Steps of IVF process
IVF is a method to help couples who cannot conceive naturally to achieve fertility through assisted reproductive technology. This process involves multiple steps and professional medical operations. The following will introduce the steps of IVF process in detail from four aspects.
1. Assessment and preparation
Before starting the IVF process, couples need to undergo a comprehensive assessment and preparation. This includes:
1.1 Prenatal genetic diagnosis of infants: couples need to carry out gene and chromosome examinations to exclude the risk of genetic diseases.
1.2 In vivo evaluation: The doctor will conduct a detailed reproductive health evaluation of the couple, including blood examination, uterus and ovary examination.
1.3 In vitro evaluation: Doctors may also conduct in vitro evaluation on couples to evaluate the quality and quantity of eggs and sperm.
2. Ovulation induction and egg collection
Ovulation induction is a key step in the process of IVF. It stimulates the development of multiple follicles by injecting hormone to women. The specific steps are as follows:
2.1 Hormone injection: According to the doctor's instructions, women should inject hormone by themselves every day for multiple cycles of treatment.
2.2 Monitoring and adjustment: In the process of hormone injection, doctors will regularly carry out ultrasonic examination and blood examination to monitor the growth of follicles, and adjust the drug dosage according to the examination results.
2.3 Egg collection: When the follicle develops to the appropriate size, the doctor will use the ultrasound guided fine needle technology to collect multiple eggs in the operating room.
3. Fertilization and embryo culture
The collected eggs will be fertilized in vitro and embryo cultured with sperm in the laboratory. The specific steps are as follows:
3.1 Sperm taking and fertilization: The male provides semen samples, and the laboratory technician places high-quality sperm and collected eggs in a petri dish to wait for fertilization.
3.2 Embryo culture: The fertilized egg will continue to be cultured in the culture dish, and the doctor will regularly check the development of the embryo, and select the embryo with the most development potential for transplantation.
3.3 Embryo freezing: if there is more than one high-quality embryo, the doctor can keep it frozen for future use.
4. Embryo transfer and pregnancy testing
The final step is to transfer the selected embryos back to the female uterus and conduct pregnancy tests.
4.1 Embryo transfer: The doctor will insert the selected embryo into the female uterus through a thin tube at a specific time.
4.2 Rest and observation: women need to rest and follow the specific guidance given by the doctor to improve the chances of successful implantation of embryos.
4.3 Pregnancy test: Generally, about two weeks after transplantation, women will have a blood or urine pregnancy test to confirm whether the implantation is successful.
In summary, the IVF process involves four key steps: evaluation and preparation, ovulation promotion and egg collection, fertilization and embryo culture, as well as embryo transfer and pregnancy testing. Each step requires the professional skills of doctors and the cooperation of patients. Through these steps, many couples have successfully realized their dreams of having healthy and lovely IVF babies.
