ART or Assisted Reproductive Technology includes all the procedures where the eggs are surgically retrieved from a woman’s ovaries and combined with the sperms in a laboratory setting to transfer the embryo to the woman’s uterus. IVF or In Vitro Fertilization is a common method of assisted reproduction where the sperms and eggs are combined in a laboratory dish outside of the body. IVF is used to treat women with blocked, damaged, or absent fallopian tubes and endometriosis. It is also used in cases that concern male factors and when a couple’s infertility is unexplained. Typically an IVF cycle involves the following steps:
- Ovarian stimulation
- Retrieval of eggs from the ovary or ovaries
- Fertilization
- Embryo culture
- Embryo transfer into the uterus
- Support the uterine lining with medications to aid pregnancy
Let us now discuss the Preparatory Phase in detail:
Pretreatment
To prevent premature ovulation and maximize the number of eggs available for retrieval, injections containing GnRH agonist are given along with oral contraceptive pills to allow more flexibility in the timing of the cycle and reduce the chance of development of ovarian cysts. A transvaginal pelvic ultrasound is also done during this time to look out for the presence of cysts.
Ovarian Stimulation and Monitoring
In this phase, the ovaries are stimulated with daily injections of Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH) that aid your ovaries in producing multiple mature eggs at once. Retrieving multiple eggs will improve your chances of success.
Final Oocyte Maturation
Once your eggs are ready for retrieval, a single injection of human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) is required to induce the final maturation of eggs, 36 hours before the egg retrieval procedure.
Once the eggs are successfully retrieved, they are incubated in specialized media so that they can fertilize and start developing into embryos. It is very important to be compliant with the treatment and doctor’s instruction during the preparatory phase for a successful pregnancy.
