Aumatma Simmons: How Common Is It for a 1st IVF Cycle to Fail?
Aumatma Simmons, Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer at Madre Fertility, shared on LinkedIn:
”A failed first IVF cycle is treated by many patients as a personal failure.
Statistically, it’s closer to the expected outcome.
Success rates per cycle vary by age: approximately 40-50% under 35, 30-40% at 35-37, 20-30% at 38-40, and 10-20% over 40. Even in the best-case scenario, roughly half of first cycles do not result in a live birth. Requiring multiple cycles is the norm, not the exception.
What matters more than the failure itself is what caused it, and whether that gets investigated before the next attempt.
Commonly overlooked contributors include:
- Sperm DNA fragmentation, not captured in a standard semen analysis
- Undiagnosed thyroid antibodies affecting implantation
- Chronic inflammation affecting egg quality or endometrial receptivity
- Vaginal or uterine microbiome imbalances
- Nutrient deficiencies affecting embryo development
This is the distinction that matters most: patients who go into a second cycle with the same protocol and the same unaddressed unknowns are repeating what didn’t work the first time.
Patients who investigate and address root causes before cycle two, or even before starting their first cycle, enter with meaningfully better odds.
A failed cycle should prompt investigation, not just repetition.”
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