Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Vital Facts That Individuals Should Know About IVF

By Carmen Pace


Among the fastest growing and most preferred treatment option for couples suffering from infertility is IVF. In Vitro fertilization as it is known, is a procedures that is both expensive and invasive. These two features call for proper consideration before one makes the decision to undergo it. That aside, it has a number of benefits and ends up being very successful if properly done.

Basically, it involves harvesting of male and female sex cells. In women, there is medication that makes them produce a lot more ova than is the case. These ova are left to ripen, then they are surgically harvested and stored. Sperms also get harvested from the man, which are artificially used to fertilize the eggs in the laboratory. For the next about 3 or five days, the resulting embryos are left to grow.

From the group of embryos, the most viable, normally one or two, get transferred back to the uterus. One week after placement of these embryos, the woman is expected to take a pregnancy test to ascertain whether she has become pregnant. For each cycle, the success rate is approximately 30%. This however depends on the circumstances. At times, the procedure is repeated until it becomes successful. Each cycle costs roughly $10000 or more.

Perhaps the most important benefit of IVF is the fact that it is able to lead to successful conception and thus birth. As long as the procedure is done successfully, the pregnancy will continue normally just like would be the case with traditional conception. There will not be any effect whatsoever on the fetus, unless of course it is the normal challenges that pregnant ladies face. Moreover, children so born will lead purely normal lives.

With this procedure, the doctors confirm that indeed fertilization has taken place before implantation is done. This offers certainty that the implanted embryo is fertilized and thus pregnancy will take place. Couples may also use donor eggs and sperms in the case where they are unable to produce viable ones. Yet another advantage is the fact that the procedure allows even those that have undergone vasectomy to have a chance to get children. Further, embryos so fertilized are able to be checked for any abnormalities.

One major shortcoming of this procedure is the fact that there is no guarantee on the success. The number of couples that get pregnant during the first cycle is less than 30%. Further, there is no surety that the pregnancies will result in babies. Just over 22% of IVF cycles result in successful births. There also is the risk of multiple pregnancies in the event of multiple transfers. Multiple pregnancies increase the chances of miscarriage or going through labor prematurely.

There are certain risks involved during and after the procedure. For instance, there is the possibility of embryos getting lost or implanted at the wrong places. This could bring about an ectopic pregnancy in addition to calling for repeat of the process. A number of women could experience cramping after implantation.

IVF has been in use for decades. Over that period, it has increased in efficiency in a big way. Thus as long as one goes for knowledgeable and experienced doctors, the success rate is increased.




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