What is IVF? How is IVF done?

What is a test tube baby?

Let’s talk about IVF, whose scientific name is “in vitro fertilization” . In vitro fertilization briefly; It is the process of ensuring embryo development by fertilizing the reproductive cells taken from the mother and father in the laboratory environment and placing them in the uterus of the woman.

If you have regular and unprotected sexual intercourse with your spouse for a year, if you are having problems with pregnancy, you can apply for in vitro fertilization treatment. If you are 35 and over, you should wait 6 months for natural pregnancy and then consult a specialist. Because in this method, which can be applied until the age of 44, the success rate decreases after the age of 42.

How is a test tube baby made?

One of the first things that come to the minds of families who will start treatment is the question of how in vitro fertilization will be . For this, you should know when to do IVF. First of all, IVF treatment is started on the 2nd or 3rd day of the mother’s menstrual period. Male and female reproductive cells are kept in a suitable environment at body temperature for 48 hours. During this period, fertilization occurs in almost half of the eggs. The fertilized egg is called an embryo. The procedure is performed by placing the embryo in the uterus with the help of a thin catheter.

Catheter: A tube 20-25 cm long, slightly thicker than a quilt needle, commonly made of silicone. It can be inserted into the body cavity, canal or vein. It ensures that the embryo is transferred into the uterus in a painless way.

While the live birth rate in a normal menstrual period is 27.7% in couples who have not undergone any procedure, this rate is between 40-45% in those who have had IVF. The success rate in IVF treatment can increase with an experienced team and advanced laboratory techniques.

The infertility problem of couples who are deemed suitable for treatment is determined and the drug procedure is determined. This stage is very important. Because the most important factor affecting the chance of success in IVF is the treatment method determined according to the infertility problem and the characteristics of the couple.

What are the IVF stages?

Now , let us explain in detail how the in vitro fertilization process works.

1. Initial examination and evaluation of the couple

First, your doctor; listens to your stories about pregnancy, childbirth, miscarriage, and previous treatments you and your spouse have been through, and evaluates your previous tests and reports. These are as follows:

• Reports or notes of previous surgeries,
• sperm analysis,
• womb movie,
• Chromosome analysis,
• Blood tests of you and your spouse,
• Reports of previous treatments,
• Reports on other diseases.

According to all these data, your IVF treatment is planned by your doctor and the day of the treatment is determined.

When no problems are detected in the couples as a result of the examinations, the situation is considered as infertile (infertility), the cause of which cannot be fully explained. In such cases, if your age is appropriate, you can receive vaccination treatment. If you cannot benefit from vaccination therapy, you can benefit from other assisted reproductive techniques.

2. Stimulating the ovaries and forming eggs

The goal at this stage is to get multiple eggs. Good embryos in her ovaries need to be selected and placed in her uterus. You need to use egg-enhancing drugs (needle therapy) to create these eggs.

This phase, which starts on the 3rd day of the menstrual period, lasts approximately 12 days. During this process, you should go to the IVF center frequently to keep the egg development and your response to drugs under control.

3. Egg collection

When the stimulated egg cells reach a certain maturity, a cracking needle is made that allows the eggs to crack. Egg collection is a process that takes 15-20 minutes. Although local anesthesia is usually preferred at this stage, if you are very stressed, general anesthesia can also be applied.

At the stage when the eggs are collected, the spouse must also give a sperm sample. Sperm is taken from the candidates who cannot give sperm with the Micro TESE method. This process takes about 30 minutes on average. For the sperm sample to be given on the day of egg retrieval, the spouse must do a sexual abstinence for 2-4 days. This period should not be longer than 7 days.

Micro TESE: The process of obtaining sperm from the testicles of men who do not have any sperm in their semen, by microscopic operation.

4. Fertilization

Fertilization is carried out by taking the best quality ones among the obtained egg and sperm cells. In the fertilization process, classical or microinjection methods are preferred depending on the condition of the reproductive cells. Embryos are prepared until the day of transfer. Good and high quality embryos are carefully selected.

• Classic IVF method: In this method, the sperms are left next to the egg and the sperm are expected to enter the egg on their own and perform the fertilization process.
• Microinjection in vitro fertilization method: It is performed by injecting the sperm directly into the egg using a pipette under the microscope. The aim is to ensure successful high fertilization of sperm and egg. Microinjection is widely used in severe male infertility.

5. Embryo transfer

The best quality embryo is placed in the uterus with a transfer process that takes 5-10 minutes. During this time, you do not feel any pain or pain. When the embryo transfer takes place, your IVF treatment is completed. You can find out the result by taking a pregnancy test 12 days after the transfer. Doctors do not recommend sexual intercourse until the pregnancy test.

Freezing of quality embryos remaining after embryo transfer

Freezing and storing the remaining quality embryos after transfer in IVF treatment is a good option for use later if there is no pregnancy in that month’s treatment. Medicines taken in preparation for the transfer of frozen embryos are also easier and cheaper in terms of use and cost.

As a result of all these stages , if you say ” how many days does in vitro fertilization last , we can say that the in vitro fertilization treatment period lasts approximately 1 month.

6. Pregnancy test

Pregnancy test is performed 12 days after the transfer process and the state of pregnancy is checked. The test applied is not different from the normal pregnancy test performed in every hospital.

Just as with normal pregnancy symptoms , the 7th day symptoms in IVF may appear with the realization of pregnancy.

IVF prices

How much does IVF cost, let’s inform you about it. Current IVF prices in our country are around 8-10 thousand TL as of 2021 . Although this amount may vary according to the centers, we can say that the average price band is around these areas.

To whom can IVF treatment be applied?

In some cases, IVF treatment may not be applied. Let’s talk about whom IVF is done .

• In people diagnosed with infertility ,
• If both tubes are clogged,
• In those whose tubes are removed by surgical operation,
• In those with ovarian disorders,
• In people with cysts in the ovaries that cause infertility,
• In people with insufficient sperm or egg count,
• In those who do not have sperm in their semen,
• In those who have quality disorders in their sperm,
• Those who have problems with sperm motility,
• In those with deformities in sperm cells,
• In those with hormonal disorders,
• In some problems caused by sexual intercourse,
• In recurrent miscarriages,
• And IVF treatment can be applied to women with aging.

Who can not be applied IVF treatment?

• In men who do not produce sperm,
• In women who have lost their egg production function,
• In women entering the menopause period,
• In women with impaired hormone levels,
• Unfortunately, it is not possible to apply IVF treatment in women who had to have their uterus removed as a result of surgical operations.

Failure in IVF attempt

Although there are quite a lot of people who get pregnant in the first IVF treatment , sometimes the first attempt can be unsuccessful. While the IVF retention rate rises to 60% for candidates under the age of 30, it drops to 40% around the age of 35 and 15% at the age of 40. However, these rates are valid for those who have tried the treatment only once.

There are many factors that affect the success of IVF treatment, and the most important one is the age of the mother. And also:

• egg reserve,
• Stress,
• Smoking (Smoking is a serious risk factor in IVF treatment. In order to increase the chance of pregnancy at a high rate, smoking should be stopped at least 3 months before IVF treatment.),
• Overweight,
• Fluid accumulation in the tubes,
• Low sperm quality is also one of the factors affecting success in treatment.

So, if IVF treatment fails, when is the second IVF trial done? After the unsuccessful IVF application, you can make the second IVF attempt 2 months later. There are too many couples who fail on the first try and succeed on subsequent attempts. Let’s also say that the success rate of those who have had IVF application 4 times exceeds 90%.

How many times can IVF be tried?

Most people who have IVF continue to try until they are successful. There is no guarantee that the treatment will work after the first or second cycle. Also, some couples may never achieve success. However, 50% of individuals and couples undergoing IVF are successful. Some couples can have a baby after the first cycle, but the percentage is not large.

So you may have to keep trying. One study suggests that most couples will need about 6 embryo transfers before pregnancy is achieved. In fact, there is no number limit in IVF treatment. This decision is entirely up to you, your partner and your obstetrician. Some couples can get in vitro fertilization (IVF) more than 10 times, while others quit after the first attempt.

You and your partner can decide on the IVF number, but you need to be aware of the financial loss associated with the treatment. If you have private health insurance, you should find out about the limitations on the treatments it covers, the number or how much they will pay for.

best IVF center

The main factors affecting the success rate in IVF treatment are the age of the expectant mother and ovarian capacity. Although the age of the father is also important, it is the age of the mother that is decisive. So the younger you are, the higher the chance of success.

Although the number of stages and names of IVF application are named differently in some sources, the procedures applied in each IVF center are standard. You can review the Top 10 IVF Centers with the most successful and well-equipped teams in our article.