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Major Fertility Treatments
In many cases, the fertility
problem is straightforward These may include simple
treatments such as fertility medication, hormone
treatment, drug treatment or microsurgery each
provided depending on the cause of infertility.
Assisted Fertility Treatment
If the Specialist think that a couple are unlikely
to achieve a pregnancy naturally, These are the main
general treatments offered to the couples.- Surgery - depending on the cause of infertilty
- Assisted Insemination
- Ovulation Induction
- In-Vitro Fertilization(IVF)
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Ovulation Induction Ovulation induction (OI) with controlled ovarian stimulation may be recommended for women who have normal tubes, and whose partners have a normal semen analysis, but who rarely or never ovulate.
Ovulation can be induced with a range of drugs in a tablet or injection form. Two main types used are
tablets of clomiphene citrate (Clomid or Serophene) and injections of follicle stimulating hormone, or FSH (Gonal-F or Puregon).
IVF- In Vitro fertilization
'In vitro' is a Latin term literally meaning 'in glass'.
It refers to the glass container in the laboratory where
fertilization takes place. The combination of the egg
and sperm outside the body is an in vitro procedure.
IVF is not one simple procedure, but a series of steps
over several weeks. The main steps involved in this
procedure are:
Hormone StimulationThe female is given fertility drugs to help stimulate the ovary. This helps develop several mature eggs which are required for fertilization.The development of the eggs is monitored by one or two blood tests and ultrasounds. The ultrasound and blood tests ensure that eggs are collected at precisely the right time.
Eggs Collection
Using a vaginal ultrasound probe, the follicles are identified
and the needle guided into them. The fluid in the follicles
is then extracted and immediately examined by the scientists
who use a microscope to find the egg/s. On the day of egg collection the men will be asked to deliver a fresh sample of semen
Laboratory procedure of FertilizationIn a standard IVF treatment,
the eggs are mixed with the sperm in a culture dish. For intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment,
an individual sperm is selected and, under very delicate microscopic control, the egg, itself requiring extensive preparation, is injected with this single sperm
Embryo TransferThe embryos are transferred into the uterus via a very fine catheter passed through the cervix. It is described by patients as similar to having a Pap smear.The urine pregnancy kit is not recomended.The only reliable pregnancy test is a blood test. If the pregnancy test is
positive, a vaginal ultrasound scan a week or two later is recommended.
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