The IVF Process Enables Patients to Bypass Fertility Challenges and Become Parents

Patients at our Tulsa fertility clinic can move past fertility issues with help from the IVF process. A popular fertility treatment, IVF, or in vitro fertilization, allows doctors to transfer an embryo directly into the uterus. In addition, the steps of IVF allow for genetic testing of embryos, so our team can select a chromosomally normal embryo to improve the chances of a successful pregnancy.

Am I a good candidate for the IVF process?

In our Tulsa fertility clinic, we help patients decide if they should use IVF by ordering evaluations such as bloodwork, physical exams and ultrasounds. These tests provide our fertility doctors with critical information used to determine if IVF is the best fertility treatment for your situation.

There are several common reasons that people choose the IVF process.

• Blocked or damaged fallopian tubes. A woman with blockages in her fallopian tubes will likely need IVF to achieve pregnancy. Blockages can occur because of endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, an infection, or a previous surgery in the area.
• Diminished ovarian reserve. Women older than 35 may have trouble conceiving without a fertility treatment like IVF because egg quality and quantity diminish over time.
• Ovulatory challenges. The IVF process can help overcome certain conditions that affect ovulation, including polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
• Multiple miscarriages and/or unsuccessful fertility treatments. IVF can be an ideal choice for women who have had numerous miscarriages. It can also often help women who have not had success with other treatments.
• Inheritable genetic conditions. If one of the parents has or is a carrier of an inheritable genetic condition, IVF with preimplantation genetic testing, or PGT, can increase the likelihood of having a healthy baby.
• Sperm abnormalities. Men with certain sperm challenges can often benefit from IVF with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), which consists of an embryologist injecting a single, healthy sperm into an egg.
• Same-sex male couples and single men. Gay couples or single men can choose IVF with an egg donor and gestational surrogate, enabling them to become biological fathers.

Understanding this fertility treatment as a series of simple steps

If your doctor determines you are a good candidate for IVF, our Tulsa fertility clinic team will create a timeline for the cycle and prescribe the necessary medications. We will walk you through each step of the IVF process and answer any questions.

• Ovulation induction. The IVF cycle begins with the female patient taking ovulation induction medications so that multiple eggs mature during the cycle.
• Monitoring. During this time, the woman will regularly visit our clinic for bloodwork and ultrasounds during her IVF cycle. Monitoring helps the doctor determine if we need to adjust the medication dosages.
• Egg retrieval. When the eggs reach an ideal size, the patient receives a trigger shot that causes the body to release the eggs. About 36 hours after the trigger shot, your fertility doctor then retrieves the eggs during an outpatient procedure.
• Fertilization. After the egg retrieval, our fertility specialist sends the eggs to the lab. There, an embryologist fertilizes them with sperm from a male partner or chosen sperm donor.
• PGT. After fertilization of the eggs, your physician can order preimplantation genetic testing of the resulting embryos to reveal the healthiest embryos available for transfer.
• Embryo transfer. One of the final steps of IVF involves transferring an embryo into the woman’s uterus, or that of a gestational carrier, if needed. About two weeks after the embryo transfer, the patient takes a pregnancy test at our Tulsa fertility clinic.

At Tulsa Fertility Center, we use advanced fertility treatment such as IVF to give our patients the best odds for success. For many, the IVF process results in the birth of a long-awaited baby. Contact us for more information.