09/19/2019 IVF is a medical procedure for
conception in which a woman’s egg is
fertilized with partner’s sperm outside in the lab and the resulting embryo is
transferred to the woman’s uterus.
Though it’s one of the advanced fertility
treatments, worldwide success rates of ivf ranges from 30-50%. The success of
IVF primarily depends upon age of women, cause of infertility ,Sperm quality ,
oocyte quality and uterine receptivity.
Although IVF is a well-established process,
each step is complex and carries with it a chance of failure. So, couples may
require multiple cycles to achieve a pregnancy.
Here is a guide to help a couple to sail
through the journey of ivf smoothly and improve the chance of being successful
at the earliest.
1) Lifestyle changes- Maintaining a healthy
weight ,quitting smoking, avoiding excess alcohol, well balanced diet and
exercise.
2)Reducing stress- Several reports suggest
improvement of pregnancy outcomes with the use of acupuncture and other stress
relieving techniques, like enrolling in mind-body programs, stress reduction,
and resilience training workshops.
3)Couples should take their multi-vitamin
and mineral supplement which contains vitamins D, A, C, E and B complex, zinc,
magnesium, selenium, iron and Co-enzyme Q10 .
4)Supplements should be continued to
improve egg and sperm quality if your doctor suggests. These may need to be
taken for at least 3 months prior to IVF.
5)IVF protocols - Individualised protocols
for ovarian stimulation should be used for each patient rather than blanket
therapy.
6)Associated gynaecological illness like
fibroids, endometrial polyps, endometriosis, adenomyosis, hydrosalpinx should
be dealt with before going for embryo transfer in IVF.
7)Sperm DNA damage testing (DFI) -
Routine semen parameters like sperm concentration,
motility and morphology may not be sufficient to predict pregnancy outcome.
ICSI-intracytoplasmic sperm injection can also improve IVF outcome in such
cases when sperm analysis is otherwise normal.
DNA damaged sperm can impair fertilization,
embryo development, implantation and can also cause miscarriages. Treatment
with antioxidants and varicocelectomy can decrease DFI.
Sperm sorting techniques like MACS and
microfluidics can help to sort out best sperm for ICSI.
8)TESA-Testicular sperms have less DNA
damage and better DNA integrity. Sperms can be easily aspirated with small
needle without much damage and used in ICSI.
9)Blastocyst transfer- embryos that has
been grown up to 5 days post fertilization are called blastocysts and they have
a better implantation rate compared to day 3 embryos. Only 1/3 of all embryos
are capable of growing to this stage.
10)Assisted hatching: when embryo is
unable to escape its shell, the Embryologist
facilitates the hatching process by laser so that embryo can come out and
implant.
11)Embryo glue- Specially developed
solution that contain a substance called hyaluron can be used. It has
implantation enhancing effect
12)Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT)-This is a procedure for genetic testing
of IVF embryos by a biopsy prior to transfer and help us to select healthy and
chromosomally normal embryo. This improves chances of conception and avoids
abortion and birth defects. With this test you can also eliminate the risk of
passing genetic disease to your baby.
13)ERA: Endometrial receptivity analysis
is a genetic test that evaluates the uterine endometrial lining. It analyses the
optimal timing of embryo transfer to promote successful implantation. This is
also called Personalised embryo transfer.
Your Fertility Specialist would be the best
one to judge what would work the best for you. In case of a failure the couple
should not lose hope and instead discuss the causes for failure and go for
further advanced tests and procedures for improving success in repeat cycles.

Hegde Fertility Center offers the most advanced and efficient infertility treatments with the primary goal of being a center par excellence that is focused on bringing avant-garde facilities, state-of-the-art labs, highly trained experts, and a dedicated caring staff for fulfilling a couple's desire…
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