In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) is used by many single women, lesbian couples and heterosexual couples as a way to try to become pregnant.
This form of artificial insemination is often used when there is an identified infertility reason why the woman cannot become pregnant. For example it is common for males who suffer from low sperm count or poor sperm quality to have IVF with their partner. It is also more and more common for single women and lesbian couples to have IVF to become pregnant with donor sperm.
IVF is a very invasive procedure involving drugs to regulate the woman's menstrual cycle and follicle production and internal scans to carefully monitor egg production.
IVF with donor sperm has traditionally been used by heterosexual women whose partners are suffering from male infertility however it is increasingly common for single women and lesbian couples to use donor sperm with IVF to become pregnant.
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What is IVF?
IVF stands for In Vitro Fertilisation and it is a technique that helps couples have a baby if they suffer from fertility issues. The process involves surgically removing an egg from the woman’s ovaries and fertilising it with a sperm in a laboratory. The fertilised egg forms and embryo which is then placed back into the woman’s womb to grow and develop.
In situations where the male sperm count is very low or there is poor morphology or motility a procedure called Intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) can be used. ICSI involves injecting a single sperm directly into an egg in order to fertilise it. The fertilised egg (embryo) can then be transferred to the woman’s womb.
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