Seven Significant Steps Of In-Vitro Fertilization Treatment

Fertility clinics follow this process for in-vitro fertilization: gynecological assessment, patient assessment, carrying out of medications to stimulate the woman’s ovulation, eggs retrieval, fertilizing and incubating the eggs, implanting the embryo, and embryo implantation monitoring.

A jacksonville fertility clinic specializes in giving care and medical treatment to people who have difficulty conceiving a child. Typically, fertility clinics have a step-by-step process for the various medical treatments they conduct on their patients. In-vitro fertilization is one of the most common treatments done in fertility clinics. This method also has its own set of steps.

Gynecological testing

Before anything else, a female patient undergoes gynecological examination to confirm her infertility. This procedure will determine whether IVF treatment is best for the patient to take.

Evaluation of the patient

After the testing, the patient is evaluated after confirming her infertility. This step could be divided into different partsand could last for a few months. Orientation and education of the couple about IVF treatment is the first part of this procedure. The second part is diagnostic testing where the patient is examined to see if she can indeed get pregnant by IVF treatment.

Stimulation the woman’s ovulation through medications

During the onset of the patient’s menstrual cycle, she will be given two hormone medications by the fertility doctor. The first medication regulates the timing of ovulation while the other stimulates the production of the eggs. Both medications are administered through injections and are taken daily. The patient also undergoes trans-vaginal ultrasounds during the process of medication. This helps in assessing the follicle development where the woman’s eggs are enclosed. When the doctor finds that the eggs are fully matured and ready to be ovulated, the patient will be given a third medication. The last medication acts as a stimulant to the ovaries to discharge the eggs. This medication is usually given on the 12th day of the treatment’s duration.

Acquiring the eggs

The woman’s eggs are retrieved as soon as they mature. The first step in egg retrieval is the administration of anesthesia by the doctor. A needle is used to transfer the eggs from the follicles to a test tube. To guide the procedure, a trans-vaginal ultrasound is conducted.

Fertilizing and incubating the eggs

The eggs are then combined in a lab with the sperm from the husband. Of all the retrieved eggs, approximately 60% of them will be fertilized. Once fertilized, the egg cells go through incubation and will be monitored closely for about 3 to 5 days.

Implantation of the embryo

The resulting embryos from the previous step are evaluated for quality. With an astraumatic catheter, the desired number of embryos is transferred into the patient’s uterus. They will usually implant 2 to 4 embryos. Cryopreservation is a means to preserve the unused embryos for future use in case the first attempt at pregnancy is not a success.

Monitoring of the embryo implantation

In this step, the patient takes progesterone, which will help in the implantation of the embryos. A pregnancy test is given on the 10th day. The patient can have her prenatal care to her own physician once the pregnancy test turns positive. A new cycle of the treatment can be done if the embryos are not successfully implanted.

Each step should be done and completed properly as they greatly contribute to the success of the fertility treatment.