If you and your partner are one of the 12 percent of couples who struggle to conceive, you know how difficult it can be to cope with infertility.
Having a summary of your options can be beneficial. The three most frequent fertility therapies are described in detail below. Once you have a sense of what might be good for you, talk to your doctor at your IVF centre about it and do more research to get more specifics.
- Artificial Insemination (AI)
Artificial insemination (AI) is a fertility procedure that involves injecting sperm directly into the cervix or uterus in the hopes of conceiving. These sperm are sometimes cleansed or “processed” to boost a woman’s chances of becoming pregnant.
To conceive, a man’s sperm must travel up the vaginal canal via the cervix, into the uterus, and into a fallopian tube, where an egg is fertilised. However, a man’s sperm may not be mobile enough to make the journey. Sometimes, a woman’s cervix may not be adequate for sperm to enter the uterus. Artificial insemination may help a woman conceive in these and other situations.
Intrauterine insemination (IUI) and intracervical insemination (ICI) are the two methods of artificial insemination practiced at the fertility clinic Anna nagar.
Intracervical Insemination (ICI)
ICI is a method of artificial insemination in which sperm is implanted into the cervix.
Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)
IUI is a treatment that involves injecting sperm directly into the uterus, bypassing the cervix. The steps are identical to those for ICI.
- In-vitro fertilisation (IVF)
IVF (in vitro fertilisation) is assisted reproductive technology (ART). It entails extracting eggs from a woman’s ovaries and artificially fertilising them with sperm. The embryo can then be frozen or transplanted to a woman’s uterus for preservation.
- IVF treatment is broken down into five steps:
- Stimulation
During each menstrual cycle, a woman generally produces one egg. IVF, on the other hand, necessitates the use of several eggs. The chances of producing a viable embryo are increased when many eggs are used. Fertility medicines will be given to you to help your body generate more eggs. During this time, the doctor from your IVF centre will conduct regular blood tests and ultrasounds to check egg production and determine when they should be retrieved.
- Egg Retrieval
Follicular aspiration is the term for egg retrieval. It’s an anaesthetic-assisted surgical treatment. Using an ultrasound wand, a needle will be guided into your vaginal canal, your ovary, and an egg-containing follicle. With the needle, each follicle will be suctioned for eggs and fluid.
- Insemination
A sperm sample from the male partner will now be required. In a petri dish, the sperm and eggs will be mixed together by a technician. If this does not result in embryos, your doctor may choose ICSI.
- Embryo Culture
Your doctor will keep an eye on the fertilised eggs to ensure they’re dividing and growing properly. At this phase, the embryos may be tested for genetic disorders.
- Transfer
When embryos are large enough, they can be implanted. Three to five days following fertilisation, this happens. During the procedure, a small tube called a catheter is placed into your vagina, through your cervix, and into your uterus. Your doctor will place the embryo into your uterus after that.
The embryo inserts itself in the uterine wall, resulting in pregnancy. This could take anywhere from 6 to 10 days. A blood test will disclose whether or not you are pregnant.
IVF treatment cost is significantly lower compared to other complex artificial techniques, which has become a major reason for its popularity. IVF costs in Hyderabad and some other cities are quite affordable, ranging from between ₹100000 to ₹250000.
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- Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a form of assisted reproduction in which a single sperm cell is injected into the cytoplasm of an egg. This procedure is used to prepare gametes for producing embryos placed into a mother’s uterus.
The success rate of ICSI is between 80 and 85 percent. This suggests that around eight out of ten eggs will be fertilised.
Procedure of ICSI
The following are the five basic steps of ICSI treatment at Fertility clinic Annanagar:
- The hormone control allows the lady to produce more than one egg every month. This is accomplished using injections.
- Eggs are extracted from the woman’s ovaries using a simple procedure.
- Ejaculation is used to gather the male’s sperm; it is ideal for collecting the sperm on the day of the procedure. The best sperm are then screened and picked for the process.
- The selected sperm is manually placed into the egg for fertilisation.
- The fertilised egg is implanted into the woman’s uterus via a catheter.
While many patients have questions like: can yeast infections cause infertility, the answer to that lies in the fact that it does not directly cause infertility. Still, its overgrowth in the reproductive canal might make the environment inhospitable to sperm and thus prevent conception.
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