IVF works where other infertility treatments fail. In some cases, patients move through a range of fertility treatments before arriving at the IVF “station”: fertility medications, intrauterine insemination, and so on. However, there are certain infertility diagnoses that will cause your doctor to recommend IVF from the get-go so you don’t waste your time and money on fertility treatments that are less likely to work. These include infertility diagnoses such as blocked fallopian tubes, severe male infertility factor, reduced ovarian reserves and/or advanced maternal age (typically any woman over the age of 38).