Posts Tagged ‘Female infertility’

Artificial Insemination Part One; Intracervical Insemination

Saturday, October 24th, 2009

Intracervical insemination (ICI) is one of the least expensive methods of artificial insemination. It’s also one that is the least complicated and can be performed in the comfort of your reproductive specialist’s office. What they do is to take the sperm from your partner and then they insert it into the woman’s cervix, enhancing the chances of the sperm swimming through the uterus and ultimately into the fallopian tube. ICI is most commonly in women who have presented signs of being infertile.

Both partners will be tested and diagnosed before commencing with ICI, just to make sure that there aren’t any other underlying problems in regards to their individual reproductive organs. By monitoring the levels of luteinizing hormones (LH) in the female’s blood, the specialist can easily determine which days you would be most fertile and then know when to go forth with the procedure. On the female’s day of ovulation, the already prepared sperm will be injected within a 24 hour window, and again in 36 hours.

For more information on ICI or any of the other artificial insemination processes feel free to contact the experts from Pregassist.

Artificial Insemination Part Two; Intrauterine Insemination

Saturday, October 24th, 2009

Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) is the process of injecting formerly prepared and warmed sperm into the woman’s uterus. This is done two to three days before and after ovulation which heightens the chances of fertilization by getting the sperm closer to the matured egg. There are basically two ways in which this process can be approached;

• If a woman is considered to have normal ovulation but still have trouble getting pregnant, the doctor will inject the previously prepared sperm into the woman’s cervix two days before ovulation, and then again after. Your physician can guide you in determining how to know when you are most fertile.
• When a woman has already tried ICI and have shown signs of certain problems in regards to her ovulation processes, the doctor will undoubtedly recommend medical induced ovulation. The medication will assist in producing more mature eggs which will be closely monitored via transvaginal ultrasounds. On the day of ovulation the doctor will then continue to inject the sperm into the female’s cervix.

For more information on intrauterine insemination or other natural methods to first consider please contact us at Pregassist. We have helped countless couples in becoming parents, and would love to help and assist you in making your dream a reality.

Artificial Insemination Part Three; Zygote intra-fallopian tube transfer

Saturday, October 24th, 2009

Zygote intra-fallopian tube transfer is considered an ART procedure which relies on the precision of your specialist. Once the doctor has determined that the eggs have reached full maturity, the woman will be given local anaesthetics and the eggs will be located by an ultrasound and removed from the ovaries with a needle. The eggs are then taken to a laboratory and will be fertilized with the male’s sperm, in vitro. About 24 hours later each of the fertilized eggs would have formed a ball of cells, known as the zygote which is the developing embryo.

The woman will then undergo minor surgery where the doctor makes a small incision in her stomach and places up to four zygotes into her fallopian tubes. In the event of the procedure proving to be unsuccessful, any extra zygotes will be frozen and kept safe for a second attempt. In 35% of woman successfully becoming pregnant via zygote intra-fallopian tube transfer gives birth to multiples. Not many couples opt for this ART procedure, so to find out more about the various types of artificial insemination contact us at Pregassist.

Artificial Insemination Part Seven; Assisted Hatching

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

In most cases doctors will only recommend assisted hatching in cases where other fertility treatments and procedures have failed. The whole process leading up to the day of birth is an incredibly fragile and delicate process, and one minor thing can ultimately lead to a miscarriage. One of the causes for this can be the result of the zona pellucida being too thick, making it impossible for the embryo to hatch out. Even though all women are at risk of this condition, the majority of such cases involved older woman from 37 years of age and up. The medical explanation for this condition is ‘implantation failure’ and can be supported by assisted hatching.

Assisting hatching is when an embryo is taken and then fertilised outside of the womb via IVF. The specialist, known as an embryologist, then puts his skills to work and makes a tiny hole in the zona pellucida to make the hatching process easier. When all of this has been completed successfully it’s transferred back it to the womb. This is all usually possible by applying an acidic chemical.

For any additional facts and details on assisted hatching including the possible risks please feel free to contact us at Pregassist. We are experienced professionals who possess the know-how and insight in regards to various infertility problems and treatments.

Artificial Insemination Part Eight; Cryopreservation

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

Cryopreservation is a process used in artificial insemination treatments where either the sperm, the unfertilized eggs or the embryo itself are frozen at very low temperatures in liquid nitrogen. The temperatures and certain precautions may vary depending on what it is you want to freeze and store;

• Freezing the sperm; once the sperm has been successfully collected from the donor, it is placed in a tube and stored at -80°C. This takes on average about 24 hours, and once it has been completely frozen it’s placed in another tube for long-term storage.
• Freezing an unfertilized egg; this process is still considered experimental since it has not yet been determined how much damage is inflicted upon the outer shell of the egg, nor are they certain the period which it’s allowed to be stored in order to still ensure a viable pregnancy.
• Freezing the embryo; the advantage of storing embryos is the fact that it provides a rather high success rate and can be stored for a considerable period of time. These embryos are only available to couples who are legally married and the cost of storage is surprisingly low.

The process of Cryopreservation is extremely interesting and also complicated. For more information on the different processes of artificial insemination, please feel free to contact the professional team from Pregassist.

Artificial Insemination Part Nine; Gamete intra-fallopian tube transfer

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

Gamete intra-fallopian tube transfer is also an ART technique used to increase your chances of conception. In most cases this procedure is recommended to couples have had unexplained infertility problems and who have already tried all the other known infertility treatments. Gamete intra-fallopian tube transfer is the process of collecting the egg from the female either via natural ovulation or medically induced ovulation. They are combined with carefully prepared sperm and then replaced back at the far end of the fallopian tube. The egg will then hopefully run its natural course up to the uterus for natural implantation.

With this procedure as with zygote intra-fallopian tube transfer the chances of multiple births is a high possibility. Pregassist has the knowledge to assist and advice you any of the given artificial insemination processes and would urge you contact us if you have any questions.