When a childless couple is not able to conceive, there are myriad paths that the couple may follow to obtain a solution. If IVF does not help the couple, then they can go in for surrogacy. In this method, another lady conceives, carries and gives birth to the baby created by the sperm and eggs of the intended parents. Let us find out more about surrogacy today.

Who can use it?
Surrogacy can be availed by couples who are not able to conceive due to many conclusive reasons including the absence of a womb or the malfunctioning of the same. Also, recurrent miscarriages can be one of the reasons. Further, a couple who has been through IVF or In Vitro Fertilisation implantation failure a number of times can opt for surrogacy.

How does it Work?
Full surrogacy, as it is known, is a process of implanting an embryo in a host body. This embryo is usually created using the egg and the sperm of the parents, or even a fertilised egg that has been donated by a donor, which is then fertilised using the sperm from the intended father. Also, this embryo may be created by using donor eggs and donor sperms. Partial surrogacy is also a method that may be used. When artificial insemination or intrauterine insemination (IUI) is used to create an embryo with the sperm from the intended father and the egg from the surrogate mother, then the process is known as partial surrogacy.

Chance of having a baby with surrogacy
The chance of having a baby with surrogacy depend on various factors. It depends on the ability of the surrogate to get pregnant, as well as her overall health. Before choosing a surrogate, it is important to put her through all the necessary tests to ascertain a good state of health. Further, the age of the egg donor is also a factor in such cases. The success of related procedures like IVF or IUI will also determine the chances of conception through this method. Furthermore, the quality of the elements used by the couple or the intended parents will also make a difference to the process and its efficacy. Yet, the most important factor includes the age of the woman whose egg is being used.

Difference between IVF and Surrogacy
In IVF, the eggs are gathered from the woman and the sperm is taken from her partner before an embryo is created and affixed in the uterus of the intended mother. In surrogacy, it is actually another woman who carries this lab-created embryo through methods like artificial insemination. The sperm may come from the father and the egg may be donated by someone else, in many cases involving full or partial surrogacy.

What is Surrogacy and how it is different from IVF

If you are trying to get pregnant through IVF, then you must be receiving a lot of suggestions from people close to you. You get suggestions about lifestyle changes, changes in your diet and much more. You will definitely get to hear about the Mediterranean diet in that list. This is one of the best diets that can ensure a healthy pregnancy.

There are so many studies conducted on the right diet for women to achieve a healthy pregnancy. A diet which is rich in vegetables, fruits, high fibre, whole grains and fish is good and the Mediterranean diet has just what a woman requires.

What is the Mediterranean diet?
The Mediterranean diet includes eating fresh fruits and vegetables. It also includes good fat, proteins and carbohydrates. When you are opting for IVF treatment, your overall lifestyle plays an important role such as the food you consume. You need to add more proteins to your diet as that can help in the production of eggs. You need to consume vegetable protein and not just animal protein.

How can the Mediterranean diet influence the results of an IVF?

Your body should be able to absorb the nutrients from the food that you eat. This will help in the production of quality sperm, egg and hormones. So, the Mediterranean diet can help you with that.
The Mediterranean diet helps manage blood sugar levels. Most women crave sweets or experience mood swings caused by hormones good food can help control these. When you are able to manage your blood sugar with the help of this diet, then you will be able to produce good quality or healthy eggs.
You will have to make sure that the food you are eating is protecting the cells from radical damage. When the cells in the body are damaged, then they will impact the quality of the sperm and egg produced. The Mediterranean diet is high in antioxidants that protect the cells.
The Mediterranean diet contains good fats. Fats from fish are very good as they boost the cell membranes. Inflammation is also prevented with the help of this good fat.
Apart from that, you will also find the Mediterranean diet useful in reducing obesity, heart diseases and diabetes.
Being overweight can also be one of the reasons for not getting pregnant. This diet will help you maintain a good weight. People with sleeping disorders are also able to overcome the problem. So, overall the Mediterranean diet is the best diet for maintaining overall health. Overall good health will guarantee a good and healthy pregnancy. 

Mediterranean Diet - How Can It Influence The Results After IVF?

Frozen Embryo Transfer or FET is an extremely effective method to conceive a pregnancy. Recent studies have proved that there is a increased chance for pregnancy when the embryos, which get used are frozen and get placed inside the uterus at a time right after the ovaries are stimulated. Still, certain issues can arise with the transfer of frozen embryo, such as:

A Thin Lining of the Uterus
Research has shown that there are not many women who get pregnant if the lining in their uterine does not tend to thicken enough. It is not clear exactly why this problem occurs in most women and moreover there is no sure shot treatment to make the lining of the uterine thick. The experts on fertility would try out different methods like increasing the amount of estrogen or change the way how estrogen is given. There are other instances when women might be given supplemental medicines, while for some, the problem will continue to exist.

What Should Be Done In Case The Problem Persists?

In case the problem continues for some women, then there are certain approaches which experts might look to adopt. The first one is to cancel the transfer of embryo and try once again at any later stage, that too with a different treatment method.
The second option which they could think of is to go ahead with the transfer, wherein they might feel that a thin lining does not necessarily mean that it is impossible for a woman to get pregnant but definitely the efficiency would be reduced.
One last option is to make use of the opportunity for undergoing additional tests which would help them to assess the ability of the uterus to allow implantation of the embryos.
Unexpected Ovulation
For enabling the embryos to get implanted into uterus, placing them very precisely and at the appropriate time is important. This is regarded as the window of implantation. The time taken, is based on the time frame since progesterone reaches the lining of the uterine.

Doctor knows the exact time to place the embryos, right from the time he or she instructs a woman to start having progesterone supplements. In case a woman was to ovulate, the production of progesterone would begin earlier than the normal time and would lead to the shift of the window of implantation. As identifying the correct time of ovulation is almost impossible, so that would lead to some sort of uncertainty into the timing.

Due to this reason, there are doctors who would use medication in order to prevent unexpected ovulation from occurring. Generally an injection called Lupron is usually used as medication.

Timing for the Embryo Transfer is Inappropriate
This is a problem related to early ovulation. There are case when the implantation window is shifted, still the timing of the transfer becomes accurate. Recent studies have shown that quite a nominal percentage of women might have a window of implantation, which could be either earlier or later than normal time. A test called the Endometrial Receptivity Array can help determine at what time is the window of implantation open.

Frozen Embryo Transfer - Complications Associated With It!

Egg Freezing, which is also known as mature oocyte cryopreservation, refers to the method through which reproductive potential is restored among women. Eggs get harvested from the ovaries, frozen and in an unfertilized manner and are stored for purpose of using them later on. The egg freezing procedure is recommended for those women, who would like to delay conceiving baby due to various kinds of reasons.

Before the freezing of eggs, it is important to first retrieve the eggs. Let us look at how the eggs are retrieved, followed by the procedure of egg freezing through two different ways.

Retrieval of Egg

Egg Retrieval takes place just like it is done in case of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Women would need to be put under medication for hormones or through injections, which shall lead to the stimulation of ovaries, leading to more eggs getting matured. After this women would receive the necessary medication to stimulate ovulation and then the extraction of eggs takes place through the use of a needle. Specialists perform this whole procedure by putting women under the effect of anesthesia and are also guided by ultrasounds. Once the extraction is completed, the freezing takes place.

There are two different techniques involved in the egg freezing process. They include:

Slow Egg Freezing Method

A substance called cryoprotectant is used in order to protect the biological tissues from getting damaged out of freezing. This slow freezing method of getting eggs freezed relies on low initial concentrations of crytoprotectant. The cryoprotectant in low concentration is introduced when the egg is at a relatively warm temperature and still continues to experience the usual functions of a living cell. Then the cryptoprotectant would spread all throughtout thus fill the egg, hence replacing most of the water inside the egg. The egg is then inserted into a small container made of plastic and ultimately get placed inside a cooling chamber. The lowering of temperature, to around -6 degree centigrade, takes place through injecting very tiny amounts of liquid nitrogen into the cooling chamber. The cooling process is controlled by a computer.

The main purpose of these techniques is to avoid ice crystals from getting formed in the egg. During the spreading of the cryoprotectant, if the ice crystals are still present, they can cause damage to the egg and hence the egg may not survive the process of thawing. Then the temperature is lowered further to around -32 degree centigrade. By this time, the egg s metabolic rate become slow. The container where the egg was placed, is then dipped inside the liquid nitrogen, forming a solid.

Rapid Egg Freezing Method or Vitrification

At the time of rapid freezing method, there is high concentration of initial cryoprotectant whereas the cell remains at room temperature. The egg is unable to stay for long in this temperature and thus gets poured immediately onto the liquid nitrogen. Cryoprotectant spreads at a rapid rate so as to avoid ice-crystal from getting damaged. Vitrification is a very new method for freeing eggs. Recent research has shown that vitrification of eggs largely improves the possibility for survival after thawing and the rates of pregnancy.

Different Techniques That Can Be Used For Egg Freezing!

Women undergo menopause in their 40s and this is primarily known as the age after which they can't bear children in their wombs any more. The ability to develop and maintain a healthy pregnancy wanes as a woman crosses the age of 30, which according to research is the optimal time for a woman to become a mother.

The body undergoes changes as it gets older and women slowly start losing the perfect conditions for pregnancy. However, with the rise of the IVF treatment for infertility, a great number of people are choosing to embrace parenthood at a relatively advanced age. However, the question is, can the same IVF treatment prove effective for a woman after her menopause?

The answer is yes. There have been several instances where a woman past menopause has been implanted with a fertilized egg and has been able to conceive a healthy offspring from the same. However, such an IVF treatment is much more complex and can require a lot of external hormonal treatments on the side as well.

How can IVF help menopausal women?
Women, who have gone into menopause more than 6 months ago, require additional care to achieve pregnancy through IVF. The uterus is usually shrunken in such people and the endometrial lining also develops a resistance to estrogen. Several cycles of estrogen treatment are needed for such women to achieve a healthy pregnancy.

Most doctors suggest at least a couple of months of estrogen and progesterone treatment prior to taking the actual IVF treatment. However, there is no guarantee that the same will be effective in every case.

By any chance, if the menopausal woman chose to store her eggs prior to her menopause, she can get those eggs fertilized and implanted after menopause, using the IVF method, in order to achieve a healthy pregnancy. Through, this procedure, the woman can not only become pregnant after menopause but can also ensure that she is the biological mother of the child who would be born.

At any rate, it is best to undergo the IVF treatment before menopause, as this improves the chances of conceiving. The hormonal treatments are often easier and most women can completely forego the progesterone and estrogen supplementation in such a case. This will not only reduce the time required to complete the treatment but will also significantly reduce the cost that the parents have to bear.

Can IVF Help Menopausal Women Get Pregnant?

The fallopian tubes are not mere passages for the egg to travel from the ovaries to the uterus. It is here that conception occurs and hence healthy fallopian tubes are essential for the fertilization of an egg. 

Damaged fallopian tubes are the most common cause of infertility. This damage can fall under three categories. 

 Blocked fallopian tubes
 One blocked and one open fallopian tube
 Tubal scarring

The third is usually an effect of pelvic infections or natural healing after a pelvic surgery. Sadly, in most cases, this condition is discovered only after infertility has been diagnosed. Other causes of fallopian tubal scarring include:

 Stds such as chlamydia trachomatis and neisseria gonorrhea
 Adhesions caused by ruptured ovarian cysts
 Appendicitis
 Peritonitis
 A history of ectopic pregnancies

Fallopian tubal scarring has no recognizable symptoms. Chronic pelvic pain is the only known symptom of this damage and that too can be seen only in severe cases of tubal scarring. On diagnosing infertility, your doctor will perform one of these tests to determine the condition of your fallopian tubes.

 Hysterosalpingogram: this is a type of x-ray. Your doctor will open the vagina with a speculum and inject a liquid into the uterus with the help of a catheter. If the liquid does not pass through the fallopian tubes, it is said to be blocked. This however, does not say much about tubal scarring.
 Laparoscopy: a small incision is made below the belly button and a slim, flexible tube with a camera is passed through the incision. This gives your doctor a clear view of the condition of your fallopian tubes. A laparoscopy can also be used to rule out other causes of infertility such as endometriosis or blocked fallopian tubes. 

Treatment for infertility caused by tubal scarring is of two types:

 Surgery: this is suggested in cases where tubal scarring is minimal. Depending on the intensity and placement of scar tissue, your doctor may decide to perform one of many types of surgeries. He may choose to remove the scarred section of the fallopian tube, create a new opening (in case of blockages) or rebuild the damaged edges of the fallopian tubes.
 In vitro fertilization (ivf): women with badly scarred fallopian tubes usually have poor chances of conceiving naturally. Hence, ivf is the preferred treatment route. However, your doctor may still advise you to undergo surgery and remove the damaged tubes prior to ivf to prevent the tubes from filling with fluid.

Tubal Scarring and Infertility

Don't wait any longer, manage your Egg Donor Program online with a Lybrate doctor today

Consult for Egg Donor Program - Online and Easy!

FilterClear All

COMMON SPECIALITIES

COMMON ISSUES