How to Obtain an IVF

For thousands of women each year, attempts to conceive a baby result in disappointment. Some who try unsuccessfully for a year or more, turn to fertility treatments to become pregnant. One of the most popular and effective treatments is known as in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Instructions

• 1

  Know the basics of IVF. With IVF, mature eggs are retrieved from a woman's ovaries and fertilized by sperm in a laboratory. The fertilized egg (embryo) or eggs are then implanted in the uterus a few days later. If the procedure is successful, the embryos will continue to grow and you will be pregnant. One complete cycle of IVF takes about two weeks. The procedure can be done using your own eggs and your partner's sperm, donor eggs, donor sperm or donor embryos.

• 2

  Talk to your obstetrician-gynecologist. Your ob-gyn will refer you to a fertility doctor who specializes in the procedure. Before being treated with IVF, you and your partner must be evaluated by a doctor. This can help pinpoint the reasons why you were unable to conceive on your own. The evaluation will also help your fertility doctor determine how best to plan your IVF cycle, such as which medications you will need.

• 3

  Take medications. If you're using your own eggs --- rather than donor eggs --- at the beginning of a cycle you'll take several different medications that will work to stimulate your ovaries to produce multiple eggs. More than one egg is needed to increase your chances that IVF will be successful because some eggs won't fertilize or grow normally after fertilization.

• 4

  Undergo retrieval and implantation. During retrieval, the eggs are removed from the ovaries with a needle inserted through the vagina. You'll be sedated with pain medication. A few days later, the embryos that have been grown in the laboratory will be implanted into the uterus while you are sedated.