The Main Infertility Treatment Methods Available
Failure to ovulate can be treated with drugs and hormone injections.
These fertility drugs bring quite a high risk of multiple births.
Abnormalities of the cervical mucus can be treated with the hormone oestrogen quite successfully.
Blockage of the fallopian tubes is a more serious condition, needing surgical treatment that does not currently have a high rate of success, although treatment is improving all the time.
Artificial insemination Many couples anxious to have a family go through these tests and treatments and still find they are unable to conceive.
They may then consider artificial insemination, which is a method of fertilising the egg by injecting semen into the vagina at the stage of ovulation.
Such scientific advances are being made in these directions that the use of artificial insemination is becoming very successful and popular with infertile couples.
Test tube conception is now quite common.
In this procedure, known as in vitro fertilisation (IVF), eggs are removed from the ovary, mixed with the sperm, and fertilisation takes place.
One or more of the resulting embryos is placed at the entrance of the uterus.
Implantation is only successful in about 30 per cent of cases.
A method of freezing the embryo has now been developed, so that the embryo can be transferred when the chances of pregnancy occurring are high.
Surrogate motherhood is another method by which those couples unable to conceive normally can have a child.
A woman who can produce eggs, but cannot carry a child, can donate an egg to be fertilised by her partner's sperm and implanted in another woman's womb, (a surrogate womb); or the surrogate mother can be artificially inseminated with the sperm of the prospective father.
In the UK, an official enquiry into the moral dilemmas posed by surrogate motherhood has concluded that the practice should be made illegal.
There is a lot of controversy about these methods, but many couples who desperately want a baby are willing to try them.
These fertility drugs bring quite a high risk of multiple births.
Abnormalities of the cervical mucus can be treated with the hormone oestrogen quite successfully.
Blockage of the fallopian tubes is a more serious condition, needing surgical treatment that does not currently have a high rate of success, although treatment is improving all the time.
Artificial insemination Many couples anxious to have a family go through these tests and treatments and still find they are unable to conceive.
They may then consider artificial insemination, which is a method of fertilising the egg by injecting semen into the vagina at the stage of ovulation.
- AIH (artificial insemination by husband) is the term used when the semen injected is taken from the husband or partner.
This is done in cases where the husband is unable because of physical or psychological problems to eject the semen himself. - AID (artificial insemination by donor) is used in cases where a husband is unable to produce sperm of his own.
If the couple are willing, semen from a fertile male can be used.
Such scientific advances are being made in these directions that the use of artificial insemination is becoming very successful and popular with infertile couples.
Test tube conception is now quite common.
In this procedure, known as in vitro fertilisation (IVF), eggs are removed from the ovary, mixed with the sperm, and fertilisation takes place.
One or more of the resulting embryos is placed at the entrance of the uterus.
Implantation is only successful in about 30 per cent of cases.
A method of freezing the embryo has now been developed, so that the embryo can be transferred when the chances of pregnancy occurring are high.
Surrogate motherhood is another method by which those couples unable to conceive normally can have a child.
A woman who can produce eggs, but cannot carry a child, can donate an egg to be fertilised by her partner's sperm and implanted in another woman's womb, (a surrogate womb); or the surrogate mother can be artificially inseminated with the sperm of the prospective father.
In the UK, an official enquiry into the moral dilemmas posed by surrogate motherhood has concluded that the practice should be made illegal.
There is a lot of controversy about these methods, but many couples who desperately want a baby are willing to try them.
Source...