How Many Eggs Does It Take To Get Pregnant?

This is a question that fertility specialists are asked, often by patients with worries about their upcoming IVF cycle:


I know that I'll be using ovulation medication to help my ovaries make more eggs. How many eggs is enough for one IVF cycle?


Sonja Kristiansen, Medical Director of Houston Fertility Center responds:


Healthy ovaries are accustomed to ovulating one egg at a time; in some instances, two, but that doesn't mean both eggs will be fertilized.

IVF is a bit of a numbers game, and it only makes sense that the more egg and sperm cells you can put together in petri dishes, the greater the chances of winding up with several high-quality embryos. Then, of course, how many embryos we transfer to your uterus depends on several variables. But for now, let's stick with the question: how many eggs is enough?

A recent study got a lot of attention for concluding that 15 is the "magic number" when it comes to eggs used in an IVF cycle. The researchers also said that more eggs than that increased the women's odds for OHSS, or ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (essentially, over-worked ovaries that result in symptoms that are uncomfortable at least and require hospitalization at worst.)

It's interesting research, but it's not that useful on a patient-to-patient basis. We don't need each and every woman who's going through IVF to produce 15 eggs in order to achieve a healthy pregnancy and live birth. Ask around a little and you'll find stories of women whose ovaries churned out 20 or more eggs, with no OHSS and no resulting pregnancy. On the other end of things, you can hear plenty of women who produced a handful of eggs, resulting in a handful of embryos, and ending with a baby in their arms.


So while it's handy to have a nice, neat number to aim at, chances are good you won't find me or my colleagues calling off your stimulated cycle because there are only 5 or 10 eggs in there -- not for that reason alone. If there are other factors at play in a cycle -- for some other reason your health is at risk -- cancelling a cycle may be the best thing to do. But never just because your ovaries didn't hit the magic number!

~ Sonja Kristiansen, MD