Who Needs IVF?
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Advanced maternal age/diminished ovarian reserve
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Male factor (poor sperm quality or quantity)
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Unexplained infertility or recurrent miscarriage
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Genetic/Chromosomal factors
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Ovulatory dysfunction, absent or blocked fallopian tubes
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Endometriosis or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
IVF Overview
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is one of the most popular, and most effective, procedures for couples that wish to grow their families. During IVF, medications are used to stimulate the production of a women’s eggs. The eggs are removed from the ovaries and fertilized with sperm in our embryology laboratory. The resulting embryos are then transferred into the female patient’s or surrogate’s uterus in hopes of the embryo implanting and developing into a healthy baby. Depending on individual needs, the egg and sperm used could be from the intended parent(s) or from an egg or sperm donor.
IVF Process
IVF Saint Germain’s fertility specialists will provide you with the highest quality fertility care for your IVF cycle. Our IVF treatments program encompass the following steps:
First, you will inject fertility medications to stimulate the ovaries to produce an increased number of eggs. A personalized medication protocol is developed based on your age, past history and results of both hormonal and ultrasound evaluations. You will return to the clinic every few days where you will be monitored carefully with ultrasound examinations and blood tests.
When the eggs are mature, they are retrieved through a minor surgical procedure performed under anesthesia, in which a needle is inserted through your vagina into the ovary to remove the eggs under direct ultrasound guidance. The fluid is then examined by skilled embryologists to isolate the eggs.
Next, a sperm sample is separated from the semen and carefully prepared. With conventional insemination techniques, a specific concentration of separated sperm is allowed to fertilize the eggs the lab. In other situations, a single sperm is injected into each egg through a procedure called ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection).
The embryos are then incubated in a tightly controlled laboratory environment and are cultured 3 or 6 days.
Embryos can be frozen for current and for future use. Frozen embryos can be thawed at any time in the future. Most patients elect to freeze all embryos made in order to perform chromosome testing (PGT).
Placement of an embryo back into the uterus is via a simple office procedure. The best embryo for transfer can be selected based on both physical appearance and often based on chromosome testing. It is usually our policy to transfer only one embryo at a time (single embryo transfer) to maximize your overall success and to minimize multiple pregnancies. Most transfers are now frozen embryo transfers but some patient still elect to have a fresh embryo transfer. About 9 to 11 days after the embryo transfer, you will take a pregnancy test via your blood.
IVF Success Rates
The physicians of IVF Saint Germain maintain availability of all assisted reproductive resources to their patients in order to treat them the way they want to and should be treated. We will always provide a balanced and transparent assessment of prognosis with options and alternatives. Ultimately, pregnancy success rates and delivery success rates are directly related to embryo quality and /or egg quality which are biologically intrinsic to the process.
Success varies with many factors, some of which include:
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The age of the woman when she is using her own eggs.
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The number of embryos that are transferred.
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The quality of the embryos, i.e. its genetic integrity which is a derivative of egg and sperm (gamete) quality.