When you are at the crossroads of the most crucial decisions of your life, it is really difficult to think about the ideal ART technique you should employ to become a biological parent. Many techniques can raise your chances of becoming a biological parent. IUI, IVF, ICSI…the list goes on.
What you finally choose is a matter of requirement and your status as a patient. Both you and your fertility specialist are going to take a joint decision on this topic. According to IVF Center in Punjab, it is wise to choose techniques with high success rates. IVF and IUI are the ones that might yield good results. So which one should you choose between the two? We will help you make a clear decision.
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
As the fertilization takes place
outside of the body in IVF, it leads to an increase in the chance of
a successful pregnancy. It involves the extraction of the woman's
eggs followed by placing them in a culture dish. The sperms are
extracted from the male partner and placed in the same culture dish.
Upon fertilization, the embryos are allowed to grow in the
laboratory. The most robust and high-quality embryos are transferred
into the woman's uterus which hopefully gets successfully implanted.
The IVF cycle
Phase 1: Follicle Stimulation
The patient is given takes medications to encourage the ovaries to release multiple eggs. Medications are taken through an injection that can be self-administered.
Upon the maturation of eggs, the woman has given a Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) injection, which prepares her body for the removal of the eggs. The patient is carefully monitored through ultrasounds and blood tests.
Phase 2: Retrieval
The patient is given a mild dose of anesthesia for sedation. It is followed by the removal of the mature eggs. The patient is made to relax in the recovery room until she feels alright.
Phase 3: Fertilization
After the evaluation of the condition of the eggs by the embryologist, the eggs are placed in a culture dish. The healthiest sperm are extracted from the sperm sample and placed in the culture dish with the eggs. The eggs and the sperms are allowed to interact with each other leading to fertilization. ICSI may be used, which involves the injection of a sperm into the egg directly. It is specifically used in cases of poor sperm quality and low sperm count of the male partner. The embryos formed are evaluated. The embryos which show high division rate and stability are selected for embryo transfer. Genetic screening may be performed during this phase.
Phase 4: Embryo Transfer
In this phase, the selected embryos are implanted into the uterus. It involves the insertion of a speculum in the vagina using a very fine catheter. It is followed by the release of the embryos into the middle of the uterus. If the embryo implantation is successful, the pregnancy test should come positive.
Phase 4: Follow up
During this phase, the woman is tested for pregnancy 14 days after the embryo transfer. A positive pregnancy test indicates that the implantation was successful. In case the test comes negative, the woman must wait and undergo another IVF cycle. The procedure may or may not be successful in the first cycle.
IUI
IUI is a process that involves the stimulation of a woman to produce multiple eggs through daily hormone medications. Upon the maturation of the eggs, the woman undergoes intrauterine insemination which is done using specially treated sperm. The sperm sample may come from either the partner or a donor.
When is IUI used?
An IUI treatment is a very effective solution for certain conditions in which it is difficult for the woman to conceive on her own. These conditions include-
The woman has abnormal cervical mucus
Scarred cervix
The male partner has erection or ejaculation problems
The woman experiences severe pain during sex
The woman or man suffers from unexplained infertility
It may also be used in cases where a woman doesn't have a partner but wants to become a mother. Another case, where it is a suitable choice, is when a man is suffering from cancer and had his sperm frozen before he underwent the treatment.
We can conclude from the above the discussion that the conditions for both the treatments differ and so
does the methodology. The reproductive specialist can decide on the
methods to be followed according to the patient's condition and his
requirement.
