IVF-In Vitro Fertilization AND ITS PROCEDURE

IVF or In Vitro Fertilization was first used in the late 1970’s by Dr Robert Edward and Patrick Steptoe who were later crowned the initiators of IVF. Today nearly 5 million plus births are the contribution of this treatment. In Canada itself nearly 2 to 4 % of children are conceived this treatment. Universally considered as the most commonly performed procedure for infertility, and highly effectual way to conceive babies through reproductive technology. In IVF the egg is fertilized outside the women body at the laboratory or a fertilization clinic and after maturing the egg artificially it is implanted back into the women’s uterus.

This procedure is best suited for women who aren’t able to conceive naturally because of infertility either in them or their partner. These couples need to go through this fertility procedure to get pregnant. It is an expensive treatment but has assured results. Every doctor has their own procedures of IVF but the below steps are usually followed- Fist the doctor will get a complete internal body analysis of the man and women then certain drugs or injections are administered for 2 weeks to stop the natural menstrual cycle. After that they will administer a follicle that stimulates the hormones responsible for fertility, this follicle will make the ovary produce more than customary eggs, an ultra sound is done regularly after that to keep an eye on the progress of the eggs.

These eggs are then removed from the women’s body through a minor surgery this surgery is called follicular aspiration, in this process a tiny needle is inserted into the vagina towards the ovary this needle is connected to a suction that will suck the eggs out at one time. For 100 % success of the treatment the doctor will collect at least 15 eggs at a time to increase the chance of successful pregnancy.

After the eggs are collected they are stored in a chamber along with male sperms where they are artificially amalgamated at times if the male sperm is weak the doctors will directly inject the male sperm into the egg for maximum effectiveness. In this I would also like to make clear that frozen sperms are as effective as fresh sperms. The egg that finally fertilizes becomes the embryo which is screened to check for any disorders that can develop due to genetics. After that the embryo is implanted into the women’s body. It is advisable that the doctors inject more than one fertilized embryo in to the women’s womb after consultation with the mother and the father. In most cases IVF can lead to multiple babies and nearly 80% of the cases are known to give birth to twins triplets or even more. The approximate success rate for IVF is given below as normal pregnancies we would always advice to get this treatment also done before 35 for maximum results and effectiveness.

40% for women between 30 to 35.

30 % for women between 35 to 38.

20 % for women between 38 to 42.

10 % for women above 42.