Study: Natural IVF Cycles Have Some Significant Disadvantages | Dr. Max Gomez & RMANJ

well, health news now. couples having trouble getting pregnant often turn to ivf. now some women are trying to conceive and they are opting for natural in vitro fertilization. is it better? dr. max gomez has the results of a new study. dr. max?

reporter: that's right, kristine. natural ivf means retrieving an egg from a woman during her normal cycle without the extra stimulation of fertility drugs. but those drugs means that on average a woman produces 12 times as many eggs per cycle improving the pregnancy odds. question is, are the eggs as healthy? meet 6-month-old baby girl davis. a very happy and healthy young lady born to mom laura through ivf. laura turned to ivf after two ectopic pregnancies left her with damaged fallopian tubes. her first attempt was a natural cycle.

Laura: "i was eager to try the natural study to have a child as naturally as possible."

reporter: many women go the natural route of the belief that eggs produced with the aid of fertility drugs are inferior.

Dr. Richard Scott, RMANJ, "they might be more prone to genetic error. they might implant less often, less likely to make a healthy baby."

reporter: but laura only had one egg that failed the natural route. with stimulation --

Laura: "they retrieved 24 eggs. i don't know if that's -- [ laughter ]i know it was over 20."

reporter: to determine if those eggs are healthy, dr. scott the clinical and scientific director of a location did a large study comparing nearly 400 naturally produced egg cycles versus 1800 similar patients. the babies born either way were just as healthy. but natural ivf cycles had some significant disadvantages.

Dr. Richard Scott, RMANJ, "far inferior in terms of delivery rates because you get fewer opportunities in each treatment cycle. that costs more money. it wastes time. it's an enormous psychological burden for the patients."

reporter: and it was a stimulated cycle that gave laura the joy of her life. [ laughter ] i never would have wanted this life without her now that you know what it's like to have her."

reporter: now, it also used to be thought that fertility drugs increased the chance for ovarian cancer. but it turns out it's not getting pregnant that increases that risk. so using drugs to increase your chances of having a healthy baby actually protects you against cancer. laura now has actually a number of frozen embryos in case she wants to try again. all those eggs went to another cause actually.