7 facts you need to know about IVF

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a reproductive technology that makes an egg and sperm get fertilized outside the body. It involves retrieving eggs from ovaries and combining them with sperm in a lab for fertilization. 

This process can be very complex. Afterwards, the fertilized egg (embryo) is placed inside a uterus then pregnancy occurs when the embryo touches the uterine wall. 

People opt for IVF when there are infertility issues or health conditions that are undermining the chances of getting pregnant. People without partners who want to have babies also see IVF as an option. 

IVF is a process that lasts between four to six weeks, which includes egg retrieval, taking fertility medications until you’re tested for pregnancy. In vitro fertilization comes with some mild symptoms after embryo transfer; you could be constipating, having spots, bloating, cramping, and high estrogen.

Here are the facts you need to know about IVF:

1. Birth control pills

Before the commencement of your IVF treatment, birth control pills might be the first thing your doctor would prescribe. This is done to stop the growth of ovarian cysts and to also control your menstrual cycle. This process enables your doctor to control the IVF treatment and the number of eggs during the egg retrieval procedure.

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2. Ovarian stimulation

This is another thing you need to know about IVF. Naturally, eggs mature every month, but only one egg becomes fully mature to ovulate. Your doctor would give you medications to enable the group of eggs you have to mature fully. This means you would be able to have many eggs, unlike the natural cycle, which is just one. Also, the type of medication you would be given depends on your medical history, your response to ovarian stimulation, previous IVF cycles, and your age.

3. Egg retrieval 

An ultrasound is used to guide a thin needle into the ovaries through the vagina. This needle is connected to a device that would help pull your eggs. Then your eggs would be placed inside an incubator. Egg retrieval is actually done after two days of the last hormone injection.

4. Fertilization 

After egg retrieval, the next step is to fertilise mature eggs by using intracytoplasmic sperm injection. In other words, the sperm would be injected into each mature egg. About 70 percent of mature eggs are fertilized then they become embryos.

5. Embryo development 

The development of the embryo is monitored between five to six days. When your fertilized embryo successfully progresses to the blastocyst stage, it is then transferred to your uterus. 

However, this process can also fail, whereby the embryo or some embryos do not make it to the blastocyst stage. The suitable embryos are frozen for future embryo transfers.

6. Embryo transfer

There are two types of embryo transfer: the fresh embryo transfer and the frozen embryo transfer. The fresh embryo is the insertion of the embryo into your uterus between three to seven days. 

The frozen embryo is when frozen embryos from previous IVF cycles or from a donor are inserted into your uterus. Frozen embryos can be transferred after years of egg retrieval and fertilization. At this period, your womb is monitored with an ultrasound and your hormone levels.

7. Pregnancy

The last thing you need to know about IVF is the pregnancy. You become pregnant when the embryo implants itself into the lining of your womb. A blood test would be done by your doctor to determine if you’re truly pregnant between nine to fourteen days.