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IVF What to expect

IVF treatment is pursued after other fertility treatments have failed , an egg donor is being used ,a surrogate is needed, in severe cases of male infertility and if a woman’s fallopian tubes are blocked. The cycle before your IVF treatment is scheduled, you may be put on birth control pills. These drugs allow complete control over ovulation once your treatment cycle begins. On the second day of your period, blood tests for oestrogen levels and an ultrasound to check the ovaries is done.

If everything is OK, the next step is ovarian stimulation with fertility injections. After that oocytes maturation is triggered with human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). Timing this shot is vital. If given too early, eggs will not have matured enough. If late, the eggs may be “too old” and won’t fertilize properly. About 34 to 36 hours of receiving the HCG shot, the egg retrieval will take place and the retrieved eggs will be transferred to the embryology lab for fertilization where they will be placed with washed sperm in culture dishes which are kept in a special incubator, and after 18hours, they are inspected for signs of fertilization. Some of those eggs fertilize.

From those, some will develop into embryos healthy enough to be transferred. In the case of severe male infertility, ICSI may be used to fertilize the eggs where embryologist will choose a healthy-looking sperm and inseminate the oocyte with the sperm using a special thin needle.

The embryos are then transferred to the uterus. On the 12th day after the embryo transfer, a pregnancy test (beta HCG)is ordered. If the pregnancy test is still negative 12 to 14 days post-transfer, then, you’ll wait for your period to start. The next step will be decided by you, your partner, and your doctor. It’s important to keep in mind that having one cycle fail doesn’t mean you won’t be successful if you try again.