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What Happens To Your Body When You Do IVF Treatments
Published by Health Digest. Read the full article.
If you are starting your IVF (in vitro fertilization) journey soon, you may be feeling many emotions such as excitement, worry, or fear, all of which are normal (via Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology). Some of the anxiety surrounding IVF has to do with the many changes your body and mind go through during the process. The goal of this article is to address some of the most common things that happen in your body during each phase of IVF so that you can feel better prepared, gaining a sense of control over a process that often seems so out of your control.
According to Cleveland Clinic, IVF is a fertility procedure involving many complex steps, including eggs being removed from the body (donor eggs or your eggs) and then being fertilized with sperm (donor or partner) outside the body in a medical lab. IVF is mostly used by couples who struggle to achieve pregnancy naturally and need additional help, and is considered the most effective form of assisted reproductive technology (ART) to date. The Mayo Clinic states that the process can take anywhere from a few weeks to much longer depending on if there are any pauses between steps. IVF is often considered the most advanced fertility treatment, as it produces the best outcomes of all fertility procedures; it is also the most expensive.
There are five steps to a standard IVF protocol, which includes the following in order: ovulation induction, egg retrieval, sperm retrieval, fertilization, and embryo transfer. A completion of all five steps from start to finish marks one completed “cycle” of IVF. Sometimes, multiple cycles are necessary to achieve successful conception, and success rates vary widely from clinic to clinic, doctor to doctor, and patient to patient because of age, genetics, and other factors.
