Everyone has New Year’s resolutions, from joining the gym to cutting down on chocolate or spending less time on your phone. Why not make 2015 the year of fertility treatments? Once you have come to terms with the fact that you’re struggling to conceive, you need to welcome assisted conception into your life with open arms. Whilst this isn’t an easy thing to do, if you want more than anything to have a child, it is the journey that needs to be embarked upon. Read on to learn the fertility treatments to turn to in 2015.
Natural Cycle IVF
How does natural cycle IVF work? In order to prevent your natural cycle from changing, a lower dose of fertility drugs is taken. This will reduce the drug treatment by two weeks and stop any side effects from occurring. A reduced level of drugs results in fewer eggs available to collect, however as many good-quality eggs as possible will be collected in each cycle. Any remaining healthy embryos will be frozen for later use, if the first cycle is unsuccessful. If this is the case, you’ll be ready for another attempt on your next cycle due to the lower dose of drugs. In conventional IVF this isn’t possible.IVF This technique is popular amongst women who have damaged fallopian tubes, however it is also used in cases where a woman has endometriosis, the male partner has poor quality sperm, or when the cause of infertility is unknown. IVF consists of a sequence of procedures known as the 'treatment cycle'. Hormone therapy is used to stimulate the development of several follicles in the ovary. These are collected as eggs, which are then fertilised in a test-tube to create several embryos. After two to three days in an incubator, the embryos are carefully checked using a well-established grading system. The best one or two are transferred through the vagina to the uterus, where hopefully implantation will occur in order for pregnancy to begin. IVF is an expensive treatment so you may have to do your research in order to find affordable IVF for you.
Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) IUI is a technique that involves the insemination of a prepared sperm sample, be it your partner’s sperm or a donor sperm, directly into the uterus at the time of ovulation. If your partner's sperm is being used then the use of a prepared sperm sample can increase the chances of conception. Why? A prepared sperm sample is beneficial if he has a low sperm count or poor sperm movement, or there is a problem with the interaction between the sperm and cervical mucus. If you’re single, in a lesbian relationship or your partner produces no sperm then a donor sperm will be used for IUI.
ICSI If male infertility is the problem then this technique is the route you and your partner need to go down. ICSI is a technique used in conjunction with IVF in which a single sperm cell is injected into the center of an egg to achieve fertilisation.
ICSI can be used if the male partner produces only a very small number of sperm or sperm that has poor movement, if any movement at all. ICSI is also used when sperm is surgically retrieved from the testes.
If you’re thinking of undergoing natural cycle IVF or any of the above treatments then visit the Bridge Centre. It is one of the UK’s leading fertility clinics, providing IVF and fertility treatments, as well as diagnosis and support. For further information, take a look at the website or call 02038193282 today.