CONSULTANT | OBSTETRICS & GYNAECOLOGY
GLENEAGLES KOTA KINABALU HOSPITAL
WHAT IS IVF?
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process by which an egg is fertilized by sperm outside of the body. The process involves monitoring a women’s ovulatory process, removing ovum or ova (egg or eggs) from the woman’s ovaries and letting sperm fertilise them in a fluid medium in a laboratory, and then transferring it to the patient’s uterus with the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy.
Let us look at the problem of infertility as a whole. It is common and you are not alone. One in 6 couples in the UK has this problem. In Malaysia it occurs in 15% per cent of the population. If we take a school class room of 30 students, 5 of us in the class will face this problem. It is common and you are not alone. The good news is that half of this group will conceived using simple advice or treatment. The other 50% will require advanced techniques like IUI and IVF.
So, how does IVF increase your chance of having a baby more than the natural success rate? During IVF, we will increase the number of mature eggs. (In IVF we will increase your number of eggs from 5 to 15 eggs). IVF increases your chance to fertilize using ICSI technique. Therefore, we will have more embryos and a wider choice to select the better quality embryos. Thereafter we will transfer the embryos and place them at the most suitable spot… at the upper third of uterus. Lastly we will increase the endometrium receptivity for the embryos to settle and implant.
How do we increase the number of mature eggs? It is by controlled Ovarian Stimulation. In IVF we do not want a dominant follicle. Instead we will stimulate all the follicles to maturity so that we will have 5 to 15 eggs. When the follicle matures to 18- 20mm size, an ovulation injection is given. After the ovulation injection, the eggs will be picked up 34 to 36 hours later.
In IVF cycles all the eggs will be fertilized using ICSI technique. This is to ensure that all the eggs will be fertilized instead of leaving fertilization to chance.
Two days later, 2 or 3 embryos will be transferred into the uterine cavity. This transfer will be done under ultrasound guidance so that the embryos will be placed at the best suitable position.
After the embryo transfer, progesterone is needed to make the endometrium receptive. IVF patients will require progesterone support until 12 weeks by injection and vaginal pessary. The vaginal pessary is most important.
And if everything goes well, after 8 weeks of embryo transfer ET, you will see your fetus moving on ultrasound.
In summary, how does IUI and IVF affect your fertility rate? A normal women at age 25 has a fertility rate of approximately 30%. If you do not get pregnant after one year of trying, your chances of conceiving is a mere 1%. IUI increases the fertility rate to 15%. If you opt for IVF your success rate will rise to 40% - 65%.
For the complete article about this subject can be read on this October to December 2016 issue of Parents Avenue Magazine.
*Disclaimer: All information is for your general reference only. We (Parents Avenue) do not accept any responsibility whatsoever in respect of such information.
