The IVF process aims to help a woman become pregnant. This procedure is done to treat various infertility problems, which include the following: A woman’s age without childbearing. Damage or blockage of the tubes, or endometriosis. Male fertility problems, which include a decrease in the number of female animals
nuclear.
Unexplained Infertility
Risks of IVF treatment
Fertility treatments in general and IVF in particular require a physical, psychological, emotional and financial commitment, and the most important associated risks include the following:
Women taking fertility drugs may experience flatulence, abdominal pain, mood swings, and headaches, and the injections may cause bruising.
In rare cases, drugs can lead to the emergence of OHSS - Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome, and this syndrome causes fluid accumulation in the abdominal and chest cavity, and symptoms include abdominal pain, a feeling of bloating, rapid weight gain, and lack of urination despite drinking an amount Inadequate fluid intake, nausea, vomiting, and shortness of breath.
A reaction to the anesthetics, bleeding, infection, and damage to organs besides the ovaries, including the intestines and urinary bladder, may occur during egg retrieval.
A multiple-fetal pregnancy can occur when more than one fetus is returned to the uterus. A multiple-fetal pregnancy carries risks of premature delivery and low birth weight.
Preparations for treatment
Before starting IVF, several examinations are performed for the couple to consider the possibility of performing the operation, here are the most important of them:
Ovarian reserve test.
Semen analysis.
Infection disease test.
Uterine exams.
Steps to conduct IVF
There are five stages in the IVF process
1. Stimulating the ovaries to produce eggs
Medicines called fertility drugs are given to women to stimulate the ovaries to produce eggs. Usually, a woman produces one egg each month. Fertility drugs make the ovaries produce a number of eggs at once.
During this stage, the growth of eggs in the woman''s ovaries is monitored by examining transvaginal ultrasound, in addition to conducting blood tests to check her hormonal levels.
2. Retrieval of eggs
A simple surgical procedure called follicle aspiration, which is performed with the aim of extracting eggs from the woman''s body, and is usually performed within the framework of a woman''s one-day stay in the outpatient clinic or in the doctor''s office, where the woman receives anesthesia drugs so that she does not feel pain while undergoing this procedure.
This is done by using an ultrasound examination, as the doctor s a long and accurate needle through the vagina into the ovaries and then into the follicle that contains the eggs. One at a time, this procedure is later done in the second ovary as well.
Women may suffer from cramps, but they usually go away after one day. In some rare cases, laparoscopic surgery may be needed to retrieve the eggs.
3. Pollination and fertilization
The sperm taken from the man along with the best quality eggs drawn from the woman''s body are ed into a cell in a controlled environment, and the process of collecting the sperm with the egg is called insemination.
The sperm usually enters the egg within a few hours after fertilization, if the doctor believes that the chances of fertilization are low, the laboratory staff may artificially a sperm directly into the egg, and this process is called ICSI - Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection.
4. Early development of the fetus
When the fertilized egg begins to divide and becomes an embryo, the laboratory staff checks the embryo regularly to make sure that it divides as expected. A genetic diagnosis called Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) is performed before the embryo is returned to the woman''s body.
According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, diagnosing genetic problems helps parents decide which embryos they choose to place back in the womb, reducing their risk of having a child who has inherited certain genetic syndromes.
5. Embryo transfer
The eggs are returned to the doctor’s office within two to five days, and the woman is fully conscious, and the doctor s a long, thin tube containing the embryos through the vagina into the uterus. If the embryo implants in the wall of the uterus and continues to grow, the result is pregnancy.
More than one embryo is returned to the woman’s uterus, this may lead to a multi-embryo pregnancy, and the exact amount of embryos that must be returned to the woman’s uterus is a complex issue related to several factors, one of which is: the woman’s age, and the embryos that are not returned to the uterus They are preserved by freezing for later use.
recovery phase
After the embryos are implanted in the uterus, the woman will be asked to rest for the rest of the day. There is no need to stay in bed unless there is a possibility of hyperovulatory syndrome. Most women can return to their daily activities the next day, but without doing strenuous exercises.
Women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) fertility treatment must take hormone therapy, either with pills or injections, for 10-12 weeks after the embryos are returned to the uterus.
After the lapse of 12-14 days from the moment the embryos are returned to the uterus, the woman needs to return to the clinic for a pregnancy test.
After IVF fertility treatment, you should see a gynecologist immediately if you notice one or more of the following symptoms:
High body temperature over 38 degrees.
Pain in the pelvic area.
The appearance of bleeding from the vagina.
The appearance of blood in the urine.
