Understanding egg fertilization as part of the IVF process
If you have explored other infertility treatments without the desired results, you may decide to pursue IVF, or in-vitro fertilization. Often, this advanced assisted reproductive technology provides patients in our Tulsa fertility clinic with the best option for becoming parents. The process involves an initial work-up, fertility medications and multiple procedures. One of the key pieces to the IVF puzzle is egg fertilization.
How the IVF process works
With IVF, patients undergo a series of procedures that culminate with an embryo transfer, and hopefully, a positive pregnancy test. Because the process can feel overwhelming, our team will explain each step and answer all your questions.
Generally, IVF involves the following steps.
- Regulation of your cycle using birth control pills
- Ovarian stimulation, so that your ovaries produce multiple mature eggs in one cycle
- Monitoring of your progress with blood work and ultrasound
- Egg retrieval to extract the eggs from the ovaries
- Egg fertilization, where the egg and sperm are combined in the laboratory
- Additional medication to prepare the uterus to support a future pregnancy
- Embryo monitoring to assess development and select only the highest-quality embryo for transfer
- Embryo transfer, the step in which one of our Tulsa fertility clinic doctors places the embryo into the uterus
- Cryopreservation, or freezing, of unused embryos for future use
- Pregnancy test, followed by ongoing hormone support and careful monitoring of early fetal development if the test is positive
A breakdown of egg fertilization in the lab
Once your physician retrieves the eggs, our team of embryologists will prepare for egg fertilization. Before this can occur, you will need to determine where to obtain sperm for fertilization.
Patients with male partners will typically have them provide a sample in advance of fertilization. For those without a partner, or in cases in which male factor infertility exists, donor sperm is a viable option.
Two methods exist for egg fertilization.
- Conventional fertilization, where egg and sperm are mixed in a petri dish and placed in an incubator
- ICSI, or intracytoplasmic sperm injection, which involves injecting a single sperm into the mature egg to increase the likelihood of successful fertilization
What happens next?
Once the egg and sperm are combined, they are placed in a special embryo culture medium inside an incubator. This setting provides an optimal environment to facilitate embryo growth. Usually, the embryos spend three to six days in the controlled location. If you have decided to pursue preimplantation genetic testing (PGT), a sample of cells will be removed from each embryo to be sent to a specialized genetics laboratory during this time.
At Tulsa Fertility center, you can count on our skilled team to provide expert care during your infertility treatment. We are committed to supporting our patients throughout their journey to parenthood. Contact our office to schedule an appointment at our Tulsa fertility clinic.