Sometimes getting pregnant takes longer than expected, and that can feel difficult.
IVF is a treatment that helps by bringing eggs and sperm together in our specialist lab to allow fertilisation. One or more developing embryos are replaced in the womb to grow naturally.
The treatment can support people who’ve been trying to conceive without success, those with blocked fallopian tubes, or certain sperm-related issues. It’s one of several safe, effective treatments available to help you start to grow your family.
Who benefits from IVF?
Your chances of becoming pregnant vary and depend on the reasons behind your fertility challenges. When you visit the clinic, we’ll talk through the most suitable treatment options for you and give you an honest estimate of your likelihood of success.
In most cases, IVF uses your own eggs and sperm. In some cases, donated eggs or sperm may be recommended – but this would only ever happen with your full consent and support.
What does IVF involve?
We’ll provide you with full details of your treatment plan separately, but here’s an overview of what IVF usually involves.
- Suppressing your natural cycle – in some cases injections can be used to temporarily ‘switch off’ your natural cycle to control the timing of your treatment cycle.
- Stimulation of the ovaries – medication helps your ovaries produce several eggs instead of just one, giving you the best chance of success
- Monitoring of egg development – regular scans and blood tests make sure your eggs are developing safely and at the right pace.
- Egg collection – a gentle procedure to collect your eggs when they’re ready, so they can be fertilised in the lab.
- Sperm preparation – the sperm is carefully prepared to select the healthiest ones for fertilisation.
- Fertilisation – eggs and sperm are brought together in the lab to create embryos, giving nature a helping hand.
- Embryo replacement – one or more embryos are placed into your womb, where they can grow just like in a natural pregnancy.
- Pregnancy test and scan – a test and early scan check whether treatment has been successful and your pregnancy is developing well.
Suppressing your natural cycle
In some cases, injections will temporarily ‘switch off’ your natural cycle to allow us to control the timing of your treatment cycle.
This is perfectly safe to do and there is no evidence to suggest it affects your future fertility.
We will share a plan with you before you begin your treatment cycle that informs you when to start your injections.
Boosting your egg supply
In a natural cycle, the body usually produces just one egg. For IVF, we encourage your ovaries to make several eggs, giving you the best chance of success.
This is done with carefully timed injections – firstly for three weeks to control your natural cycle, then additional injections are given for about 12 days to help your eggs grow and mature. We’ll monitor your progress closely to make sure everything is safe and on track. Your treatment plan will be tailored to your needs, and we’ll explain everything clearly before we begin.
Monitoring of egg development
As your eggs grow, we keep a close eye on their progress to make sure everything is going smoothly. We do this in two ways:
- Ultrasound scans – A small device gently placed in the vagina gives us a clear picture of your ovaries and the developing follicles.
- Blood tests – These check your hormone levels to confirm your eggs are maturing as expected.
We usually need at least three eggs to continue to the next stage. If your stimulation treatment works as planned, we’ll give you a final injection to help the eggs fully mature, and then schedule egg collection about 36 hours later.
Egg collection
When your eggs are ready, we’ll collect them in a short procedure, guided by ultra sound imaging. This is usually done under light sedation so you’re comfortable and can go home a few hours later.
Sperm preparation
A sperm sample is carefully prepared in the lab to select the healthiest ones. This gives the best chance for successful fertilisation.
Fertilisation
After collection, the eggs will be put into an incubator for a short time. Your eggs and sperm are brought together in our specialist laboratory. The eggs will be looked at the next day to see if fertilisation has occurred. They will then be kept in the incubator for up to six days from the day of egg collection. We monitor them and we will keep in touch with you to let you know when to attend for embryo replacement.
IVF or ICSI
Our aim is to give you the best possible chance of fertilisation while avoiding unnecessary procedures. There are two main ways your eggs can be fertilised in the laboratory: IVF and ICSI.
IVF (in vitro fertilisation)
If the sperm sample is of normal quality, we use standard IVF. This involves placing around 100,000 sperm next to each egg in a laboratory dish, allowing fertilisation to happen naturally.
ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection)
If the sperm sample is of lower quality, we may recommend ICSI. This is a more specialised technique where a single sperm is carefully injected directly into each mature egg.
Because ICSI is more complex, there are a few important differences:
- Only mature eggs can be used, which may reduce the number available for fertilisation
- The process is more specialised
For these reasons, we usually recommend IVF where possible, and only suggest ICSI when it is likely to improve your chances of fertilisation.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority provides more detailed information about ICSI, including potential risks.
Embryo transfer
Before this stage, we’ll have already discussed together how many embryos should be transferred. While transferring more embryos can increase the chance of pregnancy, it also raises the risk of a multiple pregnancy, which can lead to complications and a higher chance of losing one or all babies.
The procedure itself is quick and virtually painless, similar to an internal examination. You won’t need to lie down afterwards and can return to normal activities (just avoid anything too strenuous).
If extra embryos are available, sometimes it may be possible to consider freezing and storing them for future treatment, giving you more options later on.
Pregnancy test and scan
Around two weeks after your embryo transfer, you’ll take a pregnancy test. If it’s positive, we’ll arrange a scan about five weeks after egg collection to confirm that the pregnancy is developing well.
If your pregnancy is developing as expected, we will then discharge you back to your GP. You will need to book with your community midwife, they will arrange for your 12 week scan.
Sadly, miscarriage can happen in any pregnancy, and IVF does not increase or decrease this risk.
