The Managing Director of Nordica Fertility Centre, Dr Abayomi Ajayi, has warned that poor understanding of In-vitro Fertilisation, IVF, and unhealthy lifestyle choices could contribute to failed treatment cycles, urging couples to take greater responsibility for factors within their control.
Ajayi spoke in Abuja on Saturday, during an Open Forum on Failed IVF Cycle, organised by a nongovernmental organization, Fertility Awareness Advocacy Initiative, FAAI, in collaboration with the Nordica Fertility Centre.
He said many patients approach IVF with the expectation that it should work like conventional medical treatment, without adequately understanding the process, possible causes of failure and the role of lifestyle in treatment outcomes.
“The knowledge of how IVF works and what makes it fail is still very low amongst our people. They just come with this mindset as if you have malaria. When you get to the hospital, you have malaria, you just say, doctor, do your work. But IVF is not like that. You need to understand what the doctor is doing so that you will be able to follow,” he said.
According to him, lifestyle remains a critical factor in fertility treatment, noting that patients themselves are often best placed to provide information about habits that could affect their chances of success.
Ajayi specifically warned against the use of marijuana, cigarettes and shisha by couples undergoing IVF, saying such habits could adversely affect treatment outcomes.
“We see many patients, the husband is smoking marijuana, the wife is smoking marijuana and they want to do IVF. It’s not likely to work. Even cigarettes. Some are doing shisha. They say, ‘No, I only take shisha,’ and shisha is worse than cigarettes,” he said.
He explained that the forum was designed to give patients an opportunity to ask questions and understand IVF outside the pressure of a conventional consulting room, where important information could easily be missed.
“It is only when you know how it works that you can know why it has failed,” Ajayi said, adding that the forum allowed patients to hear questions raised by others that they might not have had the opportunity to ask during individual consultations.
On IVF success rates, Ajayi cautioned against making broad comparisons between fertility centres without considering the age profile of patients treated.
“Success is dependent on age. So if a clinic is treating a 34-year-old, another one is treating a 40-year-old and you are asking success rate, it’s a difficult thing. What we can ask is the success rate by age range,” he said.
He added that Nordica’s results by age range were meeting international standards, noting that the centre undergoes external audits and maintains ISO certification as part of measures to assure patients of the quality of its services.
Ajayi disclosed that investigations following a failed IVF cycle could reveal factors that were not apparent before treatment, particularly issues relating to male fertility.
“There is no hard and fast rule because each case, when you have gone through a cycle, gives you more information than before,” he said.
According to him, Nordica now conducts a DNA fragmentation index test after every failed cycle to identify possible abnormalities in sperm quality that may not be detected through conventional sperm analysis.
“Sometimes the sperm appears okay, but when you do the DNA fragmentation index, you see that the sperm actually is the problem because the DFI is very high,” he said.
Ajayi noted that such findings could also prompt doctors to investigate patients’ occupations and environmental exposures, which might otherwise be overlooked.
He said the centre’s approach was to individualise treatment rather than treat patients merely as case files.
“Each person is individualised when you come into Nordica. We don’t see you as a case note. We look at what are your needs. Two people can come in and they have different things to do,” he said.
On the use of new technology in fertility treatment, Ajayi said education was key to changing public perceptions, noting that medical technology could sometimes advance faster than regulation.
He cited Nordica’s experience with high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment for fibroids, saying the centre had treated about 1,000 patients.
He said the milestone would be formally marked in Lagos on October 3, offering an opportunity for members of the public to learn more about the treatment and hear from patients who had undergone it.
Also speaking, Vice President of FAAI, Mrs Vivian Patrick, said emotional and peer support was crucial for people undergoing fertility treatment, describing the experience as a difficult journey that patients should not have to face alone.
Patrick, who disclosed that she waited five years before having her child through IVF, said FAAI brings together people who have successfully undergone fertility treatment and families still waiting, to provide encouragement, counselling and practical support.
She said the initiative, founded in 2013, also seeks to educate the public about assisted reproductive treatment and challenge myths and misconceptions surrounding infertility and IVF in Nigeria.
Patrick urged people who have undergone successful fertility treatment not to conceal their experiences, saying sharing their stories could give hope and useful information to others still on the journey.
“We need someone to hold hands. And that’s why we have come up with this initiative where we can hold each other’s hand. We can support, we can ask questions, we can hear each other’s testimony and stories,” she said.
On his part, a clinical psychologist, Mr Pilot Gbolahan, urged fertility-care providers to communicate unsuccessful treatment outcomes with empathy and emotional sensitivity.
Gbolahan warned that such results can be deeply distressing for patients who have invested heavily in the treatment process, adding that fertility treatment was generally an emotional experience, making the manner in which healthcare providers communicate treatment outcomes particularly important to the psychological wellbeing of patients.
According to him, healthcare providers should ensure that fertility-treatment results, particularly unsuccessful outcomes, are communicated in an emotionally safe and validating manner.
“It’s usually recommended that this communication is done in an empathetic way with a lot of understanding and also with validation of the client’s emotional state because we know that the emotional investment is a lot,” he said.
Gbolahan also called for greater public awareness of fertility challenges, noting that the issue remained heavily stigmatised in African societies, where affected individuals may be reluctant to openly discuss their experiences.
The psychologist said fertility education should extend beyond people currently undergoing treatment to unmarried individuals and the wider society, as greater awareness could help people understand their reproductive health and make informed decisions.
He also cautioned against relying on unverified remedies, particularly when dealing with male fertility concerns, noting that assumptions about sexual performance do not necessarily indicate reproductive health.
The highlight of the event was the offer of free In-vitro Fertilisation, IVF, circle to two couples, who were selected through a raffle draw.
