Assisted Reproductive Technology

The primary "test tube" baby was developed almost 30 years ago. After that, hundreds and hundreds of babies are already conceived through Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). This high-tech field has seen great advances in the relatively limited time period, making pregnancy simple for lots of women and couples who do otherwise have little probability of conceiving. Several procedural options are available at present time.

Artificial Insemination 

First, a sperm sample is collected right into a sterile cup. Then the sperm are washed, rinsed and concentrated in the laboratory. The sperm are transferred to the woman's vagina with the use of a syringe. This procedure needs to be timed using the woman's peak fertility time-ovulation. The sperm can be collected from your husband, partner, a friend or obtained at the sperm bank via an anonymous donor. 

IUI - Intrauterine Insemination 

This form of AI places the prepared sperm sample in to the woman's uterus. A small catheter (tube) is employed to pass through the sperm through the cervical opening. Uterine placement raises the odds of success since that this sperm need not battle their way through the vagina, that is an acidic and sometimes hostile environment towards sperm. 

OI - Ovulation Induction 

Fertility drugs, specifically hormones, are widely-used to induce ovulation. OI is needed to make mature eggs which can be fertilized via intercourse, or by AI. OI may produce multiple egg or be a catalyst for multiple births. Mature eggs can be harvested (collected) to get used in ART procedures for instance IVF, GIFT and ZIFT. 

Donor Eggs 

Whenever a woman cannot produce any eggs, or has other medical reasons not to ever use her very own eggs, OI enable you to produce and collect eggs from the donor. Donor eggs can be fertilized while using the husband's/partner's sperm, or by donor sperm. The embryo will be inserted into your woman's fallopian tube or uterus. In this case, the woman nourishes the fetus for nine months and provide birth towards the baby. The baby contains the genetic material of the woman who donated the egg, and the man who's sperm was utilized to fertilize the egg. 

IVF - Ex vivo Fertilization 

A sperm sample is obtained from the daddy. Eggs are harvested from the mother. Fertilization is whithin the laboratory if the sperm are mixed with the eggs. The fertilized eggs (zygotes) begin cellular division. After 2-three days, the zygotes will be ready to be implanted into the mother's uterus. Some clinics are waiting a complete 5-6 days permitting more cellular division before implantation. To boost the probabilities that the embryo will develop into a baby, approximately 3 fertilized eggs are introduced into the uterus. Often this can lead to multiple births. 

GIFT - Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer 

A sperm sample is obtained from the father. Eggs are harvested through the mother. Then, both the sperm and the eggs are injected into the mother's fallopian tube confident that fertilization will occur naturally. 

ZIFT - Zygote Intrafallopian Transfer 

The operation is similar to IVF as the sperm and eggs are united inside laboratory. However, the fertilized eggs are injected into the fallopian tube, not the uterus. 

Embryo Cryopreservation 

Many ART procedures bring about harvesting and fertilizing multiple eggs. Usually only 3 fertilized eggs are transferred into mom. If there are more fertilized eggs produced than needed, they can be frozen to be used in a later cycle.

FET - Frozen Embryo Transfer 

Previously frozen embryos may be transferred in the woman's uterus or fallopian tube. 

TESA - Testicular Epididymal Sperm Aspiration 

TESA is needed to recover sperm from men who have really low sperm counts, or have blockages in the sperm delivery tract, say for example a vasectomy. A tiny syringe is inserted 1/2 inch in to the testicle as well as a tissue sample is obtained. (Local anesthesia is needed and also the procedure occurs within the physician’s office. The person is usually normal again a day after). Sperm are separated in the tissue sample and individual sperm are injected into eggs which are harvested from the woman. This procedure is recognized as Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI). The fertilized eggs are cultured for 2-3 days and inserted into the woman's uterus or fallopian tube. 

Surrogate Mother 

If a woman cannot go through a pregnancy for medical or some other reasons, she may use a surrogate mother. A surrogate mother can be impregnated, carry the child to term, give birth to the child and return the little one towards other woman. The surrogate mother may also use her own egg, the other woman's egg or a donor egg. The sperm may come from the partner of the woman who cannot carry the pregnancy, or from a sperm donor. 

Excerpted From Nutrition For You, Nutrition For Two