Table of Contents
ToggleIVF Treatment
Index
What is IVF Treatment?
How is IVF done?
Who is IVF?
IVF Treatment Stages
What is IVF Treatment?
In vitro fertilization is the most commonly used assisted reproductive technique for couples who cannot have children despite unprotected sex for one year. The egg cell taken from the ovaries of the woman and the many sperm cells taken from the man are brought together in the laboratory under suitable conditions and the sperm cell is expected to fertilize the egg. Then, the fertilized egg cell is stored under appropriate conditions and placed in the uterus at the right time and is attached to the uterus wall.
The inability of a reproductively mature couple to have regular sexual intercourse for at least one year without using any birth control method is defined as “infertility” in medicine and is popularly known as infertility. This fertility problem, which affects approximately 20% of couples of reproductive age, is associated with many factors such as age, nutrition, life habits, chronic diseases and stress. Today, with the development of medical technology, many treatment methods have been developed for infertile couples to have children. In vitro fertilization, called in vitro fertilization (IVF), is one of the most frequently applied assisted reproductive techniques in this field. To have detailed information about this treatment method, which is needed by many couples every day, and “How is IVF done?”, “How does the treatment process work?”, “To whom IVF is done?” It is important to be able to answer questions such as:
How is IVF done?
In the first step of IVF treatment, the ovaries in the female reproductive system are stimulated in a controlled manner by some hormone supplements and the egg cells are provided to reach sufficient maturity for fertilization. At this stage, the level of maturation of the egg is evaluated by performing intermittent ultrasound control and hormone tests.
When the egg reaches sufficient maturity, the second step of the treatment, the egg collection process is started. The procedure is performed under the guidance of transvaginal ultrasound, in a sterile operating room environment. The ovaries are aspirated with a special needle developed for the procedure and the mature egg cells are safely collected and stored.
Then, the mature egg cell taken from the ovaries is placed in a laboratory dish containing 50 thousand to 100 thousand motile sperm and the egg cell is expected to be fertilized by the sperm cell.
After about 16-18 hours, the fertilized egg cell is called an embryo after this stage. The embryo, which reaches sufficient maturity by keeping it in special medium liquid for 2-3 days, is placed into the uterus in a sterile clinical environment, and this process is called embryo transfer (ET).
After the transfer, pregnancy begins with the attachment of the embryo to the uterine wall.
Who is IVF?
Today, there are many assisted reproductive techniques developed for couples with fertility problems to have children. Among these treatments, in order to determine the most appropriate method for the person, the pathologies that cause infertility must be detected and, if possible, eliminated. If the obstacle to having a child cannot be overcome with other treatment methods, the in vitro fertilization method may be preferred at this point.
IVF Treatment Stages
The basis of IVF treatment is based on combining healthy egg cells with healthy sperm cells in a laboratory environment. For this reason, if any of the couples has a pathological disease that will prevent the production of eggs or sperm cells, in vitro fertilization may not be performed. In order for the treatment to be applied correctly, there should be no health problems that prevent egg formation and development in women, and sperm production and secretion in men. In the presence of such a health problem, other assisted reproductive techniques such as insemination, TESE, TESA or micro TESE may be required before IVF treatment.
IVF treatment is shaped in line with the main factors that cause fertility loss in the person. Therefore, treatment should always be planned individually.