How Is In Vitro Fertilization Performed?

In vitro fertilization is a medical procedure that fertilizes an embryo in a medical laboratory and then implants it within the mother's uterus. Fertility specialists prescribe this procedure for infertile couples looking for help conceiving. The process is safe and effective. Couples typically prepare for an in vitro fertilization procedure for months in advance, speaking with counselors, trying alternatives and doing what they can to increase the chances of success.

History

Scientists performed the first successful in vitro fertilization procedure that resulted in a birth in 1976 after years of research and experimentation. The procedure did not enter common practice, however, until the mid 1980s when researchers developed practices involving cryogenic storage and transfer of embryos. The success rates of in vitro fertilization have risen to very high levels, particularly when compared to natural fertilization. The religious controversy around the procedure has also fallen away, with the majority of major faiths having changed policy to endorse the practice since the early years. As the procedure has risen in terms of social acceptance, more couples have turned to in vitro fertilization as a solution to infertility. In turn, researchers have improved the level of sophistication of the procedure, increasing its safety and sophistication.

Function

Before the procedure begins, fertility specialists administer a set of drug treatments to the prospective mother to stimulate egg development. The prospective father donates sperm, which is frozen and stored. The mother's eggs are surgically extracted and frozen. A surgeon, guided by ultrasound, inserts a hollow needle through the pelvis and extracts the eggs directly from the ovaries. Technicians freeze the eggs, store them and prepare them for fertilization.

Identification

After these preliminary procedures are completed, the fertility clinic conducts the in vitro fertilization process. Technicians mix the extracted eggs with the stored sperm in a sterile incubation environment. In cases of extraordinary infertility, an individual sperm may be specially injected into a single egg using a process called intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Doctors monitor the incubator for fertilization success. Once the eggs divide successfully, an embryo has been created. Surgeons transplant the nascent fetus into the uterus of the prospective mother between 1 and 6 days after fertilization.

Expert Insight

Fertility clinics cryogenically freeze many embryos created by in vitro fertilization using liquid nitrogen in between fertilization and implantation. Studies demonstrate that children born from in vitro fertilization that were frozen as embryos have a higher average birth weight and cause fewer pregnancy complications than those stored and transferred using more conventional methods.

Warning

The primary risk involved with in vitro fertilization, relative to natural birth methods, is that of multiple births. Successful in vitro fertilizations are more statistically likely than natural pregnancies to result in twins, triplets or more. Multiple births have higher rates of pregnancy complications, lead to lower average birth weight and more birth defects than single births.

Resources

• American Pregnancy: In Vitro Fertilization
• In Vitro Fertilization FAQ