Female Infertility Treatment

Before any fertility treatment is administered, some of these procedures will be carried out for you. 

  1. Laparoscopy involves passing an endoscopy into the abdominal cavity through the navel. Through this procedure, the doctor can determine if there are any blockages or abnormality in the fallopian tube, ovaries and uterus.

  2. Ultrasound scan will be carried out to exclude cysts in the ovaries, fluid within the fallopian tubes, fibroids in the walls or uterus or polyps within the uterus. 

  3. Another test called hysteroscopy is where the doctor inserts a hysteroscope which is a thin tube with light on the end into the uterus. The doctor will check for any abnormalities in the cervix and uterus. If there are abnormalities, a sample will be taken for testing.

Once the above is done and the doctor finds that you are suitable and ready for treatment, you have the following options:

  • IUI - Intrauterine Insemination
  • IVF - In Vitro Fertilization
  • ICSI - Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection
  • PGD - Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis
  • PGS - Pre-implantation genetic screening

 

  • IUI - Intrauterine Insemination

The procedure takes about 15 minutes. The doctor takes the sperm, ‘washes’ and filters it to produce a concentrated sample of healthy sperm. Then the sperm is injected into the woman through a catheter that puts the sperm directly into the uterus. This is done during ovulation.

  • IVF - In Vitro Fertilization

IVF involves hormone injections and a surgical procedure to retrieve eggs from the female. The retrieved egg is then combined with the sperm in a laboratory. When the embryos form in the lab, it is taken and placed inside the uterus. When embryos are transferred to the uterus in IVF, it is typical to transfer 2-4 embryos at once, increasing the likelihood of pregnancy but also increasing the likelihood of a multiple pregnancy.

  • ICSI - Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection

When there are problems with the sperm, a procedure called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) may be recommended along with IVF. This is done in a laboratory that involves inserting a single sperm directly into an egg. The embryos that form is transferred to the uterus in the same way as IVF embryos.

Some genetic issues and problems or disability may arise in children. To avoid these, some of these tests are conducted. These tests are beneficial to produce healthy babies. That said, these tests have no guarantee. Most doctors recommend doing prenatal testing in addition to these procedures, if a genetic diagnosis was mistaken or missed.

  1. PGD - Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis

  2. PGD is used to identify a specific genetic disease in the embryo. This may be desired to avoid passing on a genetic disease.

    PGS - Pre-implantation genetic screening

  3. PGS looks at the overall chromosomal makeup of the embryo. For example, Downs Syndrome can occur when there is an extra copy of chromosome. PGS identifies this before the embryo is transferred to the uterus.