What to Expect When Visiting a Reproductive Center to Consider In Vitro Fertilization
Do you know what to expect once you contact a reproductive center about going through in vitro fertilization? If you have already been told that having a child with your partner is not possible without IVF or you have been struggling for a long time without conceiving, it can be very scary to go in and see if IVF will work for you. If the problem is unknown or lies with your partner rather than your own eggs, there is a chance that you could use IVF to conceive a child and give birth with your own body.
For many women, it is important to bring a child into the world through natural childbirth. There is just something so magical and special about carrying a child in your body for ten months and then finally bringing the into the world through labor. Crushed dreams are hard to deal with, so consider in vitro fertilization before you say that you have no hope of delivering a child naturally.
What Is IVF?
The in vitro fertilization process involves collecting eggs from a woman and sperm from a man and fertilizing the eggs with the sperm outside of a woman’s body. Once this procedure is done, the eggs are placed into the woman’s body where they will hopefully attach to the lining of the uterus and start growing. Many people use IVF because the male in the relationship does not have healthy sperm to conceive naturally, but that is not always the case.
For example, it is common for women to have children together by using donor sperm and having the fertilized eggs placed inside one of their wombs. It is very common for a reproductive center to work with donated sperm for this procedure, whether the patient knows the donor or not.
What to Expect from the Reproductive Center
The journey into IVF always starts with a booked appointment with a local reproductive center. This is not something that you go in and do right away. Take advantage of this first appointment, as you will learn whether you are an ideal candidate for IVF and will be told about other alternatives that may work for you.
You may be encouraged to try to conceive naturally for a longer period of time, you may be given fertility testing, and you may be told right off that IVF could work for you. This is a bit different for everyone, so you won’t know what they advise until you actually get in there for your appointment. Write down all of your questions prior to going in for this procedure, and be prepared to talk about options for paying for the procedure if you decide to go through with it. If you think your insurance might cover part of your payment for the procedure, it is important to check with your insurance carrier prior to going to this first consultation.
Once you are approved for the procedure and decide it is the right move for you, the procedure will start with medication to stimulate ovulation. In the best cases, your body will release multiple eggs to be used for the procedure. In most cases, you want to work with as many eggs as possible so you have as many chances of conceiving as possible. It should now be obvious why so many people who go through with IVF end up with twins, triplets, or even seven to eight babies.
Once you have successfully ovulated, the reproductive center will go in quickly to harvest your eggs. Once the eggs are collected, the center will also need to have the sperm to be used for your conception. Once they have collected the eggs, they will combine them with the sperm in the laboratory. The perfect environment for conception is simulated in the lab so you have as good of a chance as possible of achieving fertilization.
After the eggs are returned to your body, it is a waiting game to see if you test positive or negative for pregnancy. In some cases, you may have additional eggs waiting in case a pregnancy doesn’t occur on the very first attempt with IVF.
