What is In Vitro Fertilization

http://www.nadyana.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/305.jpg

In 1978, two doctors in England managed to successfully get a woman pregnant using what we call today the in vitro fertilization procedure.

Since the success of these two doctors, Dr. Edwards and Dr. Steptoe, technology has been greatly improved and developed and used worldwide.

For the couples having a bad time conceiving naturally, in vitro fertilization may be the solution. In fact, for the infertile couples, IVF (in vitro fertilization) is by far the most used technique to get pregnant.

Due to recent progresses in medicine, surgery is not longer necessary, being replaced with a procedure called Transvaginal Oocyte Retrieval.

This procedure uses a sonographically-guided needle to recover eggs from an ovary. Before that, the woman must undergo two weeks on intensive preparation, including hormonal therapy, blood tests, and ultrasound scans, in order to be ready for in vitro fertilization.Later, under local anesthesia, the doctor will retrieve the eggs from the ovary. It’s not a very uncomfortable technique, so the woman will be able to go home the same day and have normal activities.

Meanwhile, in a laboratory, embryologists will analyze the woman’s eggs, and place the sperm with them when they are ready for fertilization. They are maintained in a special laboratory dishes and conditions, similar to the natural environment inside a woman’s body, until the cells divide 2 to 3 times.The final step of IVF is that when the couple’s pre-embryos are passed through the vagina into the uterus, using a special catheter.

This moment coincides with the time that pre-embryos would normally have reached the uterus, approximately two days after retrieval.

After resting in bed for an hour or so, the patient, the hopefully future mother, is now able to go home.

The confirmation of pregnancy will be established later by a specialist.

What is In Vitro Fertilization