IVF Treatment
Infertility is one of the growing issues around the world, and it is caused by a variety of factors. Around 8%–10% of couples are struggling with various infertility problems all over the world. Nearly 60–80 million couples around the are diagnosed with infertility every year, and out of them, 15 and 20 million couples are in India alone.
Over the years, medical science has progressed tremendously and has found solutions to many infertility problems. IVF (In Vitro Fertilization), an ART (assisted reproductive technique) procedure, is among the advanced fertility treatment options that have proven successful for many people in recent years.
What IVF Procedure?
IVF is the most successful infertility treatment that has given hope to couples who have difficulty conceiving. An IVF procedure involves fertilization that takes place outside the mother’s womb, in a test tube. This procedure is suggested when a couple does not have a chance of becoming pregnant naturally or for a surrogacy procedure.
The whole process involves different steps, from stimulating the ovulation process artificially to collecting eggs and fertilizing the eggs with their partner sperm in a laboratory using medical techniques to implanting the embryo into the uterus after observing for three or five days. Once the embryo is attached to the uterine wall, the pregnancy process follows the natural process.
The Step by Step Process of IVF
Fertility Specialist consultation: Consultation is vital for any fertility treatment, including IVF. This is because, during your consultation, the doctor will analyze your medical history performs necessary scans and investigations to decide whether to proceed with IVF and, if so, when. At this consultation, you will also get to know about the doctor and their experience as a fertility expert, which is vital for favourable results in the end.
Treatment beginning and monitoring: Patients should report on the second day of menstruation. A basic blood test is performed, and scans are taken. When the results are out, hormone injections are given around 8-12 days until the follicles mature. It is a painless procedure and has to be taken every day at a specific time. In the next 8-10 days, you may need to visit for scans nearly every alternate day.
Trigger injection: As soon as your follicles have reached the ideal number and size, your eggs will be collected. You will be injected with an hCG trigger at night or in the evening, and after 36 hours, your eggs will be collected in a daycare surgery procedure.
Egg collection (OPU) : Collecting eggs from the ovary is a simple process. This procedure is carried out in an operation theatre under anaesthesia by using a small needle under the guidance of an ultrasound. It may take around 20-30 mins. You should take the day off at work, even though this is a short procedure. No stitches or cuts are involved in this procedure.
Fertilization in the lab: It is necessary to incubate eggs recovered in culture media.
On the same day of egg pickup, the male partner’s semen sample is also taken. Then, the eggs can be fertilized by different methods, i.e., IVF or ICSI.
Embryo transfer: After the fertilization, a healthy embryo is picked and transferred into the uterus under ultrasound guidance. Anaesthesia may not be used in this procedure because it is painless. Three to four healthy embryos are usually placed in the uterus for a better success rate, and the rest are frozen for later use. It depends on the condition of the patient’s endometrium whether the embryo transfer takes place during the same cycle or in the following cycle.
Embryo freezing: If it is not possible to do the fresh embryo transfer or after the transfer, if any embryos are remaining, they will be sent for freezing in the lab. Freezing does not affect embryos in any way.
Pregnancy Test: After the embryo is transferred, it will attach to the uterus lining, and after two weeks from the transfer, you can have a pregnancy test to confirm you are pregnant.
Once the IVF procedure is finished, you can go home. After embryo transfer, you should take bed rest for a minimum of 24-hours.
Dr Mounika Reddy, Gynecologist and Fertility Expert at IRA Fertility Clinic in Hyderabad, says that IVF success rate is dependent on a number of factors. 40% to 45% of women below 35 years can successfully conceive with IVF. But only a 15% success rate is observed in women over 42 years. The results of this IVF process are highly promising. If you can conceive in the first IVF attempt, the procedure is cost-effective.
