Many factors can prevent the union of sperm and egg. If the natural process is hindered in some manner due to an unexplained cause, assisted reproductive technologies can be used to solve this problem. At the KJIVF centre in Indrapuram, the best services are provided to those who seek professional assistance with fertility-related issues.

IVF is a method of assisted reproduction in which a man’s sperm and a woman’s eggs are combined outside of the body in a laboratory dish. One or more fertilized eggs (embryos) may be transferred into the woman’s uterus, where they may implant in the uterine lining and develop. Excess embryos may be cryopreserved (frozen) for future use. Initially, IVF was used to treat women with blocked, damaged, or absent fallopian tubes. Today, IVF is used to treat many causes of infertility, such as endometriosis and malefactor, or when a couple’s infertility is unexplained. The basic steps in an IVF treatment cycle are ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval, fertilization, embryo culture, and embryo transfer. These are discussed in the following sections.

SUCCESS RATE OF ART:

Even with the assistance of ART, the biggest factor that plays the role here is age. This is because the quality of eggs deteriorates with increasing age and thus has an overall effect on the procedure. Women over the age of 35 should receive an expedited evaluation and undergo treatment after 6 months of failed attempts to conceive.

At our IVF center in Delhi, the success rate for IVF is phenomenal along with maximum patient satisfaction.

FERTILITY PRESERVATION:

For those who delay their pregnancy, fertility preservation has come to the rescue. It helps individuals to preserve their fertility and procreate. With the use of freezing agents like liquid nitrogen, the semen samples of men and oocytes of women can be preserved and then can be used later when in need.

Multiple myths have been busted regarding ART. Here are some of the instances:

1. MULTIPLE PREGNANCIES:

Fertility treatment indeed increases the risk of having multiple pregnancies. However, most twins result from spontaneous conceptions — couples who conceive on their own! Triplets or more are a different story; approximately 15% of triplet and 7% of quadruplet pregnancies were conceived spontaneously.

In this country, approximately one-third of women under the age of 35 undergoing IVF will have twins, whereas less than 10% of women over 42 will have twins. The risk of triplets is low in all age groups because most women under 35 will have only one or two embryos transferred.

Though fertility treatment generally increases the risk of multiple pregnancies, the majority of individuals and couples will have a single baby!

2. IVF ALWAYS WORKS:

Though we would like for all individuals and couples trying to get pregnant to be successful, unfortunately, there is no fertility treatment, including in vitro fertilization (IVF), that always works for everyone. The likelihood of success in an IVF cycle is impacted by several factors, the most important being the age of the female partner. Information collected from almost all of the IVF programs in the country found that women under 35 had a 41% chance of having a baby from a single IVF cycle. The chance of success drops to 32% in women between the ages of 35 to 37, and 22% in women between the ages of 38 to 40. That number is even lower in women over 40 years of age.

Success rates also vary with the number of embryos transferred; the likelihood of pregnancy increases when more embryos are replaced, but so does the risk of multiple pregnancies. The chance to have a baby from IVF increases when more than a single cycle is done. Though not everyone who undergoes IVF treatment will have success, the majority will!At the IVF centre in Indrapuram, success rates have been quite phenomenal.

3. ART IS ONLY FOR COUPLES STRUGGLING WITH INFERTILITY:

There are many options for couples experiencing infertility. Treatment protocols are tailored to each couple and are dependent on factors like age, how long a couple has been trying to get pregnant, and the results of testing. For example, a woman may have a problem with her thyroid gland that causes her not to ovulate; treating with thyroid hormone can restore ovulation allowing for pregnancy. A man may have a semen analysis that shows decreased motility; IUI, with or without medication, may be the best treatment option. If a woman doesn’t ovulate, medication to cause ovulation would be the most appropriate treatment-insemination may not be necessary at all.

Women with blocked tubes are probably best treated with IVF, though surgery may also be an option. The treatment approach may be more aggressive in a woman approaching 40 or in a couple who has been struggling with infertility for several years. These are just a few examples of available treatment approaches. Treatment plans are individualized; there are several alternatives and there should not be a “one size fits all” approach.

Such facts break the concept of ART and IVF wide open and help understand people the importance of all the procedures involved in the course. At the KJ IVF centre in Delhi, with a detailed diagnosis of the patient, a suitable treatment course is selected according to the convenience of the patient.

Clare Louise