Most people know the term ‘test tube baby’ but the correct name for this process is ‘In Vitro fertilization’. Eggs are removed from the ovaries and fertilized with sperm in a laboratory dish before being placed in the woman’s womb. In Vitro Fertilization is recommended if you are an older woman, have been diagnosed with unexplained infertility, those whose tubes are blocked, or if other techniques have been unsuccessful.

Methods of IVF will invariably differ a little from clinic to clinic but should proceed along these lines. At the start of your treatment your doctor gives you drugs to block the hormones your pituitary gland usually produces during your monthly cycle. Blocking the hormones helps the doctor have greater control over your egg production. You then take different drugs to make your ovaries produce more than one egg.

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To monitor your developing eggs, vaginal ultrasound scans are taken as well as blood tests to ensure that the eggs are increasing the estrogen level. All these tests are designed to show when the time is right for an injection of another hormone to help the eggs mature. This injection is given 34 to 38 hours before the eggs will be collected to the timing of this is very important. Collecting the eggs takes about 30 minutes and is carried out using ultrasound guidance so often either drugs or a general anesthetic is given to make you feel more relaxed.

Around the time the woman’s eggs are collected, the male produces a fresh sample of sperm. To make sure that the best sperm are used for the process, the sample is washed and then spun at high speed, this will give the healthiest and the most active sperm. For a woman using donated sperm, the same process is used once the sperm has been taken from the freezer. The process can take between 16 and 20 hours during which time the sperm and eggs are allowed to mix in a laboratory dish before they are inspected to find out if the fertilization was successful. Any that haven’t, or any that have fertilized abnormally, are discarded and the remaining embryos are then left for another 24-48 hours before being checked again.

The womb needs to be ready to accept the fertilized egg so a gel, injection or pessaries are given to ensure the lining of the womb is prepared.

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