Last month we celebrated the 40th birthday of the first In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) baby ever born in the world, Louise Brown. Since this historic moment, as many as 8 million babies have been born with the help of this revolutionary fertility treatment and assisted reproductive technology (ART). As the procedure advances, becoming more reliable with higher success rates, and becomes more widely available, these numbers are only expected to grow.
How IVF Has Transformed Fertility Treatment
Since Louise’s birth, IVF has become a beacon of hope for millions of couples and individuals throughout the world that have faced fertility struggles. From low motility to unexplained infertility, this procedure often offers the solution to overcome these struggles and make parenthood a reality. Without intervention with this solution, many in the world may never be able to conceive and obtain a successful pregnancy. It plays a critical role in changing the lives for these individuals that desire a family of their own, including those such as:
- Same-sex couples
- Couples facing infertility
- Individuals seeking help from a donor
As IVF progresses, scientists continue to push the boundaries of technology with embryologists developing new techniques and inventing new methods to assist in the conception of a child. As the fertility field continues to grow and change based on the revolutionary foundation IVF created, it is literally changing the world one baby at a time.
How Does IVF Work?
With modern medical technology, IVF has become a flexible solution that can be customized to meet the unique needs of different families. To perform the procedure, an embryologist manually combines a man’s sperm into the eggs of a woman within a petri dish, hence why IVF babies are occasionally referred to as test tube babies. While this name is losing popularity as more of these babies are born, the procedure remains largely the same today. Noteworthy differences include the ability to use sperm from a donor male, or eggs from a donor female.
Once the sperm and eggs have been combined, the dish is left to sit until fertilization has taken place and the eggs become embryos. An embryo is then taken and inserted into the woman’s uterus. This woman can either be the mother, or a surrogate mother, depending on the individual’s or couple’s needs and desires. Once the embryo is inserted, the mother is consistently monitored for verification of a pregnancy.
Success Rate of IVF
On average, the success rate of obtaining a viable pregnancy with the IVF procedure is around 40 percent. This number changes depending on the fertility clinic you choose to entrust with your care, so always ask about current success rates and discuss any questions or concerns with a fertility specialist. This specialist should also go over IVF success factors to give you better insight into your personal situation, which impacts your individual success rates. Success factors to discuss include:
- Woman’s age
- Previous pregnancy
- Type of fertility problem(s)
- Use of donor eggs
- Lifestyle
- Fertility clinic
Always ask questions about every fertility clinic you are considering. The training and experience of the clinic’s specialists and staff are significant factors regarding the success rate you can hope to achieve through IVF. You also want to ask about the live birth rate per IVF cycles and types of patients they accept at the clinic.
Find a Reputable IVF Clinic
When it comes time to start or grow your family with IVF, you need to feel confident that you are making the right decision. A reputable IVF clinic will always be eager and ready to share information with you and answer any and all questions you may have. Our team at LA IVF is uniquely qualified to provide you the help you need to have the baby you have been dreaming of. Contact us today to learn more about our training, experience and success rates.
