Fertilization and Insemination: IVF Centre in Delhi NCR

by Shivani Sachdev Director at SCI IVF Hospital

Parenthood is one of life's most rewarding experiences. While it comes naturally to many, approximately one in every ten couples requires medical assistance as a result of infertility, according to statistics. IVF aids in fertilization, embryo development, and implantation, allowing you to become pregnant.

How is the IVF procedure performed?

When a woman's egg and sperm are mixed in the lab, this is called "IVF." When something is done "in vitro," it means outside the body. An egg is ready to be fertilized when its sperm attaches to and moves inside its shell. An IVF centre must have a lot of different machines and facilities to do an IVF process. Here is how it works:

Stimulation, alternatively referred to as superovulation

Fertility drugs are prescribed to women to increase egg production.
At the start of each month, a woman usually has one egg. Fertility drugs help the ovaries to make a lot of eggs.
Throughout this stage, the woman will undergo routine transvaginal ultrasound examinations of her ovaries and blood tests to monitor her hormone levels.

Egg retrieval

A small surgery, called follicular aspiration, is done to get the eggs out of the woman's body.
Most of the time, surgery is done in the doctor's office. The woman will be given medicine so that she doesn't feel any pain while the procedure is done. In this procedure, a thin needle is passed through the vagina and into the egg-filled sacs in the ovary. The health care provider looks at ultrasound images to help them. An egg and fluid are pulled out of each follicle one at a time using suction.
The same thing is done for the other ovary, too. If you have surgery, you might feel a little crampy.
In very rare cases, a pelvic laparoscopy may be needed to remove the eggs from the body. A woman may use donated eggs if she can't make any of her eggs.

Fertilization and Insemination

The best quality eggs are combined with the man's sperm. The process of combining sperm and egg is insemination.
The eggs and sperm are then kept in a climate-controlled chamber. A few hours after insemination, the sperm usually enters (fertilises) an egg.
If the doctor believes there is a low chance of fertilisation, the sperm may be injected directly into the egg. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection is the term for this (ICSI).
Even if everything appears to be normal, many fertility clinics perform ICSI on some of the eggs.

Embryo’s culture

An embryo is formed when a fertilised egg divides. The embryo will be checked regularly by laboratory personnel to ensure that it is growing properly. A normal embryo has several cells that are actively dividing after about 5 days.
A pre-implantation genetic diagnosis is an option for couples who are concerned about passing a genetic (hereditary) disorder to their child (PGD). The procedure is usually performed three to five days after fertilisation. Each embryo is sampled for a single cell or cells, which are then screened for specific genetic disorders.
PGD can aid parents in deciding which embryos to implant, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. This reduces the risk of a disorder being passed down to a child. The technique is divisive, and it is not available in all centres.

Embryo transfer

Embryos are implanted 3–5 days after egg retrieval and fertilisation.
The procedure is carried out while the patient is conscious. A thin tube (catheter) is inserted into the woman's vagina, through the cervix, and into her womb. When an embryo attaches to the uterine lining and grows, the woman becomes pregnant.
It is possible to have twins, triplets, or more when more than one embryo is implanted at the same time. The number of embryos transferred varies depending on many factors, including the woman's age.
Unused embryos can be frozen and later implanted or donated.

Conclusion

If you think that IVF might be right for you, make sure that the IVF treatment centre you choose is safe and best.