It is a bit scary to think about going into a reproductive center to discuss in vitro fertilization for the first time. This can be a scary step if you are struggling to conceive naturally, and especially if you have already been told that you will be unable to conceive a child naturally. The good news is that many women who have unknown fertility issues or who are healthy but with partners without healthy sperm often do conceive healthy babies through IVF.

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. If you are dreaming of having a baby through natural childbirth, you have to consider in vitro fertilization before you give up the dream.

What Is IVF?

When in vitro fertilization is performed, a woman’s eggs are united with healthy male sperm in a laboratory where the ideal conditions for fertilization are set up. 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. In most cases, a couple will use donor sperm since the fertility problems lie with the man, but there are many situations that might lead to IVF.

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 Can You Expect?

The journey into IVF always starts with a booked appointment with a local reproductive center. You will not be doing your procedure the first day you walk into the center. The first appointment will be a simple consultation where a doctor analyzes your situation and determines whether you are best suited to in vitro fertilization, or if there may be other options open to you.

In some cases they will know right away whether you are a good fit for IVF, but in other cases you may be put through further testing or may even be advised to give natural conception more of a chane. It depends on your particular situation and the type of infertility problems you are experiencing. 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 a reproductive center has agreed to work with you for IVF, they will give you a special medication that will help your body ovulate. 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. You should now understand why you have a higher chance of producing multiple babies with IVF!

Your reproductive center will need to go in and get your eggs out of your body after they have been released. It is important to time everything so the healthy sperm is available at the center when the eggs are ready to be fertilized. Once they have collected the eggs, they will combine them with the sperm in the laboratory. In order to encourage fertilization, the right environment is set up when combining the eggs and sperm.

The (hopefully) fertilized eggs are then placed back into your body and you will hopefully take a pregnancy test with good results in the near future. In some cases, you may have additional eggs waiting in case a pregnancy doesn’t occur on the very first attempt with IVF.