How The IVF Procedure Can Help You

By Adam Capewell

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a method of assisted reproduction that provides infertile couples an opportunity to have a child that is biologically related to them.

With IVF, a man's sperm and the woman's egg are combined by an IVF specialist in a laboratory dish. The resulting embryo is then put into the uterus (womb) of the woman and left to naturally develop. Usually, 2-4 embryos are put in the woman's uterus each time. Each attempt is called a cycle, and the cost of IVF per cycle is approximately $12,000.

So, what exactly is involved in each cycle? Here is a more detailed explanation...

The woman may be administered hormones to induce her ovaries to create a number (5+) eggs. A surgeon will then insert a needle through the vagina into the woman's ovary to remove the eggs. General anesthesia is not required for this part of the procedure, but the woman is sometimes given some sedating medication. At the same time, the man provides a semen sample. He will be asked not to have sex for a few days before the eggs are taken from his partner. The sperm are separated from the semen in a laboratory procedure.

Following this, the sperm will be mixed in the laboratory dish with the eggs taken from the woman. About 20 hours after this fertilization procedure, the laboratory dish is examined to find out if any of the eggs have fertilized and if embryos have grown as a result. If they have, they are incubated and observed for the next 2-5 days. After that time, the embryos will be transferred into the woman's uterus through the cervix with a catheter (a long slender tube). She is then given certain hormones for the following 2 weeks.

The pregnancy success rate of the IVF procedure is 36% for women younger than 35 years, 28% for those between 36-39 years, and 13% in those who are 40+ years. Therefore, the final cost of IVF is generally over $20,000, as a minority of couples succeed at their first attempt.

Finally, research has shown that children born as a result of the IVF procedure are as healthy as those born in the natural way. The only complication worth noting is the increased risk of multiple births happening, with the likelihood of giving birth to twins or triplets being perceptibly higher when using IVF. - 31802

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