In-vitro fertilization (IVF) is a new age boon to most couples who are not falling into the natural reproductive cycles and need some assistance from the medical sciences to conceive. IVF treatment is an ideal option for a couple who are not able to conceive after multiple tries of the natural process. IVF process follows the same natural process of combine egg and sperm but the difference is, it is done manually inside a lab and the embryo is then injected into the uterus. IVF is advised to couples who fall under certain abnormalities in their natural reproductive cycle. Some of them are:
- Tubal infertility due to damaged or blockage in fallopian tubes. This prevents the sperms to enter the uterus.
- Sperm quality and quantity: When the sperm quality is poor that the motility of the sperms are low that they cannot swim through to the uterus. In such cases, intrauterine insemination is combined with IVF to inject the sperms directly into the uterus.
- Sex-linked disorders and genetic disorders which carries the genetic anomalies which are the reasons for infertility.
It is also important to analyze whether an IVF treatment is the optimal treatment for you. Some will be ineffective or their bodies do not support IVF treatment. In extreme cases of infertility due to male, a donor sperm is suggested. In case of extreme cases of female infertility, a surrogacy is advised. Age also plays a very important role in determining IVF success rate. A study by a fertility clinic in Gurgaon says that an IVF cycle will follow 3 cycles and in extreme cases can also go until 6.
Steps involved in an IVF treatment:
Egg secretion: Egg from female are collected. This is a simple process in which a scanning probe is used to get the eggs produced by mature follicles. Although this process is painless, it is performed under anesthesia.
Fertilization: In this process, the eggs and sperms that are collected are fused together to form embryos. These embryos are produced at the best quality. The developed embryos are graded for quality based on their appearance and strength.
After 4 days, the embryo is then transferred into the uterus. This is when the embryo is ready to adapt to the uterine environment. The transfer of embryo is done in pairs. The remaining embryos are preserved for future IVF cycles.
After 14 days of embryo transfer, a pregnancy test is done. This success rate in India for 1 IVF cycle is 40%. In the 6th week of pregnancy, an ultrasound is done to check the health of a grown embryo. This is when internal organs start to develop.
IVF is not a complicated process. The process is highly transparent and will be done with minimal pain. An estimate by an IVF center in Mumbai showed that nearly 60% of pregnancy in India are IVF pregnancies.