WHAT SHOULD WOMEN KNOW BEFORE CHOOSING IVF
It is not always necessary that conceiving is successful for every couple. A common condition in females which is faced by 10% of the population is Infertility. It is the inability to get a successful pregnancy even after trying for straight 12 months due to some limiting factors. In heterosexual couples, 1/3rd issues are due to male problems, 1/3rd issues are due to female problems and the rest 1/3rd remain miscellaneous. Infertility caused due to a woman’s limiting factor is called female infertility.
Not all intercourse results in pregnancy. Only and only when the sperm and ovum fuse in the Ampulla region in the Fallopian tube of a woman, Fertilisation occurs successfully. The fused cell undergoes a division process resulting in a zygote. At this stage, the gender of the child is already decided. After a further division process, the zygote differentiates into an Embryo, which in turn gets attached to the uterus. This entire process is called Implantation, which leads to Pregnancy.
After implantation has occurred, with the uterine tissues and maternal blood, a structural and functional unit called Placenta is formed. The placenta connects the embryo/foetus with the maternal body. It facilitates the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the embryo and removes carbon dioxide and excretory products produced by the embryo. The placenta is connected to the Embryo via an Umbilical cord, which helps the transfer of nutrients to and fro.
To conceive, a woman needs to have a healthy female reproductive organ. It includes ovaries. The fallopian tube, uterus, etc. These organs play an important role in conceiving and pregnancy. Ovulation is the most important factor for a woman who is planning to conceive. Every month a woman of her reproductive age normally releases an egg for fertilization. If intercourse occurs during ovulation and sperm is successful enough to fertilize the egg, it results in fertilization. Due to certain reasons egg is not released regularly. These include a woman’s hormonal imbalance, eating disorder, disease like thyroid, severe stress, etc.
Infertility is not only on a woman’s side; it also can be on men's. Infertility in men is caused due to problems like varicocele; in this condition veins on men’s testicles become too large which heats up the testicles resulting in abnormality in the number and shape of sperms. The count of sperm is less or not at all if a man is infertile. All these conditions arise due to heavy drug abuse, cigarette, age, chemotherapy, etc.
TREATMENTS FOR FEMALE INFERTILITY - Infertility is a natural phenomenon; it is not under anyone’s control. This does not stop a woman from being a mother for the rest of her life.
1. In vitro fertilisation (IVF) – with the advent of biotechnology, a test tube baby has now become a ray of hope to parents with few complications.
2. Surrogacy – a woman with a defective mitochondrion has issues with conceiving and becoming a mother, if a healthy mitochondria donor from a woman is received, motherhood can be experienced. Surrogacy laws have now become stricter due to violations and exploitation of the surrogate mother. Parents plan a child in a surrogate and then abandon her, leaving the surrogate woman frustrated and aimless.
3. Adoption – there are so many children who have been abandoned due to certain reasons and they end up in orphanages. Adopting a child does not only give home and shelter but also builds the future of the child.
A woman's condition becomes helpless and lowest when she is unable to conceive. All that can help is regular counselling, firm family support and compassion to rebuild her trust. Alternative methods like those mentioned above can also help a woman become a mother.
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THINGS WOMEN SHOULD KNOW BEFORE CHOOSING IVF – it takes a lot of effort for the woman who is trying to conceive and is unable to see results. Being emotional and pondering a lot about pregnancy can sometimes take a toll on a woman’s mental and physical health. Here are a few things that women can keep in mind when both partners decide on IVF –
· The process is a time-consuming one – when the couple is unable to conceive naturally, options like surrogacy, adoption and IVF come up. When a couple is opting for in vitro fertilization, they have to keep in mind that the process will be time-consuming and will be assisted with many lab visits till it is not successful. Different types of tests will be required when IVF is done like blood tests, ultrasounds, etc.
· IVF needs a healthy body – women who are unable to conceive naturally can be having physiological issues like obesity, narrow fallopian tube, less number of eggs, etc. In order to make IVF treatment work, women should have a healthy weight, limit alcohol and drug intake and conditions like diabetes and blood pressure in control.
· The treatment will accompany side effects- whenever a foreign particle enters the human body, an alert system is generated in form of antibodies. This helps protect the body from further infection, etc. In the case of IVF, a bunch of female hormones will be injected into the woman’s body which may result in severe mood swings, weight gain, dizziness, etc. If it gets worse, it’s better to consult the doctor.
A woman's condition becomes helpless and lowest when she is unable to conceive. All that can help is regular counselling, firm family support and compassion to rebuild her trust. Alternative methods like those mentioned above can also help a woman become a mother.