In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
If you are considering having your infertility medically treated, then you have likely heard about In Vitro Fertilization, or IVF. First honed in England in the 1970s, IVF is now the primary option for infertile couples around the globe – accounting for some 95% of all assisted reproductive technologies. But just what is IVF and how is it performed? Learn more about this popular fertility treatment and decide if IVF is the right way to help you achieve your family desires.
IVF Procedure
In order to begin an IVF treatment, you will need to take many hormone shots in order to produce a large number of eggs for harvesting. Before performing IVF, you doctor will most likely have you take an ultrasound so that she can properly assess the development of your eggs. Usually, you will already have started taking fertility drugs to improve the success rate of the procedure. When the eggs are ready your doctor will remove them for artificial insemination. Your partner or your sperm donor will need to produce a sperm sample at this time. All viable eggs will then be combined with the sperm in the hopes that the sperm will fertilize the eggs and create embryos. If you end up with more than one embryo you will need to discuss with your doctor how many of these embryos should be implanted into your uterus and what to do with any leftover embryos. You then wait to see if any of the embryos implant in your uterus--thus making you pregnant.
To learn more, you may want to find out about the different stages involved in the IVF procedure, such as egg retrieval, sperm collection and transfer of the embryo. For this last phase of the procedure, you may have the option of having the standard 3-day transfer or the increasingly popular blastocyst transfer, so you’ll want to inform yourself about the advantages and disadvantages to each.
IVF Advice And Information
And before you choose to have IVF, you should find out about the possible risks involved with IVF, like OHSS, as well as research the alternative therapies that may be available. Check out our articles on IVF advice and how stress can affect IVF in order to increase your IVF success rate. Also learn about the possibilities of having a multiple pregnancy with IVF and about ICSI, an IVF procedure geared towards couples with male infertility problems. In an ICSI procedure the sperm is directly inserted into the egg---making this a great treatment for men who have sperm motility problems.
Get all of the information you need about IVF right here. The more you know about this, or any procedure you may undergo, the less scary the treatment will be. Find out all of the facts about IVF and decide if this is the right fertility treatment for you.
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