Natural-Cycle IVF (NC-IVF) has been proposed as a means of reducing the risk of multiple pregnancies, eliminating the costs and risks associated with fertility drugs, and reducing the stress and time commitment needed for traditional stimulated IVF.

The best candidates for NC-IVF are patients with regular menstrual cycles who are less than 36 years old and have normal ovarian reserve. Patients with tubal-factor infertility or male factor infertility may be good candidates for NC-IVF before resorting to conventional IVF. Older patients, patients with previous stimulated cycle IVF failures, patients with poor ovarian reserve or unexplained infertility all can be considered for NC-IVF, but may experience lower pregnancy rates compared with younger patients with well-defined fertility issues and no previous fertility treatments.

However, NC-IVF has its own set of disadvantages. For example, by not using fertility drugs, unexpected premature “LH surging” or ovulation can occur, leading to cancellation of the planned egg retrieval. Furthermore, because only one egg and one embryo are produced, the chances for pregnancy are less than with conventional IVF when there are more eggs and embryos to choose from.