Assisted Hatching (AH)
We strive to provide our patients with a variety of tools to help them maximize their chances of a successful pregnancy. In certain cases, assisted hatching may help.
The most common reason for an IVF cycle to fail is because the embryos don’t implant in the uterus. There may have been something wrong with the embryo, or the embryo could have had difficulty breaking through its outer protein coating. This “hatching” must happen before it can implant into the uterus. AH is a procedure to help an embryo in this process.
Who Should Consider AH?
Assisted Hatching has been suggested for couples if:
- The women is 38 years or older
- The woman has a high FSH level
- The woman has poor egg quality
- They have had poor embryo quality
- They have failed to become pregnant in prior IVF cycles
- They are using frozen-thawed embryos in a frozen embryo transfer cycle
How Successful is AH?
Studies have yet to prove the effectiveness of assisted hatching in producing higher delivery rates. At Fertility Centers of New England, we have noted higher delivery rates using assisted hatching in our FET cycles where embryos were frozen.
Many centers advocating assisted hatching also use immunosuppressive steroids as part of their treatment protocol. Because these medications have many potential detrimental adverse side effects, Fertility Centers of New England does not use them.
