Unable To Conceive? All You Need To Know About IVF Fertility Treatment
Today we are going to talk about something that is closer to personal struggle – the struggle of unable to conceive. The fact that the practice of how a woman without a child is incomplete or if a women who have no ability to get pregnant or infertile is abnormal. So this practice of thinking have brought so much struggle to the women and somehow might even be a part of mental health.There are so many women who suffer from this and is almost a common struggle but yet unable to look for somebody to talk about it or is uncomfortable to talk about it as the world we live in now somehow still feel that infertility is shameful but is time that we learn that infertility is not shameful and infertility is not exactly the end of the world and being unable to conceive doesn’t mean is hopeless for you to have a child of your own anymore.
Do not lose hope knowing that you are struggling with getting pregnant, it is totally alright! If you have been trying with your partner and somehow you have yet to get pregnant, do not overthink it. Sometimes we are just waiting for the time to come. Do not lose hope because we are here to help you understand better of the help you can get! Have you ever heard of IVF? IVF is a short form of In Vitro Fertilization. It can be very “new” to some people and is totally fine, okay, I get it, understanding medical terms can be very confusing, so let us break it down to a more casual way for better and easier understanding, let’s begin, shall we?
Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only. Under no circumstances, it can be used as medical advice. Please seek consultation from your physician should you need any sort of help.
1. Do I Need Fertility Treatment?
There are times where couple put the blame on one another on their “disability” . Or even traditionally saying, female is always at fault when one couple is unable to conceive. But there is no such thing. There is also no such thing as who fault to be blame it all have to go through fertility test. So if you’re wondering if you need IVF as your fertility treatment, let’s put it this way. Couples aged 35 years and below who have been trying for 1 year should seek fertility treatment. But as for couple aged 35 years and above, if you are yet to conceive naturally after trying for 6 months, you should seek fertility treatment as soon as possible. Having said that, age is an important factor in infertility.
2. What Is IVF ( In-Vitro Fertilisation ) ?
In-Vitro Fertilization also known as IVF in short is a fertility treatment, it is also known as test tube baby. Yes, there is a treatment for fertility and is meant for couples that is struggling in getting pregnant naturally. Very much like any other treatment that we go for, IVF fertility treatment is to mainly focusing on assisting couples to get pregnant. It is a process where the fertilization is done in the lab instead of women womb. Let’s make it this way, is a process of fertilization where an egg is combined with sperm outside the body. The process of IVF is inclusive of monitoring and stimulating of the eggs inside the woman’s body.
3. Is IVF ( In-Vitro Fertilization ) For Me?
As long as you suffer from unexplained infertility or you have failed cycle of IUI (Intra- Uterine Insemination) you may proceed for IVF. As mentioned in the first point, age is an important factor in infertility. So couples who are aged below 35 are able to try to conceive naturally for 6 months more than couples who are aged above 35 years old. For easier understanding, here it is an example, a healthy 30 years old woman has about 20% chance of getting pregnant each month. But as for a healthy 40 years old woman has about a 5% chance of getting pregnant each month. The point is, as we grow older day by day our age is the result of the decrease in the number of eggs & eggs quality in us.
After knowing the basic knowledge of IVF (In-Vitro Fertilization) I believe you are curious of how IVF fertility treatment is done or if you are seeking for fertility treatment but unsure of how it is done. Scroll below and we will guide you step by step for IVF treatment.
Step 1: Boosting egg supply
You will be given fertility hormones known as gonadotrophin that will increase the number of eggs produced. This hormone will increase the number of eggs you produce – meaning that more eggs can be fertilized. With more fertilized eggs, the clinic has a greater choice of embryos to use in your treatment. This is usually taken as a daily injection for around 10-12 days depending on individual patient.
Step 2 : Monitoring your progress
Your follicle growth progress will be monitored through series of vaginal ultrasound scans and some blood test. You will need to visit your specialist every 3 to 5 days until the day of your collection.
Step 3 : Egg Retrieval
Once follicles have achieved a certain size, the next step is to collect your eggs using ultrasound guidance while you are sedated. A thin needle is attached to the ultrasound probe and inserted through the upper vagina to collect the eggs from follicles on each ovary. For men, you will be asked to provide a sperm sample after the retrieval of your partner’s eggs.
Step 4 : Fertilization with ICSI procedure + What is ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection) ?
While natural pregnancy, this is performed in the woman’s womb but for IVF treatment, fertilization are performed in the laboratory. Which the procedure is also known as ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection), where the sperm will be injected into the eggs for fertilization. It is just like mixing the most active sperm with the eggs and cultured in an incubator. The eggs that are successfully fertilized will now form embryos.
Final step : Embryo Transfer
This is the final step using ultrasound guidance performed via abdomen. This is normally a pain-free procedure which does not require sedation. A speculum is inserted into the vagina, similar to having a cervical smear taken, to visualize the cervix. The embryo(s) are transferred through a small special tube which is passed through the cervix into the uterine cavity.
After the final step of embryo transfer, all you need to do is to live a happy and healthy life and you may check if you are pregnant after 14 days. You may get a pregnancy test kit or you can proceed to the clinic for a BHCG test (Basically is a blood test to check if you’re pregnant or not). Infertility is nothing to be ashamed of and infertility shall not determine a woman. There is still hope for infertile couples, is not the end of the world. Do not worry if you have been trying to conceive, just take note on when to start visiting a fertility specialist. Sometimes we just needed some help and it’s alright to seek help!
