What are the treatment options for my fertility problems?
Ovulation induction and assisted reproductive technologies (ART) treatments have helped millions of women to have a baby since 1970s.
Here, you can get a brief introduction to a range of of treatments for your fertility problems:-
- Ovarian Stimulation
Ovarian stimulation is a fertility treatment for women in which the ovaries are stimulated to produce two or three eggs, in the hope that one of these will mature to become suitable for fertilisation. This makes it more efficient than OI, as more eggs can be collected per cycle
Ovarian stimulation is often used alongside in vitro fertilisation (IVF), intrauterine insemination (IUI) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles
- Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)
High quality sperm are placed in the cavity of the uterus, by means of a fine catheter passed through the cervix, to be placed closer to the egg4
This treatment ensures accurate timing of sperm in the uterine cavity and bypasses any hostile effects of cervical mucus on the sperm, increasing the chance of fertilisation
- In-vitro Fertilisation (IVF)
Following female hormonal stimulation, sperm and eggs are collected, combined and fertilised in the fertility clinic’s lab, outside of the female’s body
Any viable embryos are then nurtured and developed in an incubator for 5–6 days, before being transferred to the uterus.
- Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)
Some patients who undergo IVF will also have ICSI treatment, which involves injecting a single sperm into each egg to allow fertilization to occur in the laboratory.
- Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT) – Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Aneuploidy (PGT-A) and Preimplantation Genetic Testing for Monogenic Diseases (PGT-M).
Some couples are more at risk of having a baby with a genetic disorder, either for hereditary reasons, or because of their age. PGT-A and PGT-M are genetic testing procedures performed on cells retrieved from embryos (embryo biopsy) created in the IVF lab and have different purposes and screen for different genetic problems. The testing occurs prior to embryo transfer, before a pregnancy is established. Most couples having IVF treatment do not require PGT-A and PGT-M testing, but in some cases the tests may help identify healthy embryos for transfer.
