In Vitro Fertilization: Everything You Need to Know

La in vitro fertilization, also known as IVF (for its acronym in English) or FIV (acronym in Spanish), is a fertility treatment that, broadly speaking, consists of 5 steps:

1. The woman undergoing treatment takes a series of hormonal medications to generate eggs.
2. Your specialist doctor captures eggs in a surgical treatment.
3. In the laboratory, an embryologist fertilizes eggs with sperm.
4. Specialists monitor the result of fertilization: embryos!
5. The doctor transfers the embryo to the woman's uterus.

Who is in vitro fertilization (IVF) for

Achieving a natural pregnancy requires that many factors are in sync: good egg quality, good tubal function, good sperm quality, and a healthy uterus that nourishes the newly fertilized egg to become an embryo and then a fetus.

In vitro fertilization is an incredible solution for single mothers, LGBT+ couples and people with difficulties conceiving, mainly because it responds to much of what happens along the entire conception chain (in both men and women). For example:

• If a woman generates few eggs, the medications she must take can boost egg production.
• If you can't ovulate or your cycle is irregular, these medicines help your eggs mature so they can be captured and then fertilized.
• If your tubes are blocked (or have some other feature that affects your cycle), that's okay! Because the egg is fertilized outside and placed directly in the uterus.
• If a man's sperm isn't of good quality, the doctor who specializes in the laboratory can separate them and choose the best sperm.
• Often, sperm cells are not strong enough and, therefore, cannot reach the egg. But in an ICSI in vitro fertilization, the embryologist places direct sperm, which solves this problem.

The success of the in vitro fertilization procedure

Getting pregnant depends on many factors. The most important: the woman's age. Different studies have proven that younger women are more likely to have successful in vitro fertilization.

Let's see the numbers!

Before going to the statistics, it is important to point out that most women must repeat the cycle (the process) of in vitro fertilization to become pregnant.

• More than 50% of women under the age of 40 are able to get pregnant in the second and third cycles. This number reaches up to 70% in the seventh and eighth cycles.
• Of women between 40 and 42 years old, 25% become pregnant in the second and third cycles. More cycles don't significantly increase the likelihood.
• In women older than 43, less than 15% manages to become pregnant through in vitro fertilization.

The importance of a good fertility clinic

In addition to age, one of the most important variables in the success of the procedure is the quality of the clinic. In other words, many women have abysmally different results depending on the fertility clinic they attended.

Studies have shown that going to a good assisted reproduction center, with good doctors and an excellent laboratory, can double the chance of pregnancy.

The Emotional Challenge and Physical Trauma

It's not all flowers with in vitro fertilization. It's the fastest and most successful fertility procedure, but that's why it doesn't stop bringing a series of tangential effects that directly affect the physical and emotional health of a woman or a couple.

A person undergoing fertility treatment has to psychologically assimilate the intervention, which is physically an invasive procedure: women have to inject hormones for several weeks, be subject to an observation regime for the control and recording of their eggs, and undergo surgery for capture.

However, despite the physical and emotional challenges, many couples have been able to have babies with this treatment; it's one of the most efficient ways to conceive, but it's not the only one! Always explore your options.