Starting an IVF CYCLE
Starting an IVF cycle requires many things to be taken into consideration. For Example
- Duration of Injections
- Mental preparation for the decision to go for IVF
- What could the treatment plan be like
The first step would be an initial consultation with the Specialist here at Womb Fertility, which would involve understanding the history and fertility journey of the would be couple. Records such as the following would be reviewed by Dr. M. Loukya, Fertility Specialist and Laparoscopic Surgeon
- Previous Fertility treatments
- Annual Gynecological Exam
- Recent Blood Reports
Next is the consultation appointment. These appointments can be done via video conferencing and in person. At the appointment, Dr. Loukya will review the medical records with the couple, and get an idea of the family plan and cycle availability.
A transvaginal ultrasound will be done to give the best recommendation for the fertility treatment. The ultrasound will let us know what the antral follicular count is and if the woman has any fibroids or polyps present in the uterus that we should address prior to starting the IVF cycle.
The Specialist will then suggest some pre-treatments that may benefit the fertility and ways to get the body prepared for pregnancy. Some examples of pre-treatments include completing any missing or outdated blood work for the couple, such as infectious-disease testing, AMH/FSH/TSH levels, and hemoglobin A1C, and completing a financial consultation.
After we get an idea of the timeline and when the pre-treatments are complete, we will create a calendar with dates to start the injections. The couple will have a follow-up appointment with a cycle consultation to create this calendar.
During the appointment, the couple will learn how to do the injections and be able to practice it hands on. We will also go over calendar dates to confirm everything aligns with the schedule. The calendar may include a period of time that the couple is on birth control pills depending on the baseline ultrasound.
For a typical IVF cycle, they can expect to take about two injections daily for 10-14 days. These injections are given with the purpose of having as many follicles as possible respond and grow, allowing us to retrieve more than your typical one mature egg per cycle. After this, they will need to take one trigger shot that will release the eggs from the wall of the follicle allowing the Doctor to retrieve them within 35 hours. The couple can also expect about four to five ultrasound visits during the time they start injections.
Lastly, depending on the treatment plan, they can go into a fresh transfer or freeze the eggs or embryos for a later date.
Having a fresh transfer would mean the Male Partner would visit our clinic on the day of the egg retrieval to produce semen, which allows the embryologist to make embryos on the day of the retrieval. The embryologist will then “culture out” the embryos in an incubator for five days and on the fifth day the couple will come in and do a fresh transfer. Any embryos that we do not transfer will be frozen or discarded depending on the couples’ preference.
A frozen cycle would usually mean that they decided to do a biopsy on their embryos. This means that on day five or six, after culturing out the embryos in the incubator, we can send off a few cells from each embryo to the lab for genetic testing. This process usually takes about two weeks. We will then start the transfer cycle with the couple after we know what embryos are normal.
If you have any further questions about what an IVF cycle looks like, or would like to schedule a consultation appointment, please do not hesitate to contact us
We look forward to helping you grow your family and giving you the most enjoyable fertility experience possible!