The InVitro Fertilization process is one of the popular Assisted Reproductive Technology that gives hope for a baby to many childless couples today. The procedure works by artificially fertilizing your retrieved eggs and sperms outside your body, which is in a laboratory under controlled environmental conditions. The embryo thus formed is then transferred directly into your uterus. Pregnancy happens if the embryo attaches to your uterus lining.

IVF is not a single procedure instead it takes a series of steps. On average, the entire procedure of IVF starting from consultation to the last step which involves embryo transfer take about 6 to 8 weeks. But this might vary from patient to patient depending on certain circumstances. In week 1, consultation begins followed by pretreatment preparations in week 2 to 4. Medications and monitoring happen in week 5. The triggering, egg retrieval, and fertilization occur in week 7. After this pregnancy is tested.

Overall the IVF procedure causes no pain instead mild discomforts are felt. Some steps in the IVF process such as ovulation induction and fertilization are completely painless. However, during egg retrieval stage, you will be sedated not to feel the pain. After the egg retrieval procedure, you may have some menstrual cramps. During embryo transfer, the syringe deposits the embryo into your uterus via a vaginal catheter, hence mild discomfort could be felt but there will be no pain.

IVF is done when there are issues related to conceiving a child due to blocked fallopian tubes, endometriosis or any other unknown reason for infertility in both the mother and the father. The procedure depends on the overall review and history of the couple.

Yes, multiple embryos are transplanted in IVF to enhance the success probability of implantation which increases the chances of having multiple births by 25% as compared to the normal pregnancies.

Infertility creates a problem in conceiving for many couples hence they require help from different methods to be able to conceive or having a child. These methods together are termed as Assisted reproductive technology (ART). It involves fertilization in a laboratory set up and then putting the grown embryos back into the mother’s body

It requires approximately 3-6 weeks depending upon the review of the couple and the type of therapy they are having. It starts with the administration of fertility drugs for a couple of days to induce ovulation along with continuous monitoring by ultrasound or hormonal profiling.