What is IVF?
IVF (in vitro fertilization) is a process by which an egg is fertilized by sperm outside the body in the lab. IVF is an infertility treatment where all the other assisted reproduction methods like ovulation induction or IUI have failed.
Who is suitable for IVF?
- Women with blocked tubes
- Women with endometriosis
- .Women who have tried other methods of assistend reproduction and failed
- Women with ovarian failure
- Couples with male factor infertility
- Women with a history of repeated miscarriages
- Surrogacy
What is the process?
- First consultation
At the first consultation, we conduct a thorough medical history background of the patient. We also inform them about the treatment. Then, we perform a transvaginal ultrasound to check the uterus, the endometrium, and the ovaries (antral follicle count).
- Hormonal treatment.
In IVF treatment, the woman receives hormonal therapy –gonadotrophins – to produce many eggs which are fertilized by the partner’s sperm in the lab.
There are different IVF protocols depending on a woman’s age, hormone levels, and previous response to IVF treatments.
- Oocyte retrieval
We collect the eggs transvaginally with a fine needle using ultrasound guidance under light sedation. The woman doesn’t feel any pain and she can return to her daily activities after 2 hours.
Later, we mix them with the sperm in the laboratory under controlled conditions to promote fertilization. The next day we check how many embryos have resulted from the fertilization process and on day 2 or 3 or 5 (blastocyst stage) we transfer the embryos to the uterus.
If the quality of the sperm is low, the method of choice for fertilization is ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection). With this method, we inject a single sperm into the oocyte instead of using the whole sperm for fertilization.
12-14 days after embryo transfer, the woman has a pregnancy test (BHCG). We don’t recommend a urine test. If the pregnancy test shows positive results, we conduct an ultrasound after two weeks. The woman continues the medication we provided after the embryo transfer, usually until the 12th week.
