If you’re wondering ‘what is IVF?’, don’t worry, you’re not alone. We spoke to Dr Sharon Xian Li, the director of the City Fertility Centre in Brisbane to find out more and break down the process.
Many people have heard of In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) – but do you know how the actual process works? Whether you are just beginning to research fertility treatments or are about to start IVF, the more you understand about the procedures, the less stress you may feel.
IVF literally means “fertilisation in glass”. The process involves fertilising the egg with the sperm in an incubator outside the body, then transferring the embryo back into the woman’s uterus. The whole process up to the embryo transfer stage usually takes six to eight weeks.
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Just a few notes I'd like to share. I went through three cycles in Melbourne, having had a low AMH & AFC result.
The response of my ovaries was monitored with regular ultrasounds - no blood tests in my case, and I believe most patients at the clinic I went to.
My partner needed to 'clear his pipes' in advance of the sperm collection day, so that he could produce the best possible sample. The fertility clinic advised us of this timing.
For the egg retrieval process, I was under conscious sedation (formerly twilight sedation), not general anaesthesia. It was as if I had been asleep, I couldn't remember it. I highly recommend taking that day off work.
We were advised to do ICSI, not because sperm quality or count was low, but because we were working with so few eggs.
I had 3, then 4, then 3 eggs collected over the three cycles.
- My first cycle was high-dose drugs, and resulted in 0 embryos.
- My second cycle was low-dose drugs, and resulted in 3 embryos (plus I had started fertility acupuncture and begun taking maca root powder).
- My third cycle was mainly low-dose and resulted in 1 top-quality embryo.
That is an overall result of 4 embryos from 10 eggs.
I also took pregnancy vitamins, co-enzyme Q10, royal jelly, vitamin D3, and zinc throughout, having done lots of reading.
Did the 3rd cycle result in a baby?
A big journey. I wish you lots of success!