Reasons for dropping out from a waiting list for in vitro fertilization

To determine the incidence of couples dropping out of the in vitro fertilization (IVF) waiting list and to describe the couples' reasons.

Prospective cohort study.

Fertility center in an academic hospital.

674 women placed consecutively on the IVF waiting list between June 2000 and July 2003.

None.

Number of dropouts and reasons for dropping out.

Follow-up information was collected in 2005 and 2008. Of the 674 couples on the waiting list, 87% started IVF, and 13% dropped out before starting their first IVF cycle. Follow-up data were obtained for 85 of 86 patients (98.8%): 37% dropped out because of spontaneous pregnancy, 36% for personal reasons (passive censoring), and 27% for medical reasons (active censoring). Most of the pregnancies occurred within 3 months after the patient had been placed on the waiting list (30 of 32, 94%). Of the 54 censored couples, four became pregnant.

On a 6-month waiting list for IVF, 13% of the couples dropped out before starting treatment. The single most important reason for dropout was (spontaneous) pregnancy. Most of these pregnancies occurred within 3 months, which suggests that psychological factors such as stress relief after being placed on the waiting list might be operative.