At this stage, ovaries are stimulated with hormones that help ovaries in producing maximum number of eggs in a month. Normally, ovaries produce one egg per month without any stimulation. However, in IVF treatment it is done to increase the chances of successful fertilization in one attempt. This stage lasts about 8 to 14 days. At Australian Concept Infertility Medical Center, our infertility specialists prescribe stimulation medicine keeping in view the weight, hormones, and treatment plan of the patient. These medications include, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH). These hormones may be administered to you by way of injections. We have well-trained staff and nurses who ensure the dosages are administered properly at the right time. At this stage, we acquire your blood samples every alternate day to check your estrogen levels. Also, we conduct a transvaginal ultrasound to monitor the development of follicles. The final part of this stage involves “trigger injection” which get your eggs ready for ovulation. Afterwards, the infertility specialist will schedule your egg pick-up accordingly.

ACIMC Stimulation Protocols

At Australian Concept Infertility Medical Center, we follow international stimulation protocols as prescribed by international bodies such as ASRM, ESHRE, and IFFS. Besides, all our IVF consultants and staff are experienced and well-groomed for the procedure. It is pertinent to note that FSH and LH both are produced by the body naturally thus, the medication only works as a booster for increased egg production. Moreover, the transvaginal ultrasound is conducted by an experienced female Sonologist Consultant to ensure our patient’s comfort.

This is the most delicate stage of an IVF treatment which requires experienced consultants. Egg retrieval or transvaginal ovum pick-up (TVOPU) is a day procedure which takes 20 to 30 minutes for its completion. During this stage, the patient will be sedated by an experienced anaesthetist after which an experienced specialists will retrieve follicles from your ovaries. Generally, your IVF consultant will have an idea of the number of eggs expected to be retrieved based upon the ultrasound that would take place at stimulation stage. After the eggs are retrieved, it will take two to three hours for you to be recovered after which you can go home on the same day.

As per the recommendations of our IVF Consultants and Embryologists in order to achieve successful results, it is important that fresh sperm is used that is retrieved on the same day of egg pick-up. According to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, for the purpose of obtaining reasonable sperm for testing, analysis and fertilization of eggs, two to seven days of abstinence is recommended. In case, the male partner is unable to be present at the day of egg retrieval therefore, he can get his semen frozen in advance for the procedure. The frozen semen will be thawed in and prepared in time for Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection. If the male is unable to produce sperm due to any reason such as, no sperm in ejaculate or unable to give sample, then our male infertility specialist will identify you as potential biopsy patient. The biopsy takes place under general anaesthesia and it is a day treatment, hence the patient can go home the same day. Australian Concept Infertility Medical Center has a large number of patients who have given birth to healthy babies even when sperm was obtained through testicular biopsy. Once the semen is obtained, semen analysis takes place. It is a complex procedure during which the sample is graded on various parameters and properties i.e., sperm count, motility, morphology, etc. The scientists at Australian Concept Infertility Medical Center selects the best sperm after thorough analysis to ensure the eggs have maximum chance of fertilization.

After the eggs are collected, they are handed over to the embryologist in a dish containing them in fluid form. The embryologist cleans and prepares the eggs for fertilization. The eggs can either be fertilized by conventional IVF method or through Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI). In conventional IVF, the eggs are combined with sperm in laboratory petri dishes under optimal environment where the sperm fertilize the eggs on its own. Whereas in ICSI, the eggs are first prepared under a microscope and afterwards, the embryologist performs intracytoplasmic sperm injection. In ICSI, the best sperm is selected which is injected directly to the cytoplasm of the egg. This procedure is quite delicate and requires utmost concentration and optimum microscope and laboratory environment.

Once the eggs start to fertilize, they are placed in an incubator that has optimum environment for their growth and development. After 24 hours, the embryologist checks the incubator using special tools such as, Primo Vision / Time Lapse machine which provides a thorough detail regarding the growth of the embryos. The sign of healthy eggs growing towards embryo is that they show cleavage within 24 hours and by day 3 they will develop into 6-8 cell embryos. On day 5 or 6, the embryos develop into blastocyst which is ideal embryo quality thus indicating that it can be transferred to the uterus. It is to be kept in mind that not all eggs fertilize and not each egg develops into embryo or blastocyst. There are numerous factors that impact the fertilization as well as development of embryos i.e., genetic disorder, laboratory environment, etc.

The embryologist identifies the healthiest and ideal embryo for embryo implantation. An ideal embryo is selected depending upon the its quality that will maximize the chances of a successful IVF treatment. the procedure of embryo implantation does not require anaesthesia thus, you are conscious during the procedure. The procedure is carried out by an experienced embryologist who will load the embryo in a plastic tube known as “catheter” and will ensure that no damage is caused to it. The catheter will pass through the cervix to reach the uterus where the embryo is dropped after a gentle push. The embryo attaches itself to the uterine wall. This procedure takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes for its completion but you are called early in order for pre-procedure preparations and after the procedure is completed, you are kept in daycare for some time.

Our specialists at Australian Concept Infertility Medical Center, usually transfer one or two embryos to the uterus. The remaining embryos are frozen for later use after consultation with the couple if they desire so. It is to be noted that Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) procedure cost less as compared to the cost of Fresh IVF cycle. Hence, going for embryo freezing can be beneficial in case your attempt fails or you plan for further babies.

Two weeks after the embryo implantation, the patient is recommended to conduct a beta HCG test. The levels of human chronic gonadotropin in the blood are measured through this test which are also the first indicator of pregnancy.