Egg retrieval day is an exciting and anxious time. The success or failure of an IVF cycle depends on this moment. From your first negative pregnancy tests to the infertility diagnoses, every shot injected, all the stimulation medications, all the financing, and trauma of infertility- all of it has been leading up to this day.
On average, a minimum 75% of mature eggs should fertilise after ICSI. Sometimes total fertilisation failure (TFF) or total abnormal fertilisation fertilisation (such as 1PN or 3PN) can occur (in up to 3% of ICSI cases) and cause Low Egg Fertilization Rate.
Sometimes, regardless of maternal age and embryo quality, some IVF cycles fail. When this happens it is a devastating blow, both emotionally and financially and the most common question is WHY?
So you’re doing IVF? Congrats! Your doctor will recommend the best IVF protocol (course of treatment) based on your diagnosis. The 5 types of IVF protocols below are the most common, but may not look exactly like your peers. The choice of medication and dosages will vary from woman to woman.
The sobering truth is that while IVF has been around for over 40 years, protocols are still administered on a trial and error basis. While most women will respond well to the Antagonist/Short protocol, others may require multiple IVF rounds to find the right protocol and medication cocktail for them.
In preparation for an IVF stimulation cycle, you should have gone through your initial infertility testing and diagnosis.
The results will help your RE determine the stimulation protocol that’s best for your situation. This is a critical piece to your IVF success as too little or too much medication can significantly impact your egg quality.
Your clinic will provide you with a list of medication, dosages and calendar for your key dates and monitoring appointments for your IVF stimulation cycle. Make sure to enter this info in the Embie app to keep track and set reminders of your daily protocol activities.
Whether a fresh embryo transfer or frozen results in better success is one of the most hotly debated topics among the reproductive medicine community. And while frozen transfers have shown to have a statistical edge, fresh embryo transfers remain a popular option around the world.
After your egg retrieval, your clinic will determine if a fresh embryo transfer is recommended based on several factors; the amount of embryos fertilized, estrogen and progesterone levels, and the health of your uterus (thickness and shape of your uterine lining, is fluid present, etc).
The success of a healthy pregnancy achieved through a Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) process has increased substantially in recent years.
Perks of waiting for an FET vs doing a fresh transfer include allowing your body to heal after the egg retrieval, doing genetic testing (PGS/PGT) on the embryos and fully controlling the development of the uterine environment (unless you opt for a natural transfer cycle).
