In vitro fertilization (IVF), is a process where egg cells are fertilized by sperm outside of the womb. “In vitro” is a Latin term that means “within the glass”, and refers to any biological procedure performed in a controlled environment outside of the organism in which it would usually take, often in glass laboratory equipment.
Children conceived in this manner are often referred to as “test tube babies”. The first test tube baby, Louise Brown, was born in the UK on July 25th, 1978. It is estimated that since then, 3 million babies have been conceived using IVF.
IVF is used when there is low probability of sperm fertilizing the egg or when the woman’s ovaries are blocked. It is usually used after other methods have been tried, as it is an expensive, invasive and time consuming procedure.
The success rate of IVF is difficult to establish, as each clinic uses a different method to determine success. Also, the definition of success varies. Some clinics consider a successful implantation to be a success, others consider an ongoing pregnancy to be a success, and others consider only an actual delivery as success. A clinic that reports a higher success rate may not necessarily have more babies born.
It is also difficult to accurately predict the chances of success, as there are far too many variables involved. One thing that is certain, is that chances of success are higher if the woman involved is younger.
The procedure for in vitro fertilization consists of several steps:
- Ovulation induction: The woman is given medications to stimulate ovulation.
- Egg retrieval: Eggs are then extracted from the ovaries. This may be done either by inserting a thin needle in the vagina, or by a slight incision in the abdomen.
- Insemination: The woman’s eggs are mixed with the man’s sperm, and monitored until fertilization.
- Fertilization: If the sperm are unable to reach the eggs, each egg is injected with a sperm under a microscope.
- Embryo transfer: The embryos are allowed to develop for 2-3 days after fertilization. The embryos are then transferred to the woman’s uterus. To increase the chances of success, more than one embryo is often implanted. Because of this, many women who undergo the IVF procedure have twins.
- Pregnancy testing: The woman is monitored to ensure that the embryo has attached itself successfully, and the pregnancy is monitored as normal.
While the in vitro fertilization procedure can be costly, expensive and time consuming, and despite a large amount of controversy, many couples have been able to conceive a child through this procedure when otherwise there was no other option for them.
