With IVF a combination of medicines and surgical procedures is used to help the sperm to fertilize an egg. This will help the fertilized egg to implant in your uterus.
The first step is that you will have to take medication to make several of your eggs mature and ready for fertilization. The doctor will, then, take the eggs out of your body and mix them with sperm in a lab, to help the sperm fertilize the eggs. The doctor will put one or more of the fertilized eggs (embryos) directly into your uterus. Pregnancy occurs when any of the embryos implant in the lining of your uterus.
IVF has many steps, and it takes several months to complete the whole process. Sometimes it may work on the first try, but for many people there may be more than one round of IVF to get pregnant. IVF definitely increases your chances of pregnancy if you’re having fertility problems and looking for infertility treatments in Gauteng, South Africa. But there’s no guarantee because everyone’s body is different and IVF won’t work for everyone.
ICSI is the abbreviation of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection. It is performed as an additional part of an IVF treatment cycle where a single sperm is injected into each egg to assist fertilisation.
It makes use of very fine micro-manipulation equipment. In most cases, the ICSI fertility treatment can be used to overcome severe male infertility treatment, South Africa.
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection is recommended for couple’s who have been diagnosed with male fertility issues such as low sperm count, low sperm morphology or motility, anti-sperm antibodies or have previously had a vasectomy or unsuccessful vasectomy reversal.
We can also use this technique for couples who have experienced poor or no fertilisation rates using standard IVF
PICSI is an extension of Intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and stands for Physiological Intra-Cytoplamsic Sperm Injection (PICSI). Similarly to ICSI, it involves the selection of motile sperm for injection, but rather than simply using conventional visual cues (morphology and motility), it involves selecting mature sperm which bind to hyaluronic acid.
Hyaluronic acid is a major component of the cumulus complex which surrounds the egg/oocyte and provides a selective barrier that excludes functionally deficient sperm during fertilisation in vivo (within the body).
It does this by only allowing a sperm that carries a hyaluronan specific receptor to bind and penetrate the cumulus complex of the oocyte.
This, therefore, means that a sperm’s ability to bind to hyaluronic acid (HA) is a biological maker of the sperm’s maturity and DNA (or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms) integrity.
Freezing your sperm and embryos is very common now. The process of freezing them is called vitrification.
It appears that all can be frozen successfully for an indefinite period of time with no harm to them or any pregnancy that results from them.
There are no increased risks of genetic problems in children born from frozen embryos or sperm. These children appear to be as normal as children who are conceived naturally.
Freezing eggs & egg banking involves a woman choosing to have eggs retrieved from her ovaries, frozen to preserve their viability, and stored until she is ready to use them in a future in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment to achieve pregnancy.
Egg freezing and egg banking can be used to preserve fertility in patients going through aggressive medical treatments, such as chemotherapy, or in patients who wish to preserve their fertility now to start a family later.
What is IUI?
IUI is short for intrauterine insemination. It involves the insertion of a man’s (a partners or a donor’s) semen into the uterus, through the womb and into the cervix close to the time of ovulation. It is a much easier and simpler form of fertility treatment. The semen used for conception whether from your partner or donor – is washed and prepared while the most motile sperm is selected and insulated until it is inserted into the womb. IUI is usually combined with a procedure to aid and stimulate the women’s ovulation and help with the ovulation process. With IUI is it crucial that you obey timelines and take note of when the prepared sperm is to be inserted into the uterus. Using an ovulation stimulator helps give the specialist a better chance to increase couples chances to conceive. Depending on the fertility and medical history of both you and your partner, your best option is to get tested by a fertility specialist for a full evaluation to make sure you are a suitable candidate for IUI. An accurate diagnosis is imperative to ensure that your treatment plan is suited for your specific fertility issue.
What can I expect during IUI?
Before IUI, you may take fertility medicines that help make your eggs mature and ready to be fertilized. Your doctor will do the insemination procedure during ovulation (when your ovaries release an egg). Sometimes you’ll be given hormones that trigger ovulation. They’ll figure out exactly when you’re ovulating and ready for the procedure to maximize your chances of getting pregnant.
Your partner or donor collects a semen sample at home or in the doctor’s office. The sperm are prepared for insemination through a process called “sperm washing” that pulls out a concentrated amount of healthy sperm. Sperm washing also helps get rid of chemicals in the semen that can cause reactions in your uterus and make it harder to get pregnant. If you’re using donor sperm from a sperm bank, the sperm bank generally sends the doctor’s office sperm that’s already “washed” and ready for IUI.
During the IUI procedure, the doctor slides a thin, flexible tube through your cervix into your uterus. They use a small syringe to insert the sperm through the tube directly into your uterus. Pregnancy happens if sperm fertilizes an egg, and the fertilized egg implants in the lining of your uterus.
The insemination procedure is done at your doctor’s office or at a fertility clinic, and it only takes about 5-10 minutes. It’s pretty quick, and you don’t need anaesthesia. IUI is usually not painful, but some people have mild cramping.
How much does IUI cost?
The cost of IUI varies depending on what type of insurance coverage you have and how much your doctor’s fees are. IUI is usually less expensive than other fertility treatments, like IVF. In general, it costs about $300-$1,000 without insurance.
A few states have laws that say health insurance companies must cover some or all of the costs of infertility treatment if you meet certain requirements. But many insurance plans don’t offer any fertility treatment coverage at all.
You can get more information about insurance coverage of IVF and other fertility treatments at The National Infertility Association
The first step of pregnancy occurs when sperm fertilize an egg. In cases of natural conception, fertilization takes place in the fallopian tube when you have intercourse around the time of ovulation.
The fertilized egg, now called the embryo, then travels from the fallopian tube into your uterus for implantation. Implantation takes place about a week after fertilization.
If you use IVF to conceive, fertilization takes place outside of your body. After several days, your doctor transfers the embryo into your uterus, where it will hopefully implant and grow. With both natural conception and IVF, the embryo must hatch before it can implant in the womb. To successfully hatch, the embryo must spontaneously rupture through its outer layer, called the zona pellucida.
Surgical sperm retrieval (SSR) involves extracting sperm from the male genital tract (the testis or epididymis) to use for assisted reproductive techniques (ART). The actual technique used depends on the nature and site of the underlying infertility problem.
Techniques range from simple needle aspiration of the epididymis (PESA) or testis (TESA) through the scrotal skin, to the more advanced microsurgical sperm extraction from the testicle.
Sperm collection from the male genital tract (the testis or epididymis) for use in assisted reproductive techniques e.g. IVF / intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)
