ivf process step by step

IVF is physically and emotionally a very challenging process for couples who are trying for a baby. But when you look at the unbelievably beautiful little child in your arms, it makes everything worth the while and much more!

In vitro fertilization is a highly advanced and fairly successful medical technique performed to help a woman become pregnant.

It effectively eliminates most hindrances that are responsible for infertility, such as age factors, endometriosis, fallopian tube blockage, and many others.

The Process

An Assisted Reproductive Technique or  ART, IVF involves the retrieval of a woman’s egg and a man’s sperm and joining them outside the body, in a laboratory.

Needless to say, both are kept in a medium and atmosphere similar to that of a human uterus. The sperm enters the egg and an embryo is formed by fertilization.

The embryo is a single cell capable of developing into a full-grown baby after attaching to the uterine wall. Next, the IVF specialists do the embryo transfer, the fertilized cell is implanted in the uterus of the mother-to-be. 

This completes one full cycle. A positive pregnancy test confirms the process as successful.  Eva Hospital and Infertility Centre offer you the best treatment while keeping in mind the cost factor to provide you with the most feasible option within an affordable budget.

The Importance of IVF as an ART 

Since the first birth of the test tube baby(the name given to babies born through IVF) Lewis Brown, the demand for fertility treatments has exploded.

The increasing prevalence of infertility among couples has driven these advancements. In the last four to five decades, extensive research, studies, and experiments have been involved in this field of medicine on a large scale. 

Infertility is spreading its legs into the present society. In medical terms, it is defined as the failure to acquire a clinical pregnancy even after 12 months or more of conventional unprotected sexual intercourse.

A significant percentage of couples nowadays delay childbirth in order to pursue other life goals first. A consequence of such delay is reduced fertility, as largely reflected by examining the rising incidences of failed conception in recent years- 10 to 15 percent of couples. 

It is observed that the most common cause of female infertility is advanced age, mainly via a gradual decline in ovarian reserve with age.

Additional causes of female conception failure are ovulation issues, tubal factors, endometriosis, cervical factors, and unexplained infertility. 

Male factor infertility contributes to 30 percent of total cases. The most prevalent causes are found to be inadequate sperm production, ejaculation dysfunctions, genetic disorders, and lifestyle/ environmental factors too (smoking, alcohol, drugs, and exposure to chemicals or radiation. 

With more and more complex issues being associated with fertility, IVF has gained a lot of importance and popularly with its better technology and infinite options.

Also Read: How can Men Improve their Sperm Morphology and Motility?

Wide Range of Possibilities with IVF

In conception problems when all other methods fail, IVF provides the solution, a hope to raise a child that is genetically your own. 

Egg donation  – Using donor eggs is only possible in the test tube baby option. IUI or ART methods do not give you this choice. Donor eggs help in eliminating genetic diseases, ovulation disorders, or the unavailability of oocytes. 

Surrogacy – When the biological mother is not healthy enough to carry a child to full term, a surrogate mother is implanted with the couple’s embryo. The ‘birth mother ‘ then carries the pregnancy forward and delivers the baby. The biological parents take the baby home.

Having the baby when you want – This amazing artificial reproductive technique gives you an interesting alternative to choosing a suitable time to have your baby. 

If for any reason, you are not ready for pregnancy now, you can do it at a desirable time in the future. It becomes possible by freezing eggs, sperm, or embryos and utilizing them later through IVF.

The reasons could be many. Maybe you are fighting a serious disease and want to preserve your healthy eggs. Other techniques do not give you this control and include a wait and watch period.

Acute Endometriosis – Natural or artificial insemination gets ruled out mostly when the mother has a condition of acute endometriosis. In-vitro or out-of-body fertilization is required in such cases, followed by embryo transfer.

New Developments in IVF

Just as techniques are being referred continuously and doctors are becoming experienced, the success rates are also increasing day by day. The technological developments in this field have been phenomenal during the last four decades, such as 

• Preservation of surplus embryos
• Intracytoplasmic sperm injection or ICSI to tackle sperm abnormalities 
• Preimplantation genetic diagnosis by Chromosomal screening 
• Mitochondrial donation or three-parent IVF
• Preservation of ovarian tissue
• Uterine transplantation
• And many more…..

 There are further modifications possible in creating your dream pregnancy that would not be likely without IVF.