In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) which means ‘fertilization in a glass’ is often more commonly referred to as a test tube baby. Eggs are removed from the ovaries and fertilized with sperm in a laboratory dish before being placed in the woman’s womb. Women who use In Vitro Fertilization are often recommended this method when others have failed or because they are older.

Techniques of In Vitro Fertilization differ from clinic to clinic but a typical pattern of treatment might go like this: Your doctor will give some drugs to block the hormones normally released during the menstrual cycle. The reason for this is so the physician has improved control over when your eggs are produced. Further drugs are given to ensure your ovaries create more than a single egg.

IVF Schedule...

Vaginal ultrasound scans are carried out to monitor your developing eggs along with blood tests to chart the rising levels of estrogen produced by the eggs. All these tests are designed to show when the time is right for an injection of another hormone to help the eggs mature. Timing is crucial, as you must have this injection 34-38 hours before your eggs are collected - this may mean you having it last thing at night. When it is time to collect the eggs, you may be given a general anesthetic or drugs to make you feel drowsy as they are collected by ultrasound guidance and it takes about 30 minutes.

It’s about this time that the man must produce some fresh 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. If you are using donated sperm, the sample is taken from the freezer and prepared in the same way. After the eggs and sperm have been collected they are left to mix in a laboratory dish for between 16 and 20 hours and then inspected to see whether fertilization has taken place. During the next stage, only successfully fertilized embryos are kept and left for a further 24 to 48 hours before a final check is done.

In order to help prepare your womb, pessaries, gel or an injection are given two days after your eggs have been collected.

IVF Schedule

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