IVF / TEST TUBE TREATMENT

Test tube treatment is often abbreviated as IVF, which stands for In Vitro Fertilization and means that fertilization takes place outside the woman's body in a glass.

During IVF treatment, the egg is removed from the ovaries to be fertilized with the semen in a laboratory.

The eggs are removed through the vagina using ultrasound. It takes place under local anesthesia. The eggs are fertilized in the laboratory either by adding approximately 100,000 sperm to each egg (regular IVF) or by inserting a single sperm directly into the egg (microinsemination, ICSI).

Then the egg is grown for 2 to 5 days before the now fertilized egg is returned to the uterus for normal development.

In IVF treatment, the woman's ovaries are stimulated to produce more eggs than during a normal spontaneous cycle. This means that more than one egg can be taken out for IVF treatment. During a normal cycle, the female usually produces no more than one egg. More eggs improve the likelihood of finding suitable eggs for fertilization.

IVF treatment is recommended in cases where the woman has closed fallopian tubes or endometriosis and in poor sperm quality of the man or unexplained causes of infertility. There are a number of different medical approaches to IVF treatment that are tailored to individual needs.

About 5 percent of all Danish children are born today after IVF treatment.

INSEMINATION

The man submits a semen sample and in the laboratory the sperm cells are isolated from the semen. With a small, thin plastic catheter, the sperm are inserted into the top of the uterus. It is usually completely painless and lasts a few minutes.

The sperm are injected into the uterus so that up to 100 times more sperm reach the egg than if the sperm itself were to swim all the way.

Insemination treatment can be performed in a woman's own cycle. However, experience shows that the chance of pregnancy is doubled if egg formation is also stimulated by hormone therapy, so that more than one egg is released. With the hormone treatment, typically 2 -3 eggs are produced per treatment instead of the one egg that is normally formed during a menstrual cycle. The more eggs, the greater the probability of pregnancy.

Insemination is performed during the hours when ovulation occurs. The timing of the insemination is determined by ultrasound scanning. When there is at least one mature egg, the woman gives herself an injection, which gives ovulation 1½ days after. At this point, the insemination itself is done in the uterus.