Connect yourself with top-tier IVF professionals across Asia and pursue your journey towards parenthood under a wealth of experience and top-class facilities. Additionally, Medi managers help you find the best fertility centers where fertility professionals are dedicated to turning your dream of becoming a parent into reality by providing personalized IVF services tailored according to your needs.
What is IVF?
In Vitro, Fertilisation is the most well-known type of assisted reproductive technology and consists of a series of complex procedures. Moreover, doctors widely use it as a treatment for infertility for couples who face difficulty in achieving pregnancy. During this process, doctors fertilize mature female eggs and male sperm in a test tube in the laboratory.
Conditions Leading to IVF
Doctors broadly use the in vitro fertilization technique for treating infertility and genetic disorders. However, some of the many conditions under which a person can benefit are given below:
Ovulation disorders Fallopian tube blockage and damage Uterine fibroids Unexplained infertility Tubal ligation Endometriosis Genetic disorder Issues with sperms
Stages of IVF technique
The number of steps in the process varies from one fertility center to another, but usually, this procedure involves the following steps:
Ovulation Induction
The process begins with the suppression of the natural menstrual cycle using hormone therapy. Moreover, doctors give follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) to the woman after suppressing the natural menstrual cycle to produce multiple eggs per menstrual cycle.
HCG Injection
Before collecting eggs from the female body, doctors inject human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) hormones daily to avoid premature ovulation. Furthermore, doctors also perform ultrasound imaging and blood tests to check the process.
Egg Retrieval
Once eggs are mature enough, they are extracted by passing a needle through the vaginal wall in a minor surgical procedure called egg retrieval.
Sperm Collection
On the day of egg collection, doctors also collect sperm by taking a semen sample from the male partner.
Fertilization of Eggs
Sperms fertilize the retrieved eggs by mixing them in a petri dish in the laboratory. Furthermore, doctors directly place each sperm into eggs in many cases using the intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) technique.
Embryo Transfer
In this step, doctors plant the fertilized egg, now transformed into an embryo, into the female womb under ultrasound guidance. Furthermore, doctors prepare the female womb for successful embryo conception by administering progesterone hormone before implantation.
Pregnancy Test
Doctors usually advise conducting a pregnancy test two weeks after embryo transfer to check whether the implantation of the embryo was successful or not.
Yet, during the period between embryo transfer and pregnancy test, women continue taking progesterone hormones to improve the uterine lining.
Side Effects Associated With IVF
Even though IVF can turn your dream of becoming a parent into reality, it also raises the risk of several short-term as well as long-term health problems. Given below are some of the potential risks associated with IVF:
Ovarian Hyperstimulation syndrome Ectopic pregnancy bloating Miscarriage Breast tenderness headaches Birth defects Infection Bruising from shots cramping Premature delivery low birth weight Cancer
Yes, after discussing all the associated risks and complications with your fertility professional, you can ask for twin babies. However, 60% of premature births linked with IVF are associated with twin deliveries.
Yes, you can choose the genetic sex of the baby with IVF. Furthermore, preimplantation genetic screening and diagnosis tests allow identification and selection of the gender of an embryo in the early stages of development.