Infertility is a dark, lonely
situation which is hard to experience. It is difficult to live with the
reality which comes with the countless trying, investigations and
failure to conceive even after the various procedures. Medical science
with its increasing advances has created a reproductive assistance to
the infertile couples. In Vitro Fertilization or popularly known as IVF wherein the egg and sperm are fertilized in a laboratory dish and then transferred to the uterus.
Sir Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe are the pioneers of IVF in 1978. Louise Brown is the first test tube baby born by IVF. Infertility can be due to both male and female factors which needs to be assessed carefully.
Which are the couples who can go for In Vitro Fertilization?
IVF can be useful in the patients with following conditions:
A couple has to undergo five steps in IVF:
In cases where a woman cannot produce their own eggs, they are taken from egg donors from ART banks
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is the process where the sperm is directly injected into the egg. This is carried out when the chances of fertilization might be low.
A catheter (thin tube) containing the embryos is inserted through the vagina, then cervix and up into the uterus. The woman is awake during this procedure.
When the embryo gets implanted in the uterine lining and grows, woman gets pregnant.
Chances of twins, triplets increase when more than one embryo is transferred into the uterus. Doctors can store the unused extra embryos in frozen form . If first embryo transfer fails , frozen embryos can later be used in next attempt .
What are the benefits of In Vitro Fertilization and why should couples consider IVF?
Even though with many benefits of in vitro fertilization, there are few complications which can occur. Fertility medicines may give rise to abdominal pain, headaches, acidity, mood swings and bloating. Over-response to these medicines in rare circumstances can cause ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome (OHSS ).
Success rate of IVF:
IVF has been noted to have a high success rate over other assisted reproductive technology. However, IVF may not be successful in each and every case.
Risks associated with IVF procedure:
There is a chance of bleeding, rupture of bowel or bladder and infection during egg retrieval step.
IVF carries a risk of multiple pregnancy when many embryos are transferred which in turn may give rise to low birth weight baby and premature delivery.
The major impact of in vitro fertilization on patients is on their finances due to its high cost. Emotionally couples are drained in case of In Vitro Fertilization failure.
Sir Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe are the pioneers of IVF in 1978. Louise Brown is the first test tube baby born by IVF. Infertility can be due to both male and female factors which needs to be assessed carefully.
Which are the couples who can go for In Vitro Fertilization?
IVF can be useful in the patients with following conditions:
- Women with blocked fallopian tubes
- Male having low sperm count or abnormal structure and motility of sperms
- Women with Endometriosis , ovarian failure, and ovulation disorders
- Couples having genetic diseases in which conceiving is difficult
- Unexplained infertility
A couple has to undergo five steps in IVF:
- Stimulation of ovaries for egg production:
- Retrieving of eggs
In cases where a woman cannot produce their own eggs, they are taken from egg donors from ART banks
- Combining and fertilization:
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is the process where the sperm is directly injected into the egg. This is carried out when the chances of fertilization might be low.
- Embryo culture:
- Embryo transfer:
A catheter (thin tube) containing the embryos is inserted through the vagina, then cervix and up into the uterus. The woman is awake during this procedure.
When the embryo gets implanted in the uterine lining and grows, woman gets pregnant.
Chances of twins, triplets increase when more than one embryo is transferred into the uterus. Doctors can store the unused extra embryos in frozen form . If first embryo transfer fails , frozen embryos can later be used in next attempt .
What are the benefits of In Vitro Fertilization and why should couples consider IVF?
- When couples who are trying to conceive are tired with the various failed infertility treatments, IVF techniques offers them their best chances for success. Due to everincreasing developments and new technology in the field of this procedure, IVF success rates are now even better.
- IVF is also used during surrogacy especially for woman who is physically unfit to carry a full-term pregnancy .
- IVF is carried out in couples who have a low ovarian reserve or low or nil sperm count. In such cases donated eggs/sperms are used for IVF and the pregnancy chances increase with donor gametes
- Couples who are much focused on careers can store (cryopreservation) their eggs and sperms to carry out IVF in future.
- IVF decreases the chances of genetic disorders (Down’s syndrome, sickle cell anemia to name a few) due to PGD carried out during the procedure. Hence the possibility of healthy baby increases.
- IVF has reduced the number of abortions which occurs most often due to genetic abnormality.
- PCOS is the most common cause of hormonal imbalance and irregular ovulation in females. IVF has been successful in such cases where the ovulation is facilitated by giving fertility drugs.
- Women aged more than 40 years having low ovarian reserve are the suitable patients for in vitro fertilization.
Even though with many benefits of in vitro fertilization, there are few complications which can occur. Fertility medicines may give rise to abdominal pain, headaches, acidity, mood swings and bloating. Over-response to these medicines in rare circumstances can cause ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome (OHSS ).
Success rate of IVF:
IVF has been noted to have a high success rate over other assisted reproductive technology. However, IVF may not be successful in each and every case.
Risks associated with IVF procedure:
There is a chance of bleeding, rupture of bowel or bladder and infection during egg retrieval step.
IVF carries a risk of multiple pregnancy when many embryos are transferred which in turn may give rise to low birth weight baby and premature delivery.
The major impact of in vitro fertilization on patients is on their finances due to its high cost. Emotionally couples are drained in case of In Vitro Fertilization failure.
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