更低价更温和的试管婴儿方案

With the number of babies born through in vitro fertilization at an all-time high, some doctors are trying an alternative that potentially could be less expensive and less taxing on a woman's body.
随着试管婴儿的数量创下历史最高纪录，部分医生开始尝试有可能花费更低、对女性身体的损害也较轻的替代方法。

Some fertility clinics are offering a gentler version of IVF that uses fewer, milder drugs and requires less frequent medical visits.
一些妇产医院推出了更温和的试管受孕方案，它采用的药物更少更温和，患者也可减少去看医生的次数。

Success rates aren't well established. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine says pregnancy rates from minimal-stimulation IVF are likely to be lower than with traditional IVF. Indeed, if the milder kind doesn't succeed and women return for additional cycles, the cost can quickly approach or exceed traditional IVF, some doctors say.
不过，该类方案的成功率还不确定。美国生殖医学协会(American Society for Reproductive Medicine，简称“ASRM”)称，微刺激试管受孕方案的妊娠率有可能低于传统方案的妊娠率。有些医生指出，假如温和方案没有成功，患者又重新开始新一轮治疗的话，其费用会很快接近甚或超过传统方案的花费。

For the first time, the organization that publishes clinics' success rates, the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology says it will break out success rates for minimal-stimulation cycles in its 2014 statistics, which will be released in 2016. The odds of successfully having a baby after any form of IVF averaged about 37% per cycle in 2012. The odds vary by factors including a woman's age and the number of eggs retrieved.
各医院试管婴儿成功率的发布机构──美国辅助生殖技术协会(Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology)表示，该机构将在2014年的数据中首次公布微刺激方案的成功率。该数据将于2016年出炉。2012年，在接受任一类型试管受孕治疗后，患者每周期成功生育的平均几率约为37%。成功几率依受孕女性的年龄及取出的卵子数量等因素而有所变化。

Babies conceived using IVF made up 1.5% of all births in 2012, according to the ASRM. Those bundles of joy come at a cost -- an average of $12,400 per IVF cycle not including drugs that can add thousands more. Insurance coverage varies.
ASRM的数据显示，2012年试管婴儿数量占到新生儿总数的1.5%。这些新生命带来的喜悦也是有代价的──每个治疗周期的平均费用为12,400美元，这还不包括可能达数千美元的药费。保险的报销额度各有不同。

In general, the cost of minimal stimulation could be 50% to 60% of the cost of a full stimulation cycle, says Suheil Muasher, a reproductive endocrinologist at the Duke Fertility Center in Durham, N.C.
北卡罗来纳达勒姆(Durham)杜克生育医学中心(Duke Fertility Center)的生殖内分泌科医生苏海勒・马阿谢尔(Suheil Muasher)称，总体而言，微刺激方案的费用可能要比充分刺激治疗周期的费用低50%到 60%。

In conventional IVF, a woman typically is prescribed injectable drugs to stimulate her ovaries to make more eggs than they would without medication. Eggs are harvested, combined with sperm in a laboratory and the embryos later transferred into a woman's uterus in the hopes they'll successfully produce a pregnancy.
在传统的试管婴儿治疗周期中，医生通常会给患者注射药物来刺激她们的卵巢排出比不注射药物要更多的卵子。他们会把卵子采集起来，在实验室中对它们进行受精处理，然后把培育出的胚胎移植入患者的子宫，期望借此让她们成功妊娠。

There is no universal definition for mild or minimal-stimulation IVF. Terminology developed by the International Society for Mild Approaches in Assisted Reproduction defines it as a protocol consisting of milder doses of injectable drugs, oral drugs or a combination of both that aims for the collection of two to seven eggs, based on published research. Conventional IVF aims for more eggs.
温和刺激或微刺激试管受孕方案没有通用的定义。根据已发表的研究，国际辅助生殖温和技术协会(International Society for Mild Approaches in Assisted Reproduction)制订的术语对它的定义是：一种由温和剂量的注射药、口服药或注射药加口服药构成，以采集两至七个卵子为目标的治疗方案。传统试管婴儿方案的卵子采集目标要更高。

The minimal approach requires fewer doctor visits for blood work and ultrasound monitoring. The medication savings from this approach can be between $3,000 and $8,000, says Dr. Muasher. 'It's more patient-friendly, it's less costly and for some patients it has fewer complications,' he says.
如果采用微刺激方案，患者去看医生进行血检或超声波检查的次数会减少。马阿谢尔医生称，采用该方案可节省3,000 至8,000美元的费用。他说：“它更利于患者的身体，费用更低而且对某些患者来说引发的并发症更少。”

Proponents say it is a particularly good option for patients who have a very strong response to fertility drugs and are at high risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, a potentially dangerous complication. Women can be at high risk due to previous IVF history or risk factors like polycystic ovary syndrome or being young with irregular cycles.
其支持者称，对于对促孕药反应非常强烈以及患卵巢过度刺激综合征（一种潜在的危险并发症）风险较高的患者，它是一个特别好的选择。之前有过做试管婴儿的经历、多囊卵巢综合征之类的风险因素或年轻时经期不规律等原因都会让女性面临高风险。

They also say it is an alternative for women, including many older ones, who produce just a few eggs in response to drugs, regardless of the dose. It is also appropriate for women who don't want to be faced with a decision about what to do with embryos they don't use.
他们还表示，它是一个替代方案，适用于无论用于刺激的药物剂量有多大都只排出几个卵子的女性，其中包括年纪较大的女性。它也适合不想面对未使用胚胎处理问题的女性。