IVF: Procedure and How It Works

By Tamila McDonaldLast Updated April 17, 2023

Photo Courtesy: JLco – Julia Amaral/iStock

Infertility is a common issue, with approximately 1 in 6 people globally being impacted by infertility. In the United States specifically, an estimated 9% of reproductive-age men and 11% of reproductive-age women have some form of fertility issue. One of the common treatments for conceiving when fertility issues are present is in vitro fertilization (IVF). Here’s a look at the IVF procedure and how it works.

What Is IVF?

IVF is the most common form of assisted reproductive technology. Generally, it involves fertilizing an egg with sperm in a lab, outside of the human body. Then the fertilized embryo is transferred to the uterus in hopes that it leads to a successful pregnancy. While the concept is simple, IVF is a complex procedure that involves multiple steps. The first successful live birth from IVF was reported in 1978. The innovating doctors Dr. Robert Edwards and Dr. Patrick Steptoe, who acheived this first IVF birth, received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work on IVF.

Why Do People Get IVF?

People commonly get IVF in an attempt to overcome infertility. There’s a variety of medical conditions that can limit female fertility and male fertility. For example, ovulation disorders in women and impaired sperm production in men can limit fertility. Additionally, factors like a person’s age can make conception difficult. With IVF, some of those challenges are potentially avoided.

Additionally, IVF is useful for avoiding specific genetic issues. Medical professionals can screen embryos for specific genetic markers that are known to cause certain medical conditions, like cystic fibrosis. Essentially, preimplantation genetic testing allows parents the ability to only try to implant embryos without those risk factors present, increasing the odds that the baby won’t develop a condition that’s known to run in their families. This is only possible for certain diseases with a known genetic cause.

IVF is also one of the options available to members of the LGBTQIA+ community who want to start families. These individuals, assuming they do not have infertility issues, have several family-building options, such as intrauterine insemination. For LGBTQIA+ patients pursuing IVF, donor sperm or donor eggs can be used for fertilization, allowing same-sex couples to have children with genetic material from one of the parents.

With IVF, it’s also possible to use surrogates to carry the child, using a gestational carrier. This approach is often used when the prospective mother can’t safely carry a fetus to term, such as due to a medical issue that makes pregnancy particularly high risk or that causes an increased risk of miscarriage. This is also used when the patient lacks a uterus or has a medical issue with their uterus that prevents successful pregnancy. Also, in same-sex male couples, a gestational carrier can be used.

What Steps Are Involved?

IVF is a multi-step process, and it typically takes a month or more to complete. Egg retrieval often requires the use of specific fertility medications – hormone medications that function as ovarian stimulants – as a preparatory step. This ensures enough mature eggs are available for collection.

Egg retrieval involves removing mature eggs using a suction device that is inserted vaginally. If you’re a woman pursuing IVF, your doctor may use an ultrasound machine to help visualize your ovaries and guide the retrieval process. You’ll be sedated for this process. The collected eggs are then incubated before they’re fertilized using intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). If successfully fertilized, the eggs become embryos, and those embryos are monitored for 3-5 days to ensure their proper development.

If an embryo becomes suitable for transplant, its inserted into the uterus using a small tube called a catheter. Depending on your age, the stage of the embryo, the quality of the embryos, your preference, and the recommendation of your doctor, you may have 1-5 embryos placed. Generally, this process isn’t painful, but it can be a bit uncomfortable, like a Pap smear.

Around two weeks after the IVF transplant, pregnancy tests are conducted to determine if implantation was successful. If so, the pregnancy is then monitored in accordance with your doctor’s instructions. If not, you will be able to make a plan with your doctor for whether to try subsequent rounds of IVF or explore your other options.

Next Steps

For people who are going through infertility, the situation can be frustrating. If you face fertility issues, you should speak with your primary doctor or your OB/GYN doctor. They can help you get the right testing to figure out what’s causing your infertility. They can also work with you towards a solution that will help you achieve your family-building goals.

Medical content reviewed by Brittany Stopa, MPH.

IVF: Procedure and How It Works

What Is IVF?

Why Do People Get IVF?

What Steps Are Involved?

Next Steps

Further Reading: