In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

IVF or In vitro fertilization is an assisted reproductive technology (ART) technique used to fertilize an egg outside the body, by introducing the sperm cells closest to the eggs.

The medical experts give you a series of medications or injections to stimulate your ovaries that helps your body produce more eggs. Then they extract these eggs from your body and culture them in an incubator in a laboratory. The semen sample provided by your partner is also cultured in the laboratory to extract the most motile and viable sperm cells. These sperm cells are introduced into the same sterile container as the eggs and cultured into embryos. Once the embryos are formed, they are introduced back into your uterus. And if the embryos attach themselves to the uterus wall, pregnancy happens.

The success rate of IVF is more when compared to the other ART procedures, however it cannot be defined as a 100% as it depends on various factors such as the woman’s age, the cause for infertility, any history of miscarriages or implantation failures, the number of embryos transferred, etc.

Anyone who have been trying to get pregnant naturally for over an year and have been unsuccessful, and those with known infertility issues like blocked fallopian tubes, endometriosis, or low sperm count, etc. can also get pregnant through the IVF treatment.

Women can go for IVF at any age, before their menopause occurs or their menstrual cycle ends, which is typically 50 years of age.

There are some complications involved in getting pregnant through an IVF procedure like preterm birth or premature delivery; low birth weight; hypertension, maternal gestation diabetes, etc.

Although multiple attempts can be made for pregnancy through an IVF, this number however depends on the individuals getting the treatment done; their age, fitness, financial conditions, and of course mental health also play a role.