With the advancement in technology now a majority of couples who are facing infertility do not feel that hopeless. Assisted Reproductive Treatment(ART) like Intrauterine Insemination(IUI), In Vitro Fertilization(IVF), Gamete Intra Fallopian Transfer(GIFT), and Zygote IntraFallopian Transfer(ZIFT) are widely adopted for infertility treatments.
Any infertility treatment depends on the causes of infertility. It is highly advised that before going for any treatment do thorough research by searching for questions like, what is IUI? when to do IUI?, the success rate of IUI, precautions after IUI, IUI cost in India, IUI procedure step by step, What is IVF?, What is GIFT? etc. Give time to your infertility expert to understand the cause of your infertility and adopt the infertility treatment that best suits your condition. If you are planning your treatment in India then the IUI cost in India is less than other infertility treatment costs. Also, IUI procedure step by step and precautions after IUI is easy as compared to other treatments.
Infertility Treatments
In Vitro Fertilization(IVF)
IVF, in vitro fertilization, means in the lab fertilization. It is a type of Assisted Reproductive Treatment(ART) that involves collecting eggs from the female body(using an ultrasound-guided needle) and placing them in a petri dish in the laboratory which is different from how does IUI work. The petri dish already contains washed sperm cells that are collected from the male partner through masturbation or from the sperm bank.
After some time if everything goes well then some of the collected eggs will be fertilized by the sperms collected. The germ cells after fertilization will become embryos. The healthy embryos will be then transferred to the uterus. The success rate of IVF is more than the success rate of IUI if performed when needed.
Before collecting eggs from the ovary, the ovary should be stimulated. For a successful IVF, there should be more than 1 mature egg. The human body produces only 1 mature egg each month but by stimulation, many eggs get matured at once. Many times it happens that with minimal stimulation of IVF only oral fertility drugs are used to stimulate few eggs. The procedure of IVF is different from how does IUI work. Also, the cost of IVI in India is costlier than IUI cost in India.
IVF Procedure stage-wise
Stage 1: Stimulation, also called superovulation
Prescriptions, called fertility drugs, are given to the female partner to help egg creation.
Ordinarily, a woman produces one egg each month. Fertility drugs trigger the ovaries to produce more eggs than normal.
During this, the female partner will have standard transvaginal ultrasounds to look at the ovaries and blood tests to check hormone levels.
Stage 2: Egg recovery
A minor medical procedure, called follicular aspiration, is done to eliminate the eggs from the female partner’s body.
The medical procedure is done in an infertility expert’s office more often than not. The female partner will be given prescriptions so she doesn’t feel torment during the technique. Utilizing ultrasound pictures as a guide, the medical services supplier embeds a thin needle through the vagina into the ovary and sacs (follicles) containing the eggs. The needle is associated with a suction device at the top, which pulls the eggs and liquid out of every follicle, each in turn.
The method is repeated for the other ovary. There might be some uneasiness after the method, however, it will disappear within a day.
In uncommon cases, a pelvic laparoscopy might be expected to eliminate the eggs. On the off chance that a female doesn’t or can’t deliver any eggs, eggs collected from a donor might be utilized.
Stage 3: Insemination and Fertilization
The collected sperms from the male partner or a donor are placed with the eggs. The process of meeting the sperms and egg is called insemination.
Eggs and sperm are then put away in an externally controlled chamber. Only after a couple of hours, the sperms enter the eggs.
In case the infertility expert thinks the chances of the above treatment’s success are low, the sperm might be straightforwardly infused into the egg. This is called intracytoplasmic sperm infusion (ICSI).
Numerous fertility treatment programs regularly do ICSI on a portion of the eggs, even if the conditions are normal.
Stage 4: Embryo culture
At the point when the prepared egg divides, it turns into an embryo. The infertility clinic staff will routinely check the embryo to ensure it is developing appropriately. After around 5 days, an ordinary embryo has a few cells that are effectively dividing.
Couples who have a high danger of passing a hereditary (innate) disease to a youngster may consider pre-implantation hereditary finding (PGD). The methodology is frequently done 3 to 5 days after treatment. Infertility clinic experts eliminate a single cell or cell from every embryo and screen the material for explicit hereditary problems.
Stage 5: Transfer of the embryo
Embryos are put into the female partner’s belly 3 to 5 days after egg recovery and treatment.
Keeping the female partner conscious, this process is done. The infertility expert embeds a flimsy cylinder (catheter) containing the embryo into the female partner’s vagina, through the cervix, and up into the womb. During a successful IVF treatment, the embryo gets planted in the uterus wall resulting in pregnancy.
More than one embryo might be placed into the womb at once, which can prompt twins, triplets, or more. The specific number of embryos moved is an issue that relies upon numerous variables, particularly the female partner’s age.
Unused embryos might be frozen or donated to the needy in the future.
When is IVF done?
Blockage or damage in Fallopian tube
When the fallopian tube is damaged or blocked it becomes difficult for an egg to get fertilized and also for an embryo to reach the uterus.
Ovulation disorders
The times when ovulation is irregular or absent. This results in fewer eggs for fertilization.
Premature Ovarian Failure
The condition in which the normal functioning of ovaries stops before the age of 40 years. This means that ovaries do not produce the required amounts of hormones needed to ovulate periodically. The hormone estrogen is produced in lesser amounts.
Endometriosis
When the uterine tissue implants and grows out of the uterus, it affects the functioning of ovaries, and fallopian tubes leading to infertility.
Uterine Fibroid
Fibroids are benign tumors in the wall of the uterus. This occurs majorly in women of 30 and 40 years of age. This interferes with the implantation of the egg after fertilization.
Prior sterilization of tubes or removal
For patients whose fallopian tubes are cut or blocked leading to permanent prevention of pregnancy.
Dysfunctional sperm function and production
Poor mobility of sperm, low concentration of sperm in the semen, weak movement, or abnormalities in sperm size and shape leads to failure of sperm to fertilize an egg.
Unexplained fertility
When no reason for infertility can be traced after evaluation also.
Genetic disorder
Many genetic disorders can be passed to the newborn if not diagnosed properly. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis, a genetic diagnosis procedure that involves IVF may be used. Once the embryos are ready in the in vitro surrounding they can be diagnosed with any genetic disorder. Once that is done, they can be transferred to the uterus.
Fertility preservation due to cancer or other health conditions: If a patient is about to begin treatment for cancer that could harm fertility, IVF is an option to preserve fertility. Eggs can be collected from the patient’s ovaries and for later use can be kept frozen. Eggs can also be fertilized and frozen into embryos for later use.
High-risk pregnancy and lack of functional uterus:
Patients who suffer from a lack of functional uterus or those with high-risk pregnancies may choose IVF. In this case, another person or a surrogate appointed by the couple is used to carry a full-term fetus. In this case, the patient’s egg is fertilized with sperm, and the resulting embryo is placed in the pregnant woman’s uterus.
Depending on the situation of the patient an infertility expert can suggest
- IVF with the female partner’s eggs and the male partner’s sperms
- IVF with female partner’s eggs and sperms from a donor
- IVF with donor’s eggs and male partner’s sperm
- IVF with donor eggs as well as donor sperms
- IVF with donated embryos
Your infertility expert can also implant the embryos formed by the fusion of the female partner’s eggs and male partner’s eggs in a surrogate, or gestational carrier. A surrogate woman carries the embryo in her womb when the female partner’s womb is not suitable for nurturing the growing embryo.
How does IUI work Vs How does IVF work?
IUI and IVF are both types of Assisted Reproductive Technologies(ART). But when to do IUI and how does IUI work is different from the IVF treatment. IUI cost in India is less than the cost of IVF because the IUI procedure step by step is less complicated and easily performed than the IVF procedures.
IUI involves the injection of sperm into the female body through a syringe which is relatively easy to perform when compared to the complicated process of growing embryos in vitro in IVF. IUI can be performed at home also with the Subahag home IUI kit. Precautions after IUI are also easier than after IVF. The success rate of IUI and IVF differ from patient to patient. Though IVF is considered a more successful infertility treatment, IUI is suggested by infertility experts before any other infertility treatment that can be cured with the IUI procedure step by step.
Gamete Intra Fallopian Transfer(GIFT)
GIFT means “Gamete Intra-Fallopian Transfer.” Gametes, i.e., the female’s eggs and the male’s sperm, are washed and set through a catheter straightforwardly into the female partner’s fallopian tubes. This normally includes a minor surgery, known as laparoscopy that permits you to return home that very day with a minor level of agony that goes on for only a couple of days. With GIFT, treatment happens inside the female’s body (not outside), and duplicates how an ordinarily prepared egg would start its journey to the uterus for implantation.
Procedure of GIFT
In a normally fertile couple, pregnancy starts with the arrival of an ovum (egg) from the female partner’s ovaries. The egg enters the fallopian tube where it meets with sperm that have reached there, the accompanying intercourse, from the vagina. The sperm ordinarily fuse with the egg in the fallopian tube. The treated egg, presently called an embryo, starts to separate and in four days, contains numerous cells. As of now, the embryo moves from the fallopian tube to the uterine cavity where it swims for an additional two days. The embryo at this stage implants into the uterine wall and turns into a pregnancy.
The GIFT method follows the natural method of fertilization. It involves the gametes fusing in the fallopian tube after injecting artificially into it. This increases the chances of fertilization as sperms and eggs are closer in the fallopian tube and sperms do not need to travel till the fallopian tubes crossing the hostile mucus. It is done following the natural ovulation cycle of the female partner.
The liquid containing the eggs is put in a dish in the laboratory and observed under a microscope. The eggs are observed and their phase of development is noted. Once they are ready to fertilize, the sperms and eggs are successively stacked into the catheter, which is then brought into the patient’s fallopian tubes through a little cut in her abdomen.
When to do IUI Vs when to do GIFT
Gamete intrafallopian move (GIFT) is performed for infertile females who are ovulating yet have obstructed oviducts (fallopian tubes) or for infertile couples who, for religious reasons, wish to stay away from the complicated infertility treatments of preparing the embryo outside the body. IUI procedure step by step is different from GIFT as the former does not include any surgery to transfer the gametes. Also, the success rate of GIFT is better than the success rate of IUI. In GIFT the gametes are directly placed into the fallopian tube after observing in the laboratory and selecting the most suitable eggs. But in the IUI process only washed sperms are injected into the female partner’s uterus.
GIFT cost in India is far too much as compared to the IUI cost in India. IUI process cost for one cycle is in few thousands but GIFT costs between Rs.10 lakh to Rs. 14 lakh per cycle.
Zygote Intrafallopian Transfer(ZIFT)
Zygote intrafallopian transfer(ZIFT) is also a type of Assisted Reproductive Treatment(ART). It has similarities to IVF for it also involves the fusion of gametes outside the female body. But the difference between the two is that the fertilized embryo is transferred into the fallopian tube in ZIFT then into the uterus in IVF. ZIFT is also known as Tubal Embryo Transfer(TET) because the fertilized egg is transferred directly into the tubes.
This is more successful than GIFT because the infertility expert has greater chances of ensuring that the eggs are fertilized before putting them into the fallopian tube. For a successful ZIFT treatment, the female partner should have healthy fallopian tubes. The advantage of ZIFT is that it promises fertilization.
ZIFT is widely chosen by couples who have failed to conceive after at least one year of trying to conceive. Also by those who have failed five to six cycles of intrauterine insemination (IUI) after consulting the infertility expert for when to do IUI. It is also used for patients who suffer from
- Problems with the uterus
- Low quality and low quantity sperms
- Tubal blockage
- Significant tubal damage
Step by step procedure of ZIFT
- To increase the chances of producing multiple eggs, a female partner’s ovaries are stimulated with medications.
- The produced eggs are taken out of the female body.
- Just like the procedure adopted for IVF, in ZIFT also eggs are fertilized in a laboratory except for the time frame. Within 24 hours of fertilization, eggs are transferred.
- Through a laparoscopic procedure, the fertilized eggs are transferred to the fallopian tube. During this procedure, a catheter is placed deep in the fallopian tube through which fertilized eggs are injected.
- To ensure successful ZIFT treatment, the final step is to observe pregnancy symptoms. Usually, a blood test is used to determine pregnancy.
IUI process cost Vs ZIFT process cost and how are they different?
IUI process cost is the least for any other infertility treatment. The average cost of ZIFT is Rs.11 lakhs whereas the IUI cost per cycle in India is only Rs.3000.
Before IUI, you can take fertility drugs that help your eggs mature and ready to be fertilized. Your infertility expert will do the insemination process around the time of ovulation. Sometimes the female partner is given hormones that trigger ovulation. The infertility expert will understand exactly when you ovulate and be ready for the process to maximize your chances of conceiving.
The male partner or donor takes a sample of semen at home or at the doctor’s office. Sperm is prepared for insemination by a process called “sperm washing” that produces a concentrated amount of healthy sperm. Sperm washing also helps to get rid of chemicals in the semen that can cause reactions in the uterus and make it difficult to conceive. While using donor sperm from a sperm bank, the sperm bank will usually send sperm already “washed” and ready for IUI to the infertility expert’s office.
During the IUI procedure, the infertility expert slides a thin, flexible tube from the female partner’s cervix into the uterus. They use a small syringe to insert the sperm from the tube directly into your uterus. Pregnancy occurs when the sperm fertilizes an egg and the fertilized egg implants in the lining of the uterus.
The insemination procedure is done in the infertility experts’ infertility clinic and takes only 5-10 minutes. It’s pretty fast and one doesn’t need anesthesia. IUI procedure step by step is easy to perform and painless. IUI can be done at home also.
How to increase the success rate of infertility treatments
If you are trying to conceive through any infertility treatments, you need to put in some effort to make sure you lead a healthy lifestyle.
Exercise to manage your body weight
Unhealthy foods affect the quality of your egg or sperm. If you consume sugary and starchy foods as well, it’s time to cut them. Also, unprocessed meats, refined grains, canned food, caffeinated drinks, etc. You need to reduce it and eventually stop eating. Instead, consume fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, mono-saturated fats, lean protein, legumes, and low-fat dairy products.
Supplements for infertility treatment Success
Sometimes you can’t get all the nutrients from food. That’s when you need supplements. Some of the supplements that can increase the success rate of your infertility treatment are as follows – folic acid, zinc, omega 3 fatty acids, vitamins, and selenium. Your infertility expert will advise you on what you will need.
Reduce stress
Trying different fertility treatments could affect your mental health. Since stress does not provide any benefits for your fertility, you need to decrease stress and meditate regularly. If you need a break, go somewhere where you can relax, unwind and rejuvenate.
Avoid ejaculation
Men who will donate sperm for infertility treatment should not masturbate or have sex for at least 3-4 days before the procedure. This helps increase sperm count and sperm quality.
There are many infertility treatments available today. According to the need of the patient the treatment varies. Though IUI is the easiest to perform treatment it is not suitable for all infertility issues. Infertility experts advise taking 5 to 6 IUI cycles before switching to other infertility treatments. IUI process cost is also reasonable and affordable. There are many IUI success stories of the couples who have adopted only 2 or 3 cycles of IUI. IVF, GIFT, and ZIFT are effective but are very costly to be afforded. IUI can be performed at home also at ease with the Subhag home IUI kit.
