IVF vs Adoption The 4 Things To Consider

**Collaborative post**

It can be quite frustrating when you have dreamed of having a family for years and then find out that you have circumstances that are preventing you from achieving this dream. Luckily there are a number of options to choose from so that you are able to have that family you crave. 

There is the possibility to find a surrogate, go through IVF, or you could look into adopting a baby and start your very own family. Each of these scenarios carries with it some unique factors that will make it better or worse than the others depending on your circumstances. It’s very important to understand how the process works for each of these options so you are able to commit 100% to whichever one you choose. 

In this article, we will go over the differences between going through the IVF and adoption processes since these are more common than going the surrogacy route. 

IVF vs Adoption The 4 Things To Consider

1 – The costs

Intended parents must be aware of the costs involved in either of these scenarios as they can be quite considerable. In general, the in vitro fertilisation (IVF) process is the more expensive of the two. However, even adoption costs can be more than many people realize. 

In general, an IVF treatment is going to start at around $10,000 for the first cycle of the process. This is not including the medications required and is only one of many cycles necessary to become pregnant. The number of cycles required to get pregnant varies and the factors include things like the mother’s age, health status, and many more. In general three cycles can give you around a 50% success rate, but some people will require more than that. 

In other words, it can cost between $30,000 and $60,000 for the IVF process and you won’t really know how much until you are in the process. 

Adoption costs less but can still cost quite a bit. Between the fees and sometimes even travel expenses, it can cost tens of thousands of dollars to adopt an infant baby. It may cost less if you find a pregnant mother that will sign adoption papers with you but an agency is required so it does still cost a lot. Adopting when fostering children is the cheapest option but there is little choice in the child that will come through the system that you may want to adopt. 

2 – Level of control 

There are various levels of control that intended parents have in either scenario. However, one thing to keep in mind is that even parents who have children the natural way don’t have much control over things. Babies can be born with health issues, you can’t control if you have a boy or girl, and there is no perfect time to have a child. 

That said, IVF does give some semblance of control in the sense that they are able to have children they wouldn’t have been able to have otherwise. There is more control when it comes to adoption, however. Parents can choose what level of special needs or concerns they are willing to accept with a baby. If they don’t have the options they are comfortable with, they can wait.

3 – IVF is invasive

The IVF process is not a straightforward process. There is an invasive nature of it as it is a medical procedure and can be quite uncomfortable, often overseen through an ivf clinic. There are also medications that need to be self-administered by a needle which also has side effects that can see hormones swinging wildly

4 – Adoption gives no genetic relation

For some people, it is very important to pass down their genes to another generation. It could be because they want to pass down the family name and continue their family history or for other motives. 

This is not an option when adopting. For many people, this is not a problem as it is the name and not the genes that are important. In fact, there are others that would rather not pass down family genes for health reasons. If there is a defect prevalent in the DNA of a family then some decide to adopt a child to stop it from being passed down.