Couples urged to give natural conception a chance

Couples have been encouraged by fertility experts to give natural conception more of a chance when trying for a baby.

The advice comes after recent research from the Institute of Child Health suggests that a new technology to do with IVF possibly affects the fertility of the next generation.

ICSI, known as Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection is when a single sperm from the male is injected directly into the egg.

During ICSI treatment process, a number of the steps for selecting healthy sperm that are essential elements of natural conception are bypassed, including the ‘weeding out’ of unhealthy sperm and preventing them from reaching fertilisation.

Allan Pacey, a senior expert in male infertility and spokesman for the British Fertility Society, has urged that ICSI should be carried out “only when absolutely necessary”.

The study demonstrates that a common trait associated with infertility in males, where they possess a relatively short ring finger compared to the index finger, is frequently the problem in boys conceived using the ICSI method rather than natural conception.

According to fertility expert Dr. Oriane Chausiaux the trait is less common in natural conception, because, she says: “Mother Nature ensures that conditions are such that weak, deformed or otherwise unfit sperm are selected out before they ever meet the egg.” Therefore, even if a male has a high level of damaged sperm, only the healthy ones are allowed through and genetic errors are halted before they are passed onto the younger generation.

Dr. Chausiaux suggests knowing when you are ovulating is the key to natural conception. She said: “This is particularly important for those who are clinically known as subfertile, who can conceive naturally, but whom the probability each month is reduced because of any of a range of factors.”