What is IVF fertilization?

With the deterioration of the ecological situation, an increasing number of married couples have problems with the conception of the child. After examining and establishing the reasons, often doctors say that the only way to become a mom and dad is to use assisted reproductive technologies. The most common of these is in vitro fertilization. The essence of this procedure is reduced to the fact that the meeting of male and female sex cells occurs outside the female body, and in the laboratory. Let's consider it in more detail and try to find out: what is IVF and whether it differs from artificial insemination.

What is an "IVF procedure"?

To begin with, it must be said that this manipulation includes a whole series of successive activities, the carrying out of which requires careful preparation of future parents.

This method was discovered relatively recently, in 1978, and was first applied in practice in the UK. However, there is information in the literary sources that the first attempts to implement something similar were recorded more than 200 years ago.

As already mentioned above, the procedure itself presupposes insemination of the oocyte outside the body, i.e. the sex cells are connected artificially, - artificial insemination. But to be precise, this is one of the final stages.

First of all, a woman, together with her partner, undergoes a comprehensive examination, the purpose of which is to determine the reason for the long absence of children. If the infertility diagnosis is exposed and the existing disease is not amenable to correction, IVF is prescribed.

The first stage is stimulation of the ovulatory process. To this end, a potential mother is prescribed a course of taking hormonal drugs. It lasts about 2 weeks. As a result, for 1 menstrual cycle in the female body in the follicles matures about 10 eggs.

The next stage is, the so-called ovarian puncture - a procedure in which a woman is sampled transvaginally. After this, the reproductive expert carefully examines the eggs obtained, and chooses 2-3 most suitable for fertilization.

Around this time, a man gives sperm. From ejaculate doctors allocate the most mobile, having the correct form of a sperm.

After the biological material is received from both spouses, actually, the procedure of fertilization is carried out. With the help of special tools, the introduction of the sperm into the egg. The biomaterial is then placed on the nutrient medium in which the embryo grows. Podsadka, - the next stage, is usually performed on the 2-5th day from the moment of fertilization.

After approximately 12-14 days from the date of embryo transfer to the uterine cavity, the evaluation of the success of the artificial insemination procedure is made. With this goal, a woman is taken away blood and determines the level of such a hormone as hCG. In those cases when its concentration is 100 mU / ml or more, it is said that the procedure was successful.

Quite often after this you can hear such a definition as "ECO pregnancy" - this means that the implantation was successful, and soon the woman will become a mother.

What are the types of IVF?

Having dealt with what is ECO, when it is used in medicine (gynecology), it must be said that there are several ways of carrying out the procedure. It is customary to allocate long and short protocols. However, the differences in the procedure itself are noted only until the moment of the puncture.

So, when using a long protocol, doctors appoint a woman to take hormonal drugs that block the synthesis of luteinizing hormone, and then perform therapy that stimulates the growth of follicles.

The use of a short protocol involves IVF in a woman's natural cycle, i.e. preparations for preventing premature ovulation, as in the first case, are not prescribed.