IVF & Gynaecology

What is IVF?

In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) is a process in which eggs and sperm are obtained, fertilising the eggs in the lab rather than inside the body.

The embryos are transferred into the uterus when they reach an appropriate stage of development. IVF has been used worldwide to facilitate millions of pregnancies.

What is the Standard IVF Process?

The standard IVF process consists of the following steps:

1. Consultation - with a fertility specialist for a complete fertility assessment
2. An appointment - with the nurses at Monash IVF who explain the details of the cycle to you and teach you how to use the hormone injection pens.
3. Cycle Start – involves daily hormone injections.
4. Monitoring – ultrasounds and occasionally blood tests to monitor the growth of your ovarian follicles
5. Egg Collection – a short procedure conducted under a light general anaesthetic; this procedure takes about 15 minutes and is conducted in the day surgery unit. You go home the same day.
6. Embryo Growth in the Lab – immediately after your egg collection, the sperm sample provided by your partner is used to fertilise the eggs. The resulting embryos grow in special incubators for five days.
7. Embryo Transfer – five days after your egg collection, an embryo transfer will usually take place (in some circumstances, it is preferable to delay the embryo transfer by one month, either to avoid the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation or to permit time for genetic testing to be conducted on the embryo). The embryo transfer is a simple procedure that does not require any anaesthetic. It takes 5-10 minutes, and you can return to work afterwards. Any excess embryos will be frozen for later use.
8. Pregnancy Test - approximately two weeks after the embryo transfer.

 IVF Risks

IVF is a very safe procedure, and complications are infrequent. Complications may include:

Ovarian Hyperstimulation - the ovaries are stimulated ideally to produce 10-15 EGGS. While most women will experience mild bloating in the abdomen, some women will experience significant bloating due to fluid collecting in their abdomen.

The risk of ovarian hyperstimulation is very low and realistically only seen in women with polycystic ovaries. If a woman is at risk of ovarian hyperstimulation, the dose of the medication is reduced, and she is closely monitored. If the risk of OHSS is considered high, the ovulation trigger injection is changed to a GnRH agonist trigger which makes OHSS very rare.

There is a risk of pelvic infection, bleeding or damage to pelvic organs. This is very rare and can occur during egg collection time.

There is a 20-40% risk of multiple pregnancies if two embryos are transferred. There is a 2-3% risk of twins if one embryo is transferred and split into two.