Assisted reproductive technology, including IVF

Assisted reproductive technology is an infertility treatment in which both egg and sperm are handled. The most common of these is in vitro fertilization. For IVF, the woman takes fertility drugs so her ovaries make several eggs at once; these are extracted just before ovulation and mixed with sperm in the lab. After three or five days, embryos are transferred into the woman's uterus and she waits to see if one or more implant so she gets pregnant.

Choose another disease or condition... Allergic Rhinitis Allergies, Food Allergy & Asthma Center Alzheimer's Disease Anxiety Aortic Aneurysms Arrhythmia Arthritis, Osteo- (OA) Arthritis, Rheumatoid (RA) Asthma Atopic Dermatitis Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Back Pain Brain Tumor Bones, Joints & Muscles Center Breast Cancer Brain & Behavior Center Brain Tumor Cancer Center    Brain Tumor    Breast Cancer    Cancer Prevention    Clinical Trials    Colorectal Cancer    Endometrial Cancer    Living With and Beyond Cancer    Lung Cancer    Prostate Cancer    Skin Cancer Cardiomyopathy Cataracts Cholesterol Control Clinical Trials Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Colorectal Cancer Congenital Heart Disease Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) Crohn's Disease Depression Diabetes Center Diabetes, Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Digestive Disorders Center Eczema Endometrial Cancer Erectile Dysfunction (ED) Eye & Vision Center Fibroids Fibromyalgia Food Allergies Gallstone Disease Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) GERD Glaucoma Hay Fever Headache Heart Center High Blood Pressure Hypertension Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) Impotence Insomnia Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Living With and Beyond Cancer Losing Weight Lung Cancer Macular Degeneration Memory Loss Osteoarthritis (OA) Osteoporosis Parkinson's Disease Peptic Ulcer Prediabetes Prostate Cancer Respiratory Disorders Center Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) Sexual & Reproductive Health Center Sinusitis Skin Cancer Sleep Apnea Sleep Center Stroke Type 1 Diabetes Type 2 Diabetes Ulcerative Colitis (UC) Weight Control More Information About Sexual and Reproductive Health More Information About Infertility Infertility-Related Clinical Trials Information U.S. News's Health & Wellness Support Networks Email this page Print this section

In vitro fertilization may be an option for patients with blocked fallopian tubes, diminished ovarian reserve (ovaries that aren't working very well, as determined by blood tests of FSH), male-factor infertility, endometriosis, or unexplained infertility.

Pregnancies that result from IVF are basically identical to those that arise from natural conception. The main difference is that women who have IVF have a much higher rate of multiple pregnancies. But twins from IVF and twins that are spontaneously conceived have about the same risks. There are some conditions that are more common in women with infertility that may predispose them to certain pregnancy complications or birth defects, but these conditions are rare.

IVF is expensive and often not covered by insurance.

This section contains more information on:

Egg retrieval

Sperm retrieval

Fertilization

Embryo transfer and implantation

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis

Freezing

Donor egg

GIFT and ZIFT