If you’re struggling with infertility and initial treatments like lifestyle changes haven’t helped you conceive, you aren’t alone. Infertility affects about 17.5% of adults worldwide, and it’s on the rise in America.
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is an assisted reproductive technology that provides advanced tools and techniques to help you have a baby. Infertility specialist and board-certified Daniel Rostein, MD, FACOG, is a premier IVF expert with a 30-year-plus history of helping his patients conceive through IVF and other advanced methods.
This blog explains the basics of IVF and can help you prepare to start your own IVF journey.
IVF is a process in which an egg is fertilized with sperm in a laboratory environment. It’s a multi-part process using the latest reproductive technology to create healthy high-quality embryos (fertilized eggs) that give you a much-improved chance of having a baby.
As someone starting IVF for the first time, here’s what you can expect on your journey to parenthood.
Your infertility workup involves a complete medical history, lifestyle evaluation, blood testing, pelvic ultrasound, and other tests based on your individual needs. Semen analysis for the male partner or donor is also an important part of the process.
These tests can determine the underlying causes of infertility, how many eggs are available in your ovaries, predict your future egg supply, and what kind of medication you need for the next step of treatment.
Ovarian stimulation involves daily injections, which you administer on your own at home starting early in your menstrual cycle. These injections contain an ovary-stimulating medication that causes you to make extra eggs during ovulation. This gives you the best chance of having multiple embryos.
You’ll come to the office frequently during the ovarian stimulation period, which lasts about two weeks. Monitoring during this time helps make sure your eggs are developing properly and helps Dr. Rostein plan the next step, which is egg retrieval.
Egg retrieval is a minor surgical procedure that involves Dr. Rostein removing your eggs from your ovaries. He uses leading-edge ultrasound technology to expertly pinpoint the healthiest and most viable follicles (which contain the eggs) and removes the eggs using a fine needle.
Dr. Rostein performs egg retrieval while you’re under light sedation. After a short recovery period, you can return home.
Our lab specialists immediately retrieve the eggs and clean them before combining them with sperm from your partner or a donor, creating the best chance for embryos to develop.
The conditions in the lab are carefully controlled to be as close as possible to the natural environment of the uterus, thereby increasing the chance of developing healthy strong embryos.
The next day, our lab specialists check on the eggs and continue monitoring them until they reach the ideal stage for transfer.
The last step of the IVF cycle is the embryo transfer. During this minor procedure, Dr. Rostein expertly transfers your embryos to your uterus.
Dr. Rostein uses ultrasound guidance to place the embryos precisely to maximize the chances of implantation and successful pregnancy. You typically take a pregnancy test 7-14 days after embryo transfer.
Dr. Daniel Rostein is a renowned fertility specialist who can help you start your path to parenthood through IVF. To learn more, call the office or contact us online today.
