Understanding the Ins and Outs of IVF

Preparing for pregnancy or helping oneself conceive is a lot of work. It takes a toll on physical and mental health. And sometimes even if everything is aligned, there is unexplained infertility that becomes a predicament in conception. Many couples go through stressful times while getting pregnant. With science breaking barriers and series of advancement in medical history, the tables can be reversed and infertility can be rewritten as a happy episode. How is it possible? Momly delved deeper into ins and outs of IVF which is breaking barriers and opening doors to enjoy motherhood.

Is IVF breaking barriers to fertility?

IVF or In Vitro Fertilisation is a series of procedures that help a women get pregnant and help them taste of being a mother. By being a viable treatment option in Gynaecology, it is one of the sought after process that promises best outcomes and erase infertility issues in couples. The best age for IVF starts from 26 to 50 in women and 26 to 55 in men. As egg production start to decrease after 40s, you need to be extra cautious while taking route of IVF. The success rate of IVF in India is 35 to 40%.

Process of IVF in detail

IVF is also called as specialized assisted reproductive technology and it follows a complex process. The series of steps as determined in the process are:

• Stimulation of ovaries – hormonal injections are injected on women’s bodies to stimulate the ovaries. This results into mature and viable eggs which is then used for fertilization.
• Retrieval of mature eggs – Thin needle is inserted in ovaries to retrieve the eggs from the ovaries. The mature eggs are then drawn out through a minor surgical procedure.
• Collection of sperm samples – When egg retrieval is performed in women, men undergo a procedure to collect sperm samples which are then sent to lab for further analysis. Here the quality sperm is separated out from the group of sperms.
• Fertilisation process – After the samples are collected, these samples are mixed with retrieved eggs to initiate the fertilization process.
• Embryo culture and transfer – The embryos are kept and nurtured in a controlled setting for them to mature. After maturing these embryos are transferred into women’s uterus. As IVF can result into multiple pregnancies, fertility experts are mindfully transferring a single embryo to women’s uterus.
• Test to check the conception – After the above steps, last stage is where doctors check if you are pregnant and whether the procedure has achieved success.

Work on yourself before IVF process:

1. Eat healthy diet. Include nutrition-rich fruits and vegetables with all food groups
2. Drink lot of water to keep yourself hydrated
3. Avoid caffeine and alcohol
4. Stay away from unhealthy fats and salty foods
5. Be active. Enroll for fitness classes to charge your physical health
6. Have a healthy routine.Talk to your mom friends and indulge in healthy social meet—ups to keep yourself motivated and positive in the process
7. Take one day at a time. And pat your back at every step. Always repeat the mantra “You are awesome. You are doing your best.”

Get in touch with mental health expert:

Once you have registered for IVF procedure, couples should go for counselling and keep continuous touch with a professional therapist. As IVF is very demanding physically and mentally, it drains your mental energy a lot. Every step requires confidence and good mental health to keep moving. Speak to a mental health coach who has experience and prowess in assisting couples who are undergoing IVF or have undergone IVF procedure to get effective mental health support.

IVF: No more a stigma

IVF is a choice that couples go for after struggling to get pregnant. It has come a long way to get accepted in society’s gaze but the progress is highly visible mainly because infertility has become the current buzz word and more and more couples are finding hard to conceive through sexual intercourse. Now with more advancement, knowledge and awareness through social media, societal attitude and beliefs in relation to IVF and other assisted reproductive aid is shifted and the ignorance veil is lifted. With time, it will even be more celebrated than what it is now. Remember, IVF has been a life-changing experience for many and we need to create more noise and awareness to help it transition from a taboo topic to universally preferred choice. By doing that we empower people and help them foster a climate of acceptance to this reproductive journey.

Summing up

Make the land fertile enough for the baby to dwell. Embrace IVF by seeking help from an IVF expert. To connect with an IVF expert, join Momly App and Momly Whatsapp group. Here you get to interact with different moms and some have gone via IVF route to get pregnant. Engage with them, know how their process was like, what doctors they consulted for IVF process and other related aspects.