women s health issues
Assisted Reproductive Technologies
In vitro (test tube) fertilization (IVF)
In vitro fertilization (IVF) can be used to treat infertility regardless of the cause (including when it is unidentified). IVF typically involves the following: Typically, a woman’s ovaries are stimulated with Human gonadotropins , with or without Retrieving released eggs:About 34 hours later, a health care practitioner, guided by ultrasonography, inserts a needle through the woman’s vagina into the ovary and removes the eggs that have grown and developed. Sometimes the eggs are removed through a small tube (laparoscope) inserted through a small incision just below the navel. Fertilizing the eggs:The eggs are placed in a culture dish and fertilized with sperm selected as the most active. At this point, a single sperm may be injected into each oocyte (called intracytoplasmic sperm injection), particularly if sperm production is abnormal in the woman's partner. Growing the resulting embryos in a laboratory:After sperm are added, the eggs are allowed to grow for about 2 to 5 days. Implanting the embryos in the woman’s uterus:One or a few of the resulting embryos are transferred from the culture dish into the woman’s uterus through the vagina. The number of embryos implanted is determined by the woman’s age and likelihood of response to treatment. Embryos are typically implanted 2 to 6 days after fertilization. More and more often, additional embryos are being frozen in liquid nitrogen to be used later if pregnancy does not occur. Also, practitioners may try IVF using only one egg that develops normally during a menstrual cycle (that is, without using fertility medications). The chances of having a baby with in vitro fertilization depend on many factors, but the woman’s age may be most important. The greatest risk of in vitro fertilization is Having more than one fetus ( Multiple Births ) A multiple pregnancy can cause serious complications in the mother and the newborns. Complications may be related to the pregnancy. For example, the mother may develop High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy or Birth defects are slightly more common among babies conceived through IVF. However, experts are unclear whether the reason is related to the technique or to the fertility problems that made IVF necessary. Also, more than 7 million babies have been conceived through IVF, and the overwhelming majority of these babies have had no birth defects. In the United States, the chances of having a successful pregnancy for each egg retrieved is estimated to be about 45% for women under age 35 and slightly over 10% for women aged 41 to 42. 