Why do IVF patients drop out of treatment ?

There's no question IVF treatment can be stressful. Patients who do not learn how to cope with this stress often end up dropping out of IVF treatment when one cycle fails, thus reducing their chances of ever having a baby !

One of the biggest problems IVF doctors face is the fact that patients will often drop out of IVF treatment, when they fail their first or second cycle. This is a tragedy because the fact is that repeating the IVF cycle is often their best chance of success . It's disappointing that no one has researched what makes women who continue doing IVF treatment even after a failure different from women who choose to drop out.

Some answers will be fairly obvious . For example , one of them would be financial reasons because there are lots of patient who simply couldn't afford to do a second or third IVF treatment cycle. Others may have had a terrible experience because the doctor was rude or unkind.

However, I'm sure there are certain psychological differences between women who continue with IVF treatments as compared to those who drop out.

This would be a very interesting area of study for psychologists and for IVF specialists because it would help us to identify women who have the emotional resilience to understand that IVF treatment is a process , which may take time rather than a single shot affair. It would also help us to identify those women who had unrealistic expectations. It would help us to counsel them so that they are better prepared for the possibility of failure . This will stop them from going to pieces in case their first cycle fails. This is an area which is ripe for study, which has been quite neglected so far.

When I posted this on my blog, a very smart patient posted this thoughtful response which is well worth reading. She turned my question on its head by asking - "  Why do some patients like me (6 IVFs, 1 FET !!!) not drop out of treatment? "

Here were her reasons.

1) Financially stable
2) Spouse and dear ones provide love and support
3) Enough knowledge to understand  the IVF process
4) A strong desire to propagate our genes (a very natural instinct which is out of my control)
5) Belief that I will eventually succeed.  I carried an embryo created via IVF for 8 weeks in my womb (so it can happen again and I will carry my baby to full-term)
7)There is no scientific reason found for not conceving after multiple transfers (so I believe it's just bad luck and
hopefully that's true)
8)I am strong physically and mentally (or multiple IVFs have made me strong !)
9) The thought of not being able to have a baby and not being able to enjoy a pregnancy causes much worse pain than a failed IVF, so I want to try, try and try until I succeed

She adds - These are my psychological strengths as to why I have not given up.

1) I always think of alternatives in order to escape from the pain of an IVF failure. I tell my mind during the 2ww that there is always the next time - or that I can adopt ( Maybe I should just learn to tell my body and mind that this is the last and final attempt and that I must conceive and have a baby in hand !)

2) Until now I have believed in science more than the power of GOD ! Sometimes too much  knowledge is evil :) I am not sure how to make my mind believe in the power of  GOD rather than SCIENCE ( should I? If I start believing in him, will he give me a baby ? ) I believe the embryo implanting or not implanting is just science and GOD has nothing to do with it.