JEDDAH, 2 August 2007 — A 35-year-old Saudi woman has given birth to a healthy boy weighing 3.3 kg after 10 years of infertility in a local hospital.
Her infertility was due to a very low count and poor motility of her husband’s sperm plus the bilateral block of her fallopian tubes during a previous exploration surgery, according to Professor Mohammad Radwan, head of the IVF Center at Saudi German Hospital.
“The couple were subjected to an IVF treatment, which was successful but it ended with a spontaneous abortion during the fourth month of her pregnancy. So the hospital took recourse to the stored frozen embryos from a previous IVF trial. The embryos were thawed and transferred to her uterus during the time of implantation in a completely natural cycle. The transfer was successful and her pregnancy was normal, which culminated in a cesarean delivery during her ninth month,” said Radwan.
“Treatment of any infertile couple should start by detecting the cause or causes of that problem and whether it involves one or both partners after the full and comprehensive infertility workup. The treatment program is then explained to the couple after counseling and the decided protocol is initiated,” Radwan said.
According to him, 35 percent of infertility cases are due to male factors, while another 35 percent are caused by blocked fallopian tubes, 15 percent because of the absence of ovulation plus five percent due to other causes like coital problems.
