them should get pregnant first?
The answers showed that Lene had a slightly elevated FSH level. Egg quality was no longer at its best.
Doctor's recommendation
Both public and private clinics are required by law to recommend the treatment method that is both most gentle and appropriate for the body.
Based on the fertility check, the doctors at Medicus recommended treatment with "in vitro fertilization" (IVF), which means that fertilization occurs outside the body. This gave the couple greater likelihood of success, than with insemination treatment.
Lene and Tonje had read up on the different treatment methods beforehand. They wanted IVF.
IVF versus insemination
– We thought carefully about the options, and decided that we did not want to risk failure with insemination treatment – and then move on to IVF, says Tonje.
Insemination is the most gentle treatment for the body, and is therefore a form of treatment that Medicus often recommends when the fertility examination shows normal test results.
While insemination involves introducing sperm into the uterus with a thin catheter, fertilization with IVF is performed under more controlled conditions. First, the egg is fertilized under a microscope in the laboratory. Then, the fertilized egg is inserted directly into the uterine lining.
Find out more about the different forms of assisted reproduction
Which treatment method is the cheapest?
It is difficult to know in advance which form of assisted fertilization will be worth the money.
Download the financial guide to get an overview of prices and treatment methods
Tonje and Lene had nevertheless made up their minds:
– Of course, we thought about the economy when we considered the pros and cons. But we quickly found out that you really just have to go through two rounds of insemination before matching the price of IVFOf course, the final sum can be high if it takes time to succeed, but it would have been even more expensive for us if we had started with insemination, says Tonje.
No matter what the total would have ended up being, the couple agree that the cost would never have stopped them.
– We would never give up. We would have sold the apartment if that was what it took, says Lene firmly.
Tonje quickly follows:
– Yes, when you want children you are willing to sacrifice a lot to have them.
Photo: @ihnebilder/Ihne Andersen
