In conversation with Dr Ila Gupta, Senior IVF Consultant & Clinical Director, Ferticity Fertility Clinics and Athar Anjum, Founder & Director, Ferticity Fertility Clinics
1. Do you think the social demographic of India is still preventing the couples from being vocal about the fertility issues being faced by them?
Dr Ila Gupta
Yes, though there is lack of data available about the treatment seeking behavior of the infertile couples from different areas of India.
Infertility in many regions is still considered as social stigma. Sometimes, these couples experience sense of failure, outcast from the society, lack of equal opportunities in the religious events and the family functions. Lack of awareness, knowledge and availability of medical services also prevent the couples from being vocal about their fertility issues.
2. What is your opinion on social stigma related to women Infertility?
Dr Ila Gupta
Women prime role in our society has been considered to raise the family since decades. In spite of having the same incidence for Male infertility and female infertility, the female infertility is more stigmatized.
Women feel they are treated unfairly, have experienced discrimination and prejudice which adds on to shame and guilt.
3. In your opinion, what can be done to boost women's reproductive health issues in India? How can technological advancements help in this vision?
Dr Ila Gupta
Educating women since childhood regarding reproductive system , menstrual cycles health and hygiene, sex education , prevention of unwanted pregnancies etc is very important to prevent fertility issues later in life and to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality.
There has been so much of technological advancement in last few years. Everything is available online, don’t even have to step out of the house to avail these facilities.
4. How has the pandemic impacted family planning owing to the grim situation? Your suggestions on the same
Dr Ila Gupta
This pandemic has created tremendous havoc all over and has greatly impacted family planning. There is so much of fear and anxiety related to safety of pregnancy in covid times, risk associated , and concern regarding the safety of vaccination during pregnancy.
1. Couples undergoing treatment or planning for pregnancy should remain positive, healthy, calm and emotionally balanced.
2. Follow all safety precautions religiously like wearing mask, social distancing , washing hands frequently, avoid going out unnecessarily,
3. Timely follow up with your Doctor
4. Regular breathing exercises and healthy balanced diet
5. Please elaborate on the pros and cons of IVF treatment.
Dr Ila Gupta
IVF is most commonly used day care procedure throughout world for infertile couples with Advanced age, Poor ovarian reserve Premature ovarian failure PCOD, Severe endometriosis Blocked or damaged fallopian tubes Unexplained infertility Reduced sperm count/motility Many women who want to delay the pregnancy, freeze their eggs for later use through IVF.
Patients suffering from cancer, undergoing chemo and radiotherapy also freeze their eggs/ sperms for later use through IVF. Thousands of patients undergo IVF every year and has been proven safe. Very rarely can have complications like ovarian hyper stimulation, injury to the ovary/surrounding tissues or bowel. Success rate is not 100 percent and affordability can be an issue for some. Other challenges could be chances of multiple pregnancy or bleeding
6. What is the success rate of IVF treatment and how can one increase the chances of conceiving?
Dr Ila Gupta
Success rate of IVF varies from clinic to clinic and ranges from 40 to 60 %. It depends on many factors like experience and expertise of clinician / embryologist, age of couple, causes and duration of infertility, ovarian reserve etc.
One can increase the chances of conceiving by planning at the right time, do not delay the treatment. Adopting healthy life style, regular exercise, healthy balanced diet, stay positive, avoid smoking alcohol and junk food. Follow your doctor advice.
7. Have you seen any new trend emerging in India related to IVF?
Dr Ila Gupta
More and more couples reaching to IVF centres at an advanced age with poor ovarian reserve and poor sperm quality. Many latest techniques have been developed to overcome these issues like pregenetic testing, microfluidics, endometrial receptivity array, Blastocyst transfer, Assisted hatching, intraovarian, intrauterine PRP therapy, freezing of eggs/ sperms/embryos.
8. Do you see the concept of egg freezing gaining popularity in India? Is there any data to support it?
Dr Ila Gupta
Definitely yes, currently there has been rising trend of egg freezing in India. The reason being late marriages, delaying pregnancy, focus on education /job etc.
In our hospital, Ferticity fertility clinics, Delhi - the survival rate of frozen oocytes is reported to be 95%, fertilization rate is 85.3 and pregnancy rate is 68.75%.
9. What disparity do you find in the IVF treatment around the world and in India?? And how Ferticity Fertility Clinics is strategizing to cover those?
Dr Ila Gupta
India has been attracting people from many other countries for medical treatment specially IVF since long. Reason being easy approachability, affordability (much lesser cost), Doctors/ staff available 24x7, No need for prior booking or long waiting time.
Ferticity Fertility Clinics are equipped with all the latest ART techniques with Senior experts having vast experience in all latest techniques of ART, In house 3 experienced embryologists (ESHRE Certified) easily affordable treatment with facility of medical loan (0% interest), providing personal touch with very good success rate.
10. Post getting the NABH accreditation, what are your future plans for Ferticity Fertility Clinics in order to work towards the betterment of women reproductive health?
Athar Anjum
NABH has totally changed the quality of healthcare systems across hospitals, nursing homes, pathology labs and diagnostic centers across globe.
Quality healthcare can peerless patient experience is expected by every individual visiting healthcare facility for treatment. After a rigorous process and continued approach towards quality systems, patient experiences, safety, hygiene, infection control, bio medical waste management, process management, disciplinary and continuous patient care, staff training; we have been able to achieve NABH certification and we are the first Stand-alone NABH Accredited IVF Centre across India.
Ferticity Fertility Clinics has created a niche in department of Women reproductive health in last five years having Infertility specialists on board having combined expertise of more that 40 years in the field of female infertility who have introduced advance techniques in the field of Assisted Reproductive Technology. The On Board doctors are considered pioneers in the field of Female Infertility and keep doing vast research works, we have treated more than 20,000 patients we have given a ray of hope, happiness, and trust to many of our patients and their family members. Infertility is the most common problems through ages and around 15% of couples of reproductive ages suffers infertility issues. At Ferticity, we have formulated an entire programme primarily focusing on Women reproductive health. We have framed specialized female infertility health check-ups to ascertain the root cause behind women’s sexual health. Customized counselling sessions are provided by our experts after taking detailed history from patient and design sessions accordingly, which include counselling, diet planning, exercises, medications, and therapies. Counselling sessions are conducted by our professional Counsellors which include guidance on avoiding things which affect Women fertility Viz, smoking, drug abuse, alcohol, bad eating habits, irregular lifestyle habits and motivate them towards a stress free and happier life. We encourage to follow good eating habits, regular exercises, yoga, and meditation. Exercise and Yoga helps one keeping organs healthy and assists in balancing mood receptors, thereby eliminating body ache resulting from hormonal imbalances observed during sexual maturity. We maintain 100% privacy and confidentiality in patients’ treatment. Ferticity has state-of-the-art IVF Lab, IVF OT, Endoscopy OT loaded with latest equipment’s and an Advance andrology Lab along with the latest equipments available worldwide needed to diagnose female reproductive disorders. Ferticity houses specialised equipment’s and instruments to perform microsurgeries required to treat infertility. Patients are called for regular follow ups to track the progress on their disease & their overall health.
Ferticity aims to provide an ethical, transparent, accessible, acceptable, affordable and high-quality women reproductive health services for achieving a healthy society.
11. What kind of benefits will NABH accreditation provide to Ferticity Fertility clinics?
Athar Anjum
National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers is a constituent board of Quality Council of India (QCI), set up to establish and. NABH standards are in sync with the global benchmarks set by ISQua and thus hospitals accredited by NABH will have international recognition.
NABH is proof that we provide quality healthcare as per international standards and it testimony that we as a hospitals wish to increase overall patient experience. At Ferticity fertility clinics we cater domestic & international patients from different parts of world and
their trust and confidence in patients travelling overseas has developed because of our accreditation. They have the belief that their patient will be well taken care of in terms of treatment, quality, safety, hygiene etc. Not only international patients, our domestic patients have a strong faith that they will get better quality care treatment and comfort. Parallelly, NABH has enhanced our trust, belief and credibility amount our corporate vendors and stakeholders. It has motivated our hospital staff for better performance. They gets to work in best of working environment which provides them huge opportunity for continuous learning and following best quality practices for patient care and brings out best of skills.
NABH Accreditation has helped hospitals get health insurance and third party administrators empanelment’s on board which has brought more access and transparency to medical facilities. Non NABH hospitals lack in many fields viz, manpower planning, infrastructure, quality treatment, hygiene, infection control parameters which are not industry standards. NABH has helped us at Ferticity fertility Clinics in demonstrating a commitment to quality care and has helped us achieve higher productivity and quality of treatments. We have been able to reduce our costs and able to do a better cost management for our patients. Overall market image, patients focus, loyalty and retention has increased. NABH has given a sense of comfort for doctors and surgeons to get associated with hospital, as they are aware that the setup is focused on patient care, safety and is maintaining adequate clinical guidelines and infection control measures.
