What Are The Stages of IVF?

The first stage of IVF involves a process called ovarian stimulation. The goal is to stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple eggs. During this stage, the woman is given medication to stimulate the production of follicles in the ovaries. These follicles are monitored via ultrasound to track their growth. When the follicles reach a certain size, another medication is given to trigger the final maturation of the eggs.

Once the eggs have reached maturity, they are ready to be retrieved. The egg retrieval procedure is a minor surgical procedure that is performed under mild sedation. Using ultrasound guidance, a needle is inserted through the vaginal wall into the ovaries, and the eggs are aspirated and collected.

The next stage is fertilization, where the collected eggs are combined with sperm to form embryos. This can be done through either conventional IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). In conventional IVF, the eggs and sperm are mixed together in a dish, and fertilization occurs naturally. In ICSI, a single sperm is injected directly into an egg, which increases the chances of fertilization.

After fertilization, the embryos are grown in a laboratory for a few days. The laboratory conditions are carefully controlled to optimise the growth and development of the embryos. This stage allows the embryologists to closely monitor the development of the embryos and select the best ones for transfer.

The final stage is embryo transfer, where one or more of the best embryos are transferred into the woman's uterus. This typically occurs three to five days after fertilization. The embryo is transferred using a thin, flexible catheter that is gently inserted through the cervix into the uterus.

Following the embryo transfer, the woman could be given medication to help support the implantation process, and approximately ten to fourteen days after the embryo transfer, a pregnancy test is conducted to determine whether the IVF cycle was successful. A positive result indicates that implantation has occurred, and the woman is pregnant.