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Midwest Reproductive Center

Who Needs IVF?

Who Needs IVF?

Wondering who needs IVF? In vitro fertilization is one of the most successful infertility treatments. The first IVF baby, Louise Brown, was born in England in 1978. Since then, IVF has been responsible for the birth of over one million babies worldwide. In fact, 1% of all babies born in the US and 5% of babies born in Europe are from IVF.

The goal of IVF

IVF was originally for women with blocked or missing fallopian tubes. It now treats nearly all causes of infertility. Couples in which the male has a very low or even absent sperm count can now conceive through IVF. If you have endometriosis, or scar tissue that affects the tubes or ovaries, or other tubal problems, IVF is usually the most effective and safest way to become pregnant. Couples often turn to IVF when other fertility treatments, such as fertility drugs or insemination, are unsuccessful. IVF can be used to prevent genetic disorders with the use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, PGD.

In IVF, you will be on fertility drugs that help your ovaries produce multiple eggs. Once the eggs have grown to maturity, they will be removed by the use of ultrasound and fertilized with your partner’s sperm in the laboratory. The fertilized eggs develop into embryos, of which one or more will be placed into your uterus.

The IVF process includes five different steps:

  • suppression of the ovaries
  • ovarian stimulation
  • egg retrieval
  • fertilization
  • embryo transfer