ABSTRACT
The most difcult part of fertility therapy is knowing when to stop. If there is an absolute cause of infertility, for example, premature ovarian failure, when there is no possibility of becoming pregnant without treatment, stopping treatment is nal. If, in contrast, there are intermediate factors such as severe oligozoospermia, partial tubal damage or unexplained infertility, it is more difcult to stop treatment. There are two main reasons: rst, one can never be certain that the next cycle of treatment will not be the one in which a pregnancy occurs; and second, there is always a chance of a spontaneous conception, albeit usually extremely slim by the time the couple has reached this stage. Of course, we are generally referring to in vitro fertilisation (IVF) here as the couple is likely to have spent many years going through investigations, simple treatments and then assisted conception. Some couples, however, do not wish to pursue high-tech assisted conception therapies and stop treatment at the point that IVF is advised. Others may discontinue treatment because of the psychological stress, even if funding is still available to carry on [1].
