‘Low responders’ are women who react poorly to hormone stimulation as part of fertility treatment and who often produce only a few egg cells. The causes of the poor ovarian response are often difficult to pinpoint.

A possible reason could be the woman’s age. Women over the age of 38 have significantly fewer and poorer egg cells than women under the age of 35. There are also numerous other reasons such as immunological or genetic causes or defective hormone receptors.

IVF attempts without sufficient pauses between can also lead to poor ovarian response. The reaction of many colleagues is to increase the dose in the next attempt, but: more hormones do not bring about an improvement,

In a scientific study with over 400 ‘low responders’, half the women received 150 units of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) per day, the other half received three times the amount at 450 units per day. While the group with the mild stimulation achieved a pregnancy rate of 12.8 per cent, it was 13.6 per cent in the group of women with the higher stimulation!
Stimulation with a lower dose of hormones is gentler on the woman’s body and saves a lot of money. In the case of low responders, mild stimulation in the antagonist protocol is at least as useful and effective as high-dose hormone administration with up to 450 units of FSH. An IVF Naturelle – i.e. IVF without hormonal stimulation of the ovaries - should also be considered in such situations.

Freezing and ‘collecting’ the embryos could also have a positive effect. Due to the often very tense financial situation of many couples who want to have children, the lower consumption of medication with milder stimulation is a significant financial relief with the same high pregnancy rate.