In vitro fertilization, or IVF for short, is one of the most popular forms of infertility treatment, and rightfully so. This treatment has a rather high success rate, is relatively less invasive, and is fairly affordable, given its success rate. But there is a small catch- not many people know about its process and how IVF works in general. Well, the overall gist of the process is rather simple - eggs and sperm are taken out and fertilized in a laboratory before being transformed into embryos and transferred back into the uterus. But this is just the general gist of the whole process; what about the specifics? Well, this is exactly what we will be discussing here today.
In this blog, we shall provide you with an overall gist of what an IVF is, why it is performed, and how you prepare for this process. Along with this, we shall also provide you with brief information regarding what to expect, some common side effects and its success rate. Now, since we have a lot to discuss, let's get started right away.
Before we discuss anything else, let’s first talk about what this process is first. So, what is IVF? In simplest terms, IVF is a form of Assisted Reproductive Technology or ART for short, which aids in circumventing the issue of infertility. The process of IVF typically revolves around retrieving eggs from the ovary and manually combining them for fertilization. Once the eggs are fertilized, they are then placed back into the uterus for conception.
Since fertilization occurs outside the uterus, the good news here is that you can use this process with the sperm or your partner or donor sperm. On top of this, you can also use an additional treatment, such as preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) alongside IVF, to further boost its already high success rates.
After the what, let's now discuss the why of IVF. Why is IVF performed? The simplest answer to this question is “to cure infertility.” But if you want to go a bit deeper into why this process is performed, you will need to dig a bit deeper and know a few more reasons why people use this treatment. Some of the key reasons include:
One of the key reasons why people conduct IVF is when they have a blocked fallopian tube. The fallopian tubes are essential for moving eggs from the ovaries to the uterus, and if they are blocked or damaged, they can prevent eggs from reaching the uterus. The good thing about IVF is that it directly bypasses the fallopian tubes as the eggs are fertilized in the lab and then placed into the uterus.
Another key reason why you might want to consider IVF is if you have ovulation issues such as irregular or nonexistent ovulation. The IVF process includes stimulating the ovary to release eggs, which negates this issue altogether.
Endometriosis occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus, often affecting the ovaries, fallopian tubes, or uterus itself. This can interfere with egg fertilization and implantation. IVF can improve the chances of pregnancy by bypassing these complications.
Yet another one of the key reasons why you might want to consider IVF is if you have uterine fibroids. These fibroids are essentially non-cancerous growths in the uterus. IVF bypasses this issue by essentially placing the eggs in the areas not affected by the fibroids.
IVF doesn’t just solve issues concerning female infertility issues. You can also use this treatment if your partner has issues with his sperm. During this process, the reproductive experts select the best sperms before using them to fertilize the eggs, essentially eliminating the issues caused by sperms with low motility and abnormalities.
Besides dealing with the known causes of infertility, IVF is also great at dealing with the unknown ones. Since the entire process is carefully monitored, this process essentially eliminates the contamination of the process from unknown factors and, as a result, can provide you with a high success rate even if the cause of your or your partner's infertility is undetermined.
Besides the core reason we mentioned here, IVF is also the first option if you are above 40, have severe fallopian tube damage, or have low sperm counts. Regardless, this list only covers some of the key reasons why you may want to choose this form of ART. Still, we hope you understood the general gist of it all and know that IVF is perfectly suitable as the first choice in most general circumstances.
Also Read: Top 10 Reasons Why Couples Choose IVF
Now, we move on to the core topic of this discussion. You can phrase this question in many forms, such as how IVF works step by step, how IVF treatment works, how IVF process works, or even how IVF pregnancy works. Regardless of how you phrase the question, the answer remains the same. So, what exactly is the process? The specific process can vary to some extent depending on your medical and reproductive health. However, the core processes are as follows:
Although taking birth control pills or estrogen during an infertility treatment may sound a bit counterintuitive, believe us, it is an essential part of the IVF process. What taking these medications does is stop the development of the ovarian cyst so that the doctors can control the timing of the menstrual cycle. This essentially gives the experts the power to control when the menstrual cycle begins and maximize the number of mature eggs during the retrieval process.
This is the second step in how IVF works, and in this step, the reproductive experts essentially provide you with medications that stimulate your ovaries to produce eggs. Although you only have one egg each month, by stimulating ovaries, the experts ensure that multiple eggs are produced simultaneously. That said, the specifics of the stimulating medications depend on your individual factors. Some of the key factors looked at when providing you with stimulating hormones include:
Response to ovarian stimulation process during previous IVF cycle (if you have had any)
Once you are provided with the stimulating hormones, the experts then carefully monitor the response to the stimulation using ultrasound and blood hormone levels every few days. While the eggs themselves are too small to be visible with ultrasound, they can monitor the ovarian follicles, which are essentially small sacs that contain the eggs.
When the experts determine that your eggs are ready for final maturation based on these tests, they then provide you with a trigger shot in preparation for egg retrieval. This shot is given exactly 36 hours before the egg retrieval time.
Following the stimulation phase is the egg retrieval stage. During this phase, you need to visit the fertility clinic. Once you reach the clinic, the experts use an ultrasound to guide a thin needle into your ovaries through your vaginal opening. They then use a suction device to pull your eggs from each follicle. The entire process is quick and only takes about 20 to 30 minutes. And the best part about this step, besides the quick time, is that you shall not feel a thing since you are mildly sedated.
Back to the process: once the eggs are retrieved, they are then placed in a dish that contains a special solution and then inserted in an incubator before they are ready to be fertilized.
After the eggs are retrieved, the next phase of how IVF works is fertilization. This is where fertilization takes place. This step takes place on the same afternoon of the egg retrieval process, and in this phase, the experts use intracytoplasmic sperm injection or ICSI to fertilize the eggs on each of the mature eggs. Now, note that this process cannot be done on immature eggs. Regardless, once all the mature eggs are fertilized, they are then left for incubation until they reach the blastocyst stage.
On average, the success rate of fertilization is roughly 70% to 80% at Hardik IVF and Fertility Center. The good news here is that if the experts retrieve a large number of eggs and you do not want them to be fertilized, you have the option to freeze them for later use or even donate them if you want to.
Embryo development is essentially a waiting period, as once the eggs are fertilized, they are kept in an incubator for the next six days. It is during this period that the eggs reach the blastocyst stage. However, depending on the quality of the eggs, not all of them reach this stage and fail to progress. The ones that do not reach the blastocyst stage are discarded, while the ones that do are prepared for transfer or frozen on the fifth or sixth day.
This is the final step in how IVF works, and in this phase, the fertilized eggs are transferred into the uterus. But before this process begins, you do need to take in hormones through oral or injection means to prepare your uterus for the acceptance of the embryo. Once your body is deemed ready, at around 14 to 21 days of medication followed by six days of injections, you shall be scheduled for embryo transfer.
Now, do note that you shall not be provided with any forms of anesthesia as this process is mildly discomforting at worst. In this process, a thin catheter is inserted through a cervix into the uterus. Then, a syringe attached to the other end injects the embryos into the uterus. The entire process only takes around 10 minutes.
Also Read: Choosing the Best IVF Doctor in Nepal For High Success Rate
Now that we have covered the core topic of our blog, let's discuss some additional but still relevant information before we reach the end and conclude our topic. The next topic on our agenda, following how IVF works, is how to prepare for the IVF process. Well, there are a few things you can do, among them some of which include:
The next side topic we are going to discuss is the expectations you can keep after the IVF treatment. This is going to be a quick one as well since there are only a few key symptoms that you can expect immediately after the process, and some of these key symptoms include:
That said, you can return to regular activities right after the egg retrieval process and the embryo transfer process. However, you should not drive for 24 hours after anesthesia should be provided to you. Furthermore, you should also note that you are not to do any form of stressful activities, be it physical or mental, during the whole process.
Among many things you can expect after the IVF process, you might also want to prepare for the side effects. While the side effects are somewhat rare, they are still not rare enough for you to completely ignore them. Some of the common side effects you might face after the IVF process include:
Besides this, some common side effects after the IVF process include:
Now, note that while you should be wary of these side effects, you should not be anxious about them, as being overly anxious can cause more harm than good.
Alongside the side effects of IVF, you should also be aware of some of its risks. Now, you should also note that the risk of IVF is minuscule, similar to the side effects. Regardless, there are some risks of IVF that you can keep in mind. Some of the relatively common risks of IVF include:
This is just a brief compilation of the risks of IVF treatment, and the ones we mentioned here are just some of the relatively common ones. Besides the ones we mentioned here, there are rare ones as well, but they are rare enough not to worry at all.
Now that we are reaching the end of this topic let’s discuss the cost of IVF in Nepal. In all honesty, the IVF cost in Nepal is hard to determine since the exact cost depends on several factors, such as the doctor's experience, the location of the facility, and the technology you use in the facilities. That said, we can provide you with a rough range based on the cost at Hardik IVF and Fertility Center - the best IVF center in Nepal. At Hardik, you can get IVF between the cost of NPR 2,50,000 and NPR 4,00,000.
Another key thing we have to cover before we end this topic is the success rate of IVF in Nepal. Well, no one can exactly say the accurate success rate since it depends on person to person, and many factors such as physical, mental, and reproductive health along with lifestyle choices contribute to IVF success rate. However, we can provide you with an average success rate at Hardik IVF and Fertility Center. As one of the best IVF centers in Nepal, Hardik boasts a rather high success rate, somewhere around 70% to 80% in general circumstances.
Read more: Is IVF a 100% Successful Treatment Process?
Now that we are just one more step away from the end of this topic, some of you may wonder where to get the best IVF treatment in Nepal. As we mentioned, Hardik is one of the best places for this. Why? The following are some of the core reasons why you should choose Hardik IVF for IVF treatment.
Of all the different infertility treatments out there, IVF is perhaps one of the best. First off, the success rate of it is very high, but at the same time, it's also a relatively safe form of treatment for infertility. But how does IVF work? There are a few key steps involved in how IVF works, including egg retrieval, fertilization and implantation. However, knowing about IVF is much more than just learning about its process. You also need to know about what to prepare, its side effects, and its success rate. Good thing we covered all of these in our blog here.
In this blog, we provide you with an overall overview of how IVF works, along with some additional information. We hope you found this helpful. If you seek further insights into the various other aspects of IVF, do check out some of our other blogs. And if you want the best IVF treatment in Nepal, look no further than Hardik IVF and Fertility Center. Thank you for reading till the end.
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The process of IVF treatment usually takes about 6 to 8 weeks per cycle. It includes hormone stimulation, retrieval of the eggs, fertilization, putting in the embryo, and two weeks of pregnancy confirmation. However, the period taken toward achieving pregnancy would depend on the individual's factors such as age, health, and response to the treatment?.
Yes, IVF babies are as healthy and normal as naturally conceived babies. There is no significant evidence of long-term health risks for children born through IVF. Advances in technology ensure safe fertilization and embryo development?.
Considering the other infertility treatment options available, IVF is one of the safer options; however, there are a number of disadvantages that are associated with this process. Some of these disadvantages include:
IVF success rates vary. Factors like age, health, and fertility issues influence success:
The best time to start IVF depends on your health and fertility condition. Women under 35 have higher success rates, so early intervention is recommended for those facing infertility. Consulting a fertility specialist will help determine the ideal timing?.
IVF involves some discomfort, but it’s generally not described as painful:
IVF effectiveness varies based on age:
The Hardik IVF, IVF treatment cycle consists of five significant steps: