In-Vitro Fertilization is fast catching up with couples who struggle to conceive. A time-consuming process, it requires careful consideration by the couple and the doctor. Though a god send medical procedure for couples around the world, it comes with risks and requires preparation.
IVF helps establish a controlled environment that essentially enhances the chance for egg fertilization but it also comes with an inherent risk of failure. It is completely normal to feel anxious and stressed when considering a procedure. “While each case is extraordinary, and it isn’t easy to foresee precisely how each patient’s cycle will go, your doctor can chalk out an essential timetable and enlighten the patient concerning the main milestones,” says Dr Nishi Singh an MBBS, DGO MS (obstetrics and gynecology).
To avoid last minute jitters, it’s important to understand the process and how it works well in advance. Let’s take a look at the steps involved in IVF treatments.
What is IVF?
Under the IVF, sperm and egg are combined in a research laboratory dish, incubated and carefully monitored throughout the fertilization process. “Through the first 3 to 5 days, successfully fertilized eggs develop and grow into an embryo. The embryo quality is then inspected for transferring, freezing, or further culturing and improvement,” adds Dr Singh.
IVF is not a solitary treatment but a series of processes. A typical IVF cycle takes around 6 to 8 weeks from counselling to transfer; however, contingent upon the specific circumstances of each path is similar for every person. The only difference is how your body answers the treatment at each stage.
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) process
Week 1
First visits and consultations
Looking for fertility treatment is a bold step; it typically accompanies many questions and inquiries. This first stage is your chance to discover a few genuine answers to your queries.
Initial consultation
The facility will get a comprehensive clinical history from you and your spouse and try to address any questions or concerns you could have at this stage. Make it a point to think of all the possible doubts to get them cleared. The clinic will review your diagnosis and the details of your desired treatment plan at this appointment. It is where much of the planning is done. In addition, you will be taught how to self-administer the medications used in an IVF cycle and essential schedule procedures.
Week 2-4: planning starts
It is where everything truly begins.
Pretreatment groundwork for IVF: Comprehensive lab tests give a clearer image of your fertility, so your fertility specialists can offer you a customized and individualized IVF protocol. Standard pre-IVF testing include:
- A blood panel
- Ultrasounds
- Infectious disease screening
- Uterine assessment
- Male fertility testing, including a sperm examination.
Begin contraception pills: The following stage is to manage your menstrual period and set up your ovaries. Then, you can expect to take anti-conception medication pills for 2 to 4 weeks in the wake of testing and determination, contingent upon the length of your cycle.
Week 5: Prescription and Observing
When you come off the contraception pill, you will start a process known as Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation (COH). “At the center, you will have an ultrasound to assess the uterus and ovaries, and you can begin when you get the all-clear. There are two fundamental parts to the COH interaction,” mentions Singh.
- Take fertility medicines (for around fourteen days): Oral fertility medicines like Clomid and injectable follicle stimulation chemicals (Follistim and Gonal-F) are utilized to invigorate the follicles in your ovaries to develop a more significant number of eggs than they ordinarily would in a typical cycle. The objective is to create somewhere around four eggs with the utilization of rich medicine.
- Observing visits (during the fertility drug stage): Ultrasounds and blood tests are done to watch out for your developing follicles and eggs. It is the most tedious part of the IVF interaction, requiring a typical 5-7 office visits.
Week 7: setting off, egg recovery, and preparation
After around 10-12 days of fertility medicine, when monitoring shows that your follicles have developed to a proper size, the time has come to trigger the final maturation of the eggs with hCG and timetable the ultrasound egg recovery 36 hours after the fact.
Egg retrieval: On this day, your companion will give a semen specimen, it will be collected around the same time as your egg retrieval, or the sperm could be frozen previously.
Egg and sperm are consolidated in the lab: If all works out correctly, fertilization happens, and embryos are made. Various choices can be opted for at this stage to expand the possibilities of an effective pregnancy.
Intracytoplasmic sperm infusion (ICSI) is a decent choice when male barrenness is the factor. In this method, a solitary healthy sperm is infused straightforwardly into an egg.
Assisted hatching is a method where a small opening is made in an embryo’s external layer (the zona pellucida) to attempt to build the pace of implantation after transfer.
Preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) or diagnostics (PGD) can assist with guaranteeing that only healthy sperms are transferred. In addition, as congenital irregularity is the primary source of miscarriage, this testing is often supportive in instances of repetitive pregnancy misfortune.
Inside 3-6 days after fertilization, embryos are assessed for the transfer: Daily checking assists specialists with concluding which incipient embryos have the most obvious opportunity with the enduring transfer. In addition, IVF Lab daily reports keep you educated regarding their advancement.
Embryo or blastocyst transfer: “Approximately three days after fertilization, embryos are prepared for the transfer; however, a few patients like to stand by a couple of days until they have arrived at the blastocyst stage (by and large, five days after treatment). The embryo or blastocyst is imparted into the uterus using a thin, flexible plastic tube, which is tenderly passed through the cervix opening, prompting the uterus’s interiors. You won’t require sedation for this technique. For the most part, it is easy; however, a few women might encounter gentle squeezing. You can watch the transfer as it occurs with an ultrasound,” adds Singh.
Post IVF procedure
After the transfer, you need to take a progesterone supplement to support the uterine inner lining and empower implantation.
Pregnancy test #1: Approximately 12 days post the embryo/blastocyst transfer, you will take your most memorable first pregnancy test in the centre. If it is positive, we will plan you for Pregnancy Test #2.
Pregnancy test #2: This recurrent test is finished less than a week after the preliminary positive test. If it is positive, we will plan you for an ultrasound following 2-3 weeks, and afterwards, you can move your consideration to an OB-GYN.
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