Over half the women who became pregnant through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) at SSKM Hospital did not come back for follow-up treatment once they became pregnant, a doctor at the centre said on Sunday.

The doctor said the SSKM centre, one of the few in the public sector in India, helped the women become pregnant through IVF, but it looked like the women and their families preferred pregnancy management near their homes.

Avoiding the cost of travelling to Calcutta multiple times during the pregnancy and expenses on lodging and food could have driven their decision, said Biswanath Ghosh Dastidar, an assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Center of Excellence in Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) at the Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (IPGMER), SSKM Hospital.

“In 2024, 32 women became pregnant after their IVF cycles started at SSKM. But only 10 deliveries took place at SSKM. There were a couple of miscarriages, and one woman’s family signed a bond and took her away. We do not have data about what happened to the rest,” said Ghosh Dastidar, in-charge of the SSKM centre.

“Over half the pregnant women were lost to follow-up. This may indicate difficulties and expenses associated with commuting, food and lodging in Calcutta. But it could also be that they did not feel the need to show up at SSKM because they had access to qualityantenatal care in their home districts.”

He said it took about three weeks from the initiation of the IVF cycle — when injections are given to stimulate the ovaries — for a woman to become pregnant. The woman has to visit the IVF clinic eight to nine times in this three-week period. “It could be that many of them stayed in Calcutta during the entire three-week period,” he said.

In IVF, mature eggs are picked up from the ovaries. The eggs are then fertilised by sperm in a laboratory. Once an embryo, or a fertilised egg, forms, it is placed in the uterus. The baby develops in the uterus.

Ghosh Dastidar presented the data from 2024 at a conference organised by the Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction (ISAR) Bengal Chapter on Saturday. Various aspects of IVF were discussed at the three-day conference. He spoke to Metro later.

“Over 400 doctors attended the conference,” said Sudip Basu, the organising chairperson of the conference.