On the surface, IVF sounds like it should be a quick and easy procedure.
However, there is more to IVF than simply joining an egg and sperm.
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How Common Is Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)?
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Approximately 2% of all infants born in the United States are conceived using ART.
This hormone tells your body to produce more than one egg per month.
The more eggs your body creates, the more likely you are to be successful in getting pregnant.
Step 2: Retrieve the Eggs
Removing the eggs is a minor surgical procedure known asfollicular aspiration.
While this needle is in your ovary, it will remove the eggs.
Within 20 minutes, your healthcare provider can collect several eggs.
However, its important to know you will have medication to help with the discomfort.
And while most people experience some cramping, its expected to go away within a day.
A few days after insemination, you’ll be on to the final step.
In some cases, the sperm cells need extra help with the fertilization process.
Your healthcare provider will then insert the embryo into the uterus.
About six to 10 days later, the embryoif successfulwill implant itself into the uterus.
Risk Factors
As with any medical procedure, there are risks with IVF.
A multiple-birth pregnancy also increases the risk of premature labor and low birth weight.
Premature Delivery
Babies conceived through IVF have a slight increase in odds of premature birth.
You may also find yourself bloated, nauseated, and having bouts of diarrhea.
In most cases, these symptoms last only a week.
However, some studies have shown there may be a slightly higher risk ofcongenital heart defectswith IVF pregnancy.
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Penn Medicine.A step-by-step look at the IVF process.
MedlinePlus.Follicle-stimulation hormone levels test.
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Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention.ART and multiple births.
2018;51(1):43-53. doi:10.1002/uog.18930
Cleveland Clinic.Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.
2018;51(1):33-42. doi:10.1002/uog.18932
