How long does it normally take to become pregnant using in vitro fertilization?

How long does it normally take to become pregnant using in vitro fertilization?

Richard Paulson (Chief, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, USC) gives expert video advice on: How are my eggs collected for in vitro fertilization?; What are the benefits and disadvantages of using my own eggs for in vitro fertilization?; What are the benefits and disadvantages of using frozen eggs for in vitro fertilization? and more...

In vitro fertilization success rates have increased dramatically in the 29 years that this technology has been around. In the early days, I would say all the way up into the mid 1980s, success rates really were less than 2 percent. So it was harder to get pregnant with IVF than it would have been for a normally fertile couple, to get the probability of getting pregnant in any one month. But as time has gone by we can now get statistics stating about 5 percent success rates in young women under the age of 35. So a young couple who decides to go for IVF has about a 50/50 chance of getting pregnant in any one cycle of IVF. When someone asks me how long does it take to get pregnant with IVF, I would say on average about one month. About half the time the process is successful the first time round.