By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) – A new calculator can help couples see their odds of success with in vitro fertilization (IVF) before they start treatment, a recent study suggests. Doctors have traditionally been reluctant to estimate couples’ chances of having a baby before they complete at least one cycle of IVF, allowing clinicians to assess the quality of the eggs, sperm and embryos in addition to individual characteristics such as age, weight and medical conditions. With the new pre-treatment calculator, however, women can get an estimate of their chances before that first cycle of IVF and it can be adjusted based on what doctors discover after that cycle is completed, said lead study author Dr. David McLernon of the University of Aberdeen in the U.K. “I don’t think women would want to undergo their first cycle of IVF just to determine their chances in future cycles – I think their aim would be to have a baby in that first attempt,” McLernon said by email.