The Fertility Doc | IVF & Infertility Specialist Dr. David Kreiner

A Man’s Role In IVF

Posted on 16. Jul, 2010 by Dr. Kreiner in Assisted Reproductive Technologies, Dave Kreiner, MD, IVF, Reproductive Health, Stress Relief, Treating Infertility

A husband’s experience when going through an IVF cycle varies depending in large part on how involved he gets. When a husband participates actively with the IVF process it helps to relieve much of the stress on the wife and on the relationship. The more involved he is the more he will feel more invested in the entire experience and more in control over the outcome.

Many husbands pride themselves in their new found skill with mixing medications and administering injections for their wives. It helps many men who are used to caring for their wives to be in control of administering the medication for them. Successful IVF then becomes something he’s has played a very active role in and related better to the experience, his wife and the resulting baby.

Despite a lack of prior experience, most people can learn to prepare and administer the medication. Whether it is the feeling of “playing doctor” or the knowledge that he is contributing significantly in the process and supporting his wife, most men relate that giving their wives the injections was a positive experience for them and for their relationship.

Along the same line of thinking, accompanying your wife at the time of embryo transfer can be most rewarding. This can be a highly emotional procedure. Your embryo/s is being placed in the womb and at least in that moment many women feel as if they are pregnant. Life may be starting here and it is wonderful to share this moment with your wife. Perhaps you may keep the Petri dish as a keepsake as the “baby’s first crib”. It is an experience a husband and wife are not likely to forget as their first time together as a family. I strongly recommend that men don those scrubs, hats and booties and join their wines and partners as the physician transfers the embryos from the dish into her womb. Nine months later do the same at delivery for memories that last a lifetime.