IVF in India has seen a great boost in the past years. With everyone, right from celebrities to the couple next door choosing to battle infertility and achieve their dream, IVF (In-Vitro Fertilization) has helped create miracles when there was no scope for any. However, with this advancement also come multiple innovations and success-oriented stories, which leave many infertile couples opting for surrogacy, confused about what exactly it entails. Here is everything you need to know about IVF in India before you make a decision.
‘Knowing what you need pushes you towards the right decision’
IVF process in India
With many aspects covering the IVF process in India, it can be hard to gauge exactly what your IVF treatment journey is going to look like. Depending on the severity of infertility, as well as other factors such as lifestyle and genetics, the number of cycles may vary. Here are the 5 general steps of IVF in India.
- Regulation of hormones: The first step of IVF treatments is to regulate your hormones, and therefore, regularize ovulation. This is especially done for women who have an irregular menstrual cycle, since IVF cycle needs to time. This is done by prescribing birth control pills. Incidentally, birth control also helps reduce the risk of OHSS (Ovarian Hyper-Stimulation Syndrome), and increases the response of the ovaries for a successful treatment.
- Stimulation of ovaries: During IVF, multiple eggs must be retrieved from the ovaries. However, the ovaries only naturally release one egg per month. To make the ovaries release multiple eggs, they must be stimulated through IVF medication.
- Retrieving the eggs: Through a minimally invasive procedure which takes only about 10-15 minutes, the doctor retrieves the eggs released by the ovaries. The number of eggs retrieved depends on factors such as age etc.
- Fertilization in the lab: The retrieved eggs are fertilized in the lab, either by the partner’s sperm or donated sperm. It takes about 3 days for the fertilized eggs to turn into embryos, after which various tests are conducted to see which embryos have the highest chance of implantation.
- Embryo Transfer: Through a non-invasive procedure, a certain number of embryos are transferred to the mother’s womb. After waiting for an embryo to implant itself onto the womb, pregnancy is declared.
Advantages of IVF in India
Though IVF comes with its own set of pros and cons, one thing that truly stands out is the advantages of IVF for couples struck with infertility:
- Works as a saving grace for couples who are unable to conceive naturally.
- IVF in India has helped break the taboo surrounding infertility in India.
- The best IVF clinics in India have seen excellent success rates with the treatment.
- Assisted procedures such as ICSI (Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection), Assisted Hatching, and even Genetic Testing is legal in India.
- IVF in India is affordable, as compared to other countries, suiting various couples on a budget.
Before going to any IVF centre in India, it is vital to be informed about the basics of IVF treatment. This helps you make the right decision by gauging if a fertility clinic would be able to provide you with the highest standard of treatment and ensure success.
