We've been trying to get pregnant for a long time with no luck. I think we're doing everything "right" and I'm worried we have a problem that needs treatment. But friends have told me that IVF and other fertility treatments don't work as well for Latinas as it does for other groups. Is that true? Why would that be the case?
Sonja Kristiansen, Medical Director of Houston Fertility Center responds:
In central Houston, where I've operated a fertility center for more than a decade, my staff and I have made special efforts to reach out to the community around us. Many of HFC's staff are Latinas, and they've heard a lot of myths in their own families about fertility treatment. The other day, I was really glad to hear some positive news coming from a colleague in San Antonio, Dr. Robert Brzyski, that lays to rest one of those myths.
Dr. Brzyski did a study of his clinic's IVF patients and found no difference in success rates between Hispanic and non-Hispanic anglo women who used IVF to get pregnant. He also found that more of the Latinas -- nearly all of whom were Mexican-American -- miscarried, which is a point of concern. But overall rates of success were equal.
There may be differences between ethnic groups in how certain fertility treatments work or not. If significant differences between groups is found, it's possible that the causes are more related to culturally-influenced daily living activities and not genetics. But I've learned from my own diverse patient group that the most important influencing factors are based on the individual, her health, her lifestyle choices (like diet and smoking and exercise), and not on ethnicity, race, culture or any other group demographics.
If you've heard otherwise -- like from friends that IVF doesn't work for Latinas -- then it's very likely they're basing their opinions on a few anecdotes, stories that they've heard through the grapevine themselves, and not on actual research.
~ Sonja Kristiansen, MD