What is IVF?

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) can be a reliable fertility option to assist in conception if you and your partner are appropriate candidates. There are many variables involved in IVF, and it’s important you understand what the process entails.

IVF is the most effective form of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). This complex procedure involves combining sperm and eggs outside the body in a laboratory to cause fertilization. Once an embryo or embryos form, then the embryo is placed into a woman’s uterus to grow inside the body naturally.

Who is the ideal IVF candidate?

IVF can be an ideal treatment option for women who have been diagnosed with endometriosis, antibody difficulties that could harm sperm or eggs, or problems related to the uterus, fallopian tubes or ovulation. IVF is usually a prospective option for women over the age of 35 wanting to conceive and can also assist when there is decreased sperm count in men. This is also a solution for a variety of fertility issues including: absent or blocked fallopian tubes, poor sperm counts, endometriosis and immunological fertility.

We offer the following treatments to increase the success of IVF:

• ICSI (Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection) – This process includes a single sperm inserted into a single egg to achieve fertilization and is commonly used when there is a diagnosed sperm complication.
• Cryopreserved Embryo Transfer – This process takes an embryo that has been frozen at very low temperatures, thaws it and transfers it into a woman’s uterus.
• Laser-Assisted Embryo Hatching – A tough protective coating called the zona pellucida surrounds the embryo. The embryo must escape, or hatch, from this coating to implant itself successfully in the uterus. A cutting-edge laser assists the embryo in breaking out of its shell by thinning out the coating. Reasons for using this procedure include advanced childbearing age, elevated hormone levels and unexplained implantation failure.
• Vitrification – The process of freezing an embryo to allow for a later pregnancy. A solution containing the embryo is cooled so quickly (within minutes) that the structure of the water molecules doesn’t have time to form ice crystals and instantaneously solidifies.
• Ovulation Induction – The stimulation of one or more follicles in the ovaries to stimulate ovulation through the use of certain medications.