Lower doses of IVF drugs?

There have been a number of articles about "mild" or "soft" IVF in the last few months, all suggesting that the higher doses of fertility drugs often used in the UK and USA during fertility treatment are potentially hazardous as they can lead to hyperstimulation. One recent piece described OHSS, or ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, as a "little-known" side effect of treatment making it sound as if the condition had only just been discovered.   While it may well be little known to the journalist in question, it is hardly little known to anyone who knows much about infertility and treatment.

What's quite interesting about these articles is that they're all entirely one-sided, only quoting experts who happen to be great advocates of mild IVF and making it sound as if anyone who doesn't do this cannot possibly have their patients' best interests at heart.  Such articles would make far more credible reading if they also allowed space for those who don't use mild IVF to explain why.

While it's true that OHSS can be a very dangerous condition, it is also true that some women are at greater risk than others and that careful monitoring during treatment can reduce the chances of the condition developing.  Generally success rates are lower with mild IVF, which is why fertility specialists choose to stimulate the ovaries to produce more eggs in order to increase the chances of success.  Perhaps in the future we will be able to get excellent outcomes with far lower doses of drugs, but in the meantime it may be more prudent to continue to tailor the dose to the individual to increase the chances of success and reduce the risks.