Chennai: Storks visit lockdown couples waiting for IVF babies

CHENNAI: Weeks before the lockdown, IT employee Sundar, 32, and wife Rama, 28, (names changed) were quite uncertain about parenthood as fertility experts had advised the couple, which has been trying to have a baby for nearly a year, to give itself some more time. But the nationwide lockdown that upended thousands of lives turned out to a be blessing for them.By end of April, Rama had conceived naturally.
The pair was among a few cases that city doctors have seen in the past 45 days conceiving naturally. The relative drop in stress levels due to work-from-home life and spending more time with each other could be reasons, doctors said.
“We have seen about five to six patients in the last two months who have come to us and have had natural conception. Stress is an important factor and working couples hardly meet and spend time. So, during lockdown when you are at home, you have the time and you are assured you’ll get paid, the stress levels come down,” said Dr Priya Selvaraj, fertility specialist.
“These are patients who came to us for preliminary investigation and are idiopathic cases where there are no known factors but infertile or having not much complications, or have been married for three or four years and they could not conceive and have just approached us for checkup. They have done laparoscopy or tube testing with us. We had prescribed ayurvedic tablets, progesterone and an ovulation induction drug and asked them to come back in June for treatment. So, probably if we wait longer, the easy cases may become pregnant on their own. We are also seeing unwanted pregnancies,” she added.
Obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Uma Ram said they usually advise young couples to give themselves more time if they have no complication and have been trying only for a few months. “If the couple is in their mid to late 20s, there is no rush. They can give themselves time.” “But anybody in their mid-30s we certainly won’t tell them to wait for a year. If they are in their early 30s and have been trying for a year, we’ll do basic assessment on hormone levels, ovarian reserve and a sperm count for the husband before deciding based on what the couple wants,” she said. “Couples who approach for fertility treatment conceiving naturally later is possible because they are now at home and have no work shifts. They could spend more time,” Dr Uma Ram said.
However, experts are mostly advising couples to take it easy for the time being and come back for an active treatment for infertility after June to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection in hospitals during the lockdown.
Gynaecologist Dr Jaishree Gajaraj said most fertility treatment have been put on hold for nearly two months now as they are not emergency cases, and avoiding hospital visits could protect patients from contracting the virus.
“We are only seeing emergency cases. Some centres are now doing initial assessment for couples and conducting blood tests, so that fertility treatment can be started in a month or so down the line. But even a simple treatment like prescribing medicines and asking them to come for a scan involves them visiting a scan centre. Even pregnancy appointments have been reduced,” she said.
Dr Vijaya, director, Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (IOG), Egmore, said they have cut the visits of pregnant mothers from every month to just four throughout the pregnancy period to protect them from contracting infection.