When you see your friends posting adorable pictures on social media of their toddler snuggled up in their arms, you might be thinking of having a child of your own. For someone who never had a problem with fertility, those pictures are just happy moments to be liked and loved, but for those who are incapable of bearing children, those might be a distressing reminder – a reminder of your ongoing battle to get pregnant and having a child.
There are various factors contributing to infertility; thankfully, science has solutions to this problem in the form of Assisted Reproductive Treatment (ART). One of the most performed ART treatments worldwide is In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment. There are numerous clinics for IVF treatment in Mumbai that can help in having an effective consultation with the infertility expert present in their clinic. Read on to know more about IVF.
What is IVF?
It is the process of mixing an egg and the sperm outside the body in a glass container and then transferring the embryo that results from the fertilization process to the woman’s uterus. Usually, the eggs are removed from the woman’s ovary; some other times the infertility specialist might recommend the need to use a donor egg. Donor eggs can be used for reasons such as a risk of passing on any genetic disorder that may cause harm to the fetus, low egg production, premature menopause, etc. In such a case, consulting donor egg surgeons in Mumbai can be helpful.
When is IVF applicable?
The IVF treatment should be considered only after all the treatable causes of infertility are ruled out by doctors. The situations under which IVF is appropriate are:
- When there are blocked or damaged fallopian tubes
- When your partner has low sperm count but the sperm is still capable of fertilizing an egg.
- If you have endometriosis – a condition where the lining of the uterus grows not just in the uterus but also in the abdomen leading to scarring of the tubes.
- When all attempts to diagnose infertility has been unsuccessful.
- When ovaries fail to produce eggs or if the availability of eggs is very low for fertilization
- When there are uterine fibroids in the uterus.
What does the IVF procedure involve?
The first step in IVF treatment is the advanced ultrasound scan. This is to access the growth of the follicles. Once it is satisfactory, stimulation of multiple follicles is done to mature the eggs. The eggs are then collected and mixed with your partner’s sperm and are monitored for fertilization. After the fertilization takes place, the embryo is allowed to develop for few days and then transferred into the uterus.
Cures for infertility are as old as the hills but in the last few decades only, evidence-based treatments have been possible for infertile couples. However, the treatments do not always guarantee success and are complex in nature.
When one is struggling to achieve pregnancy, it is natural to feel depressed. In such situations, feel free to talk to doctors online. The infertility specialists and doctors are happy to help; however hard it gets and no matter how long it takes, they make sure that one’s dream of having a child of their own is fulfilled.