I agree with the other issues causing couples to need ICSI being more causal.
I worried about it but my husband is 28...his sperm issues were from being born premature and needing a double orchiopexy. To me, that was not a biological sperm issue (if that makes sense!).
But we'll see. I'm 36 weeks pregnant from our first attempt. I had 5 eggs, 4 fertilized, three made to blast. I also felt if there were damaged goods that our results wouldn't have been good after retrieval (I had a very conservative cycle to avoid OHSS).
I am still worried about autism and other stuff, but I can't do much about it.
Good luck!

We did IVF w/ ICSI for both kids due to DH having practically no sperm. Two of his SAs showed 24 sperm with only one
normal sperm seen. I'm happy to say we have a 3yr old and a 10 month old. We had two cycles before getting pregnant with the first one and were successful on the first try with the second one. I was 36 and 38 when I had the kids. No birth defects. I had a CVS done when pregnant with the second one due to thickened NT found during the first trimester screen but testing showed
nothing out of the ordinary.

IVF with ICSI alum here. For us, IVF with ICSI worked on the first try. I am 25 weeks pregnant and all genetic tests look great so far.
I, too, was concerned about the increased risk of birth defects and talked to my doctor and did a lot of research. As I recall, the statistics bore out that the likelihood of birth defects in ICSI babies was truly only slightly higher than the non-IVF babies born to mothers in the same age bracket.Which made me feel better that the odds of birth defects were essentially the same, were I to get pregnant naturally at my age or were I to utilize IVF with ICSI.

Anonymous wrote:OP here:
So, if there is a problem with the sperm (like motility and morphology, quality, etc) is it a bad idea to then choose one and force it into the egg, rather than letting the process take place in a petri dish? Is it possible that a sperm of low quality is being injected into the egg thereby allowing a process to take place that would not otherwise take place.

15:51, I am glad to hear you have had such success with ICSI. My doctor is almost insisting on it based on our percentage of "normal" sperm.

I think these are questions to ask the clinic- for ICSI - and in your case, how will they select sperm?

We did IVF and ICSI and it worked well for us. We have a boy and a girl now as a result. Our far more significant concern was maternal age, but we had some low sperm count so they were trying to get us the best possible results - and it worked, so onlyh good things to say from my end.

Anonymous wrote:OP here:
So, if there is a problem with the sperm (like motility and morphology, quality, etc) is it a bad idea to then choose one and force it into the egg, rather than letting the process take place in a petri dish? Is it possible that a sperm of low quality is being injected into the egg thereby allowing a process to take place that would not otherwise take place.

15:51, I am glad to hear you have had such success with ICSI. My doctor is almost insisting on it based on our percentage of "normal" sperm.

Yes, I do think this is possible. You would most likely miscarry or not get pregnant of this happened though.

OP here:
So, if there is a problem with the sperm (like motility and morphology, quality, etc) is it a bad idea to then choose one and force it into the egg, rather than letting the process take place in a petri dish? Is it possible that a sperm of low quality is being injected into the egg thereby allowing a process to take place that would not otherwise take place.

15:51, I am glad to hear you have had such success with ICSI. My doctor is almost insisting on it based on our percentage of "normal" sperm.

Anonymous wrote:Hi-
I just found out that it has been highly recommended that we do IVF with ICSI. This was very unexpected news and I am a bit concerned about it. FRom what I have read (and I have not done a ton of research), ICSI can increase birth defects and is possibly linked to autism.

Does anyone have any advice or info regarding ICSI? Has anyone had IVF with ICSI?

Thanks!

While I think your research is accurate there are some things to keep in mind: 1) I think the increase is very slight and 2) the population that does IVF with ICSI is experiencing infertility, which very often is age related. Since there seem to be some links to autism from older parents, then you can assume IVF with ICSI with older parents would show increased autism. Talk to the clinic- I know we got a TON of paperwork from SG which discussed this and the related risks.

I also have worried about ICSI. It is documented to have a higher instance of birth defects and I do not like how the fertility clinics gloss over it. My child has a birth defect and was IVF/ICSI. I really don't think ICSI was the cause, but the truth is that I will never know. All in all, its only cosmetic, can be 'fixed' and if ICSI is what I needed to have a child, then so be it.

Pregnant now with my second and don't know yet if we will have the same issue, but we needed IVF again and tried without ICSI this time. My non-ICSI eggs fertilized but the first ones we transferred did not get me pregnant and I miscarried on the second try. We had done 1/2 with ISCI and 1/2 without and I am now pregnant with an ICSI one. (This is the route I would go and then put back the non-ICSI ones if they fertilize.)

I'm telling you this so that you do consider it, BUT I think I am in the vast minority here, regardless of reason. So, yes, if something comes up with your child, and you use ICSI, you will wonder, but ultimately it will be ok...better than ok if you get your baby!

I don't think it's the ICSI itself that increases the risk of autism and birth defects. It the compromised sperm(motility, morphology, progression) that raises the risks, and is also why the couple needs ICSI. The risks come from the sperm quality, not from the procedure.

OP, a tiny amount has come out regarding ICSI, but it's really impossible to tell if its the actual procedure or if it's just the many underlying issues that could be present with the couples doing ICSI.

Example, is is because of ICSI or because of Advanced Maternal/Paternal age? Or some underlying genetic issue? Can't really tell. At this point, I don't think there's enough evidence to really link ICSI with any issues.

We did ICSI. Success in one cycle. Based on our infertility issues (sperm morphology) we would probably never gotten pregnant with regular IVF.

Good luck.

Went through Shady Grove for infertility treatment at age 39; Decided to do ICSI IVF after two failed IUIs. We had three little blytocasts and one took... little grrl was born a day after my 40th bday. What annoyed me at the time was everyone telling me not to stress but in hindsight... it was good advice.

FWIW we had a little boi conceived naturally when I was 43. ; )

Hang in there.

Hi-
I just found out that it has been highly recommended that we do IVF with ICSI. This was very unexpected news and I am a bit concerned about it. FRom what I have read (and I have not done a ton of research), ICSI can increase birth defects and is possibly linked to autism.

Does anyone have any advice or info regarding ICSI? Has anyone had IVF with ICSI?

Thanks!