IVF is the process where egg and sperms are fertilized in a laboratory and then fertilized egg or eggs transfer in the women uterus. One cycle of IVF takes around two weeks.
IVF is a form of assisted reproductive technology (ART). This means unique medical techniques are used to help a woman to become pregnant. It is most often tried when other, less expensive fertility techniques have failed.
1. Stimulation:Fertility drugs are given to women to boost egg production. Generally, women produce one egg per month but these fertility drugs tell ovaries to produce several eggs per month. During stimulation process, women will have regular ultrasounds to examine the ovaries and blood tests to check the level of the hormones.
2. Egg Retrieval: Egg retrieval is performed in a surgical suite under intravenous sedation. The women will be given medicines so that she does not feel the pain during the process. Ovarian follicles are aspirated using a needle guided by transvaginal ultrasonography. Follicular fluids are scanned by the embryologist to locate all available eggs. The eggs are placed in a special media and cultured in an incubator until insemination.
3. Fertilization and Insemination:The sperms of man are placed together with the best quality of eggs. The mixing of sperm and eggs are known as insemination. Fertilization is done 16-18 hours after the insemination or ICSI. If the doctor thinks that the chance of fertilization is low, the sperm may be directly injected into the eggs. Low numbers of embryos and poor quality of embryo reduce the chances for good blastocyst development.
4. Embryo Culture: When to fertilize egg divides, it becomes an embryo. A regular check is done by the laboratory to make sure that the embryo growing properly. Within 5 days, a normal embryo has several cells that are actively dividing. If any of the couples has a risk of
passing a genetic disorder to their child they may consider the pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. This procedure can be done after 3- 4 days of fertilization. PGD can help parents to decide which embryos to implant. This decreases the chance of passing a disorder onto a child. The technique is controversial and not offered at all centers.
5. Embryo Transfer:The last step of the IVF treatment is the embryo transfer. Firstly, examined that which is the healthiest embryo and then the same will be transferred to the woman’s uterus. It will do 3-5 days after the egg retrieval and fertilization. This procedure will be conducted at the doctor’s place when a woman is awake. The doctor inserts a thin tube which contains the embryo into the woman’s vagina, through the cervix, and up into the womb. If an embryo implants in the lining of the womb and grows, pregnancy results.
At the same time, more than one embryo can be placed into woman’s womb which results into twins, triplets or more. The exact number of embryos transferred is a complex issue that depends on many factors, especially the woman's age. The unused embryos can be frozen for future use or can be donated to another couple to plan their family.
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