The IVF Process

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is an assisted reproduction technology that involves removing eggs from a woman, fertilizing them in a laboratory with the partner's sperm (or donor sperm), waiting a few days for the fertilized eggs to grow into embryos, and then transferring one or more of the embryos into the woman's uterus.

The first successful IVF ended with the birth of Louise Brown in the UK in July 1978. Louise Brown went on to have her own child in 2006 at the age of 28 without the use of IVF.

How Does IVF Increase the Odds of Conception?

Some clinics describe the process of IVF as "compressing months of natural attempts into one menstrual cycle." Multiple eggs are fertilized at one time and the healthiest ones are placed into the uterus. Technically conception occurs in the lab, but the fertilized eggs can't grow in a Petri dish, so they need to be placed back into the uterus to grow into a full-term baby. The couple decides whether to destroy the remaining embryos or freeze them for future use.

The Process

The woman receives a series of hormone medications to stimulate the production of eggs. During a regular menstrual cycle a woman usually only has a single follicle producing a single egg. One egg is not enough to make the IVF process work so hormones are injected to trick the body into producing numerous eggs at one time.

The eggs are retrieved from the ovaries when they're mature. On the day of egg retrieval the male partner will need to produce a sperm sample. It's also possible to use frozen sperm from the partner's earlier sample. Donor sperm can also be used.

With IVF the egg needs to be fertilized within 24 hours after retrieval just as it would need to be fertilized within 24 hours the natural way. The sperm and egg are incubated at a ratio of 75,000 sperm to one egg in a culture media for about 18 hours. Usually the egg is fertilized by this point. If low sperm count or sperm motility and quality are a concern, a single healthy sperm will be injected directly into the egg using intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). If fertilization occurs this way, the egg will be left for 48 hours to grow into six to eight cells.

The fertilized eggs are allowed to grow for several days. Then one or more of the healthiest embryos are transferred directly into the middle of the uterine cavity in the hope that implantation will occur.