Uninformed Decisions? The Online Presentation of Success and Failure of IVF and Related Methods on German IVF Centre Websites.

Background: Patients increasingly use the internet as a source of medical information before initial contact with doctors and during treatment. This applies to reproductive medicine too, where the internet could offer patients the chance to inform themselves in advance about specific procedures and the treatment centres that offer them. In this way it could potentially contribute to informed patient decision-making. This article analyses the web presence of German fertility treatment centres with respect to the provision of information on success rates, risks and side effects of treatment. Methods: Analysis of published success rates and information on the risks and adverse effects of IVF and related methods on German IVF centre websites. Results: Over half of the 129 centres (62.02 %) state a general success rate or their own institution's success rate. Less than a quarter (24.03 %) states their own institution's pregnancy rate and only 7.75 % their own birth rate. The published success rates are mostly pregnancy rates (pregnancy per embryo transfer), which by definition are higher than baby take-home-rates creating unrealistic expectations. Only 61 centres (47.29 %) mention risks and side effects of the procedures offered, and that in varying detail. Only 7 centres (5.43 %) provide information on the risk of psychological stress associated with unsuccessful fertility treatment. Conclusion: There is insufficient opportunity for women and their partners to inform themselves adequately on the internet in advance of treatment about available treatment methods, their success rates and associated risks/side effects; this applies both to specific facilities as well as to the procedures in general. In contrast to other countries, in Germany there is a lack of discussion on content requirements for fertility treatment facility websites.