IVF aims to help a woman become pregnant. This procedure is done to treat various infertility problems, which include the following:
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Women age without childbearing.
Damage or blockage in the tubes, or endometriosis.
Fertility problems in men, which include low sperm count .
Unexplained Infertility
Risks of IVF treatment
Fertility treatments in general and IVF in particular require a physical, psychological, emotional and financial commitment, and the most important risks associated with it include the following:
Women taking fertility drugs may experience flatulence, abdominal pain, mood swings, and headaches, and the injections may cause bruising.
In rare cases, medications can trigger OHSS - Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome, which causes fluid buildup in the abdominal and chest cavity, and symptoms include abdominal pain, bloating, rapid weight gain, and decreased urination despite drinking enough Enough fluids, feeling sick, vomiting, shortness of breath.
Reaction to anesthetics, bleeding, infection, and damage to organs near the ovaries, including the intestines and urinary bladder, may occur during egg retrieval.
A multifetal pregnancy can occur when more than one fetus is returned to the uterus. A multifetal pregnancy carries a risk of premature birth and low birth weight.
Preparations for treatment
Before starting IVF, several tests are conducted for the couple to consider the possibility of performing the operation, here are the most important ones:
Ovarian reserve test.
Semen analysis (Semen analysis).
Tests to detect infection (infection disease test).
Uterine exam.
Steps for the IVF procedure
There are five stages in the IVF process:
1. Stimulating the ovaries to produce eggs
Medicines called fertility drugs are given to women to stimulate the ovaries to produce eggs. Usually a woman produces one egg each month, and fertility drugs cause the ovaries to produce a number of eggs at once.
During this stage, the growth of eggs in the woman's ovaries is monitored by transvaginal ultrasound, in addition to blood tests to check her hormonal levels.
2. Egg retrieval
A simple surgical procedure called follicle retrieval, which is performed with the aim of extracting eggs from a woman's body, and is usually performed in the context of a woman's one-day stay in an outpatient or doctor's office, where the woman receives anesthetics so that she does not feel pain during this procedure.
This is done by using an ultrasound examination, where the doctor inserts a long and fine needle through the vagina into the ovaries and then into the follicle that contains the eggs. One at a time, this procedure is done later in the second ovary as well.
A woman may experience cramps, but they usually go away after a day. In some rare cases, a laparoscopic surgery may be needed to retrieve the eggs.
3. Insemination and fertilization
The sperm taken from the man along with the higher-quality eggs pulled from the woman's body are inserted into a cell in a controlled environment. The process of combining the sperm with the egg is called insemination.
The sperm usually enters the egg within a few hours after fertilization. If the doctor thinks the chances of fertilization are low, the laboratory staff may insert an artificial sperm directly into the egg, a process called microscopic sperm injection (ICSI - Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection).
4. Early fetal development
When a fertilized egg begins to divide and becomes an embryo, laboratory staff regularly checks the embryo to ensure that it divides as expected. A genetic diagnosis called PGD - Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis is performed before the embryo is returned to the woman's body.
According to the American Society for Fertility Medicine, a diagnosis of genetic problems helps parents decide which embryos they choose to return to the womb, reducing the risk that they will have a child who has inherited certain genetic syndromes.
5. Embryo transfer
The eggs are returned to the doctor’s office within two to five days, and the woman is fully conscious, and the doctor inserts a long, thin tube containing the embryos through the vagina into the uterus.
More than one fetus is returned to the woman's uterus, this may lead to a multiple pregnancy , and the exact amount of embryos that must be returned to the woman's uterus is a complex issue related to several factors, one of which is: the woman's age, and the embryos that were not returned to the uterus They are preserved by freezing for later use.
recovery phase
After implantation of the embryos in the uterus, the woman will be asked to rest for the rest of the day. There is no need to stay in bed unless there is a possibility of hyperovulation syndrome. Most women can return to their daily activities the next day but without doing strenuous exercises.
Women undergoing IVF fertility treatment should take hormone therapy either with pills or injections for 10-12 weeks after the embryos are transferred back into the uterus.
After 12-14 days have elapsed from the moment the embryos are returned to the uterus, the woman needs to return to the clinic for a pregnancy test .
After fertility treatment by IVF, you should see a gynecologist immediately if you notice one or more of the following symptoms:
Body temperature rises above 38 degrees.
Pain in the pelvic area.
Bleeding from the vagina.
Appearance of blood in the urine.