How much does IVF cost? Is IVF painful?

With the development of society and the improvement of medical technology, even if you are infertile, there are ways to have your own children and experience the feeling of being a parent. The IVF, which is very popular now, is a very advanced technology. So how much do you know about IVF? Is IVF painful? How much does it cost to do IVF? After reading this article, you will know everything!

What is IVF

Test-tube baby is the common name for in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer technology. It is a process in which eggs and sperm are taken out separately, placed in culture medium for fertilization, and then the embryo is transplanted back into the mother's uterus to develop into a fetus. "Test-tube baby" is not a baby that really grows in a test tube, but a few eggs are taken out from the ovaries, and they are combined with the man's sperm in the laboratory to form an embryo, and then the embryo is transferred to the uterus to implant in the mother's uterus and become pregnant. The world's first "test-tube baby" Louise Brown came with the development of in vitro fertilization technology. It was originally successfully studied by British obstetrician Patrick Steptoe and physiologist Robert Edwards. The birth of "test-tube baby" caused a sensation in the world scientific community, and was even called a major innovation in human reproductive technology. It also opened up a new way to treat infertility. Robert Edwards won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for this.

Who is suitable for IVF?

Not all infertile people can have IVF. Here we will introduce who is suitable for IVF and who is not suitable for IVF.

Indications:

1. The woman has difficulty in the combination of sperm and egg due to fallopian tube factors, such as fallopian tube obstruction or obstruction caused by inflammation, fallopian tube dysplasia, bilateral fallopian tube resection after tubal ligation, ectopic pregnancy, etc.

2. The woman has difficulty ovulating.

3. Endometriosis and adenomyosis.

4. Oligospermia or asthenospermia in the male. It is generally believed that 20×10[6]-100×10[6] sperm per ml of semen is considered normal for fertility, and less than 20×10[6] is considered oligospermia. The normal value of sperm motility is that within 1/2-3 hours after ejaculation, there should be 50% or more moderately active forward-moving sperm in the normal semen sample. A value below this is considered poor motility.

5. Immune infertility, such as the presence of anti-sperm antibodies, anti-endometrial antibodies, etc.

6. Unexplained infertility.

7. Female patients with ovarian failure can donate their eggs, and male patients with azoospermia can donate their sperm or receive embryo donation to assist in pregnancy.

Contraindications:

1. Either party providing the egg or sperm suffers from acute infection of the reproductive or urinary system or sexually transmitted disease.

2. Either party providing the egg or sperm has bad habits such as alcoholism or drug abuse.

3. Either party providing the egg or sperm has been exposed to teratogenic amounts of radiation, poisons, or drugs and is under the effects of these drugs.

4. The woman suffers from a serious genetic disease, serious physical disease, mental or psychological disorder that makes her unsuitable for childbearing.

5. Both the couples who receive embryo donation or egg donation suffer from acute infection of reproductive and urinary system and sexually transmitted diseases or have bad habits such as alcoholism and drug abuse. The woman's uterus is not capable of pregnancy or has a serious physical disease that cannot withstand pregnancy.

Is IVF painful?

The best way to understand whether IVF is painful or not is to watch the process.

Ovulation induction therapy

On the second day of the menstrual cycle, or after the GnRH agonist is suppressed to a satisfactory level (the results of reproductive hormones and uterine and ovarian ultrasound examinations meet the requirements), women begin to use ovulation-inducing drugs. The doctor judges the growth of follicles based on the results of ultrasound monitoring and serum hormone determination, and decides whether to adjust the dosage of ovulation-inducing drugs. When the follicles mature, hCG injection is given to promote the final maturation of the eggs. Eggs are usually retrieved 36-38 hours after hCG injection.

Egg retrieval

The doctor uses a special egg retrieval needle under the guidance of B-ultrasound to puncture the mature follicles through the vagina and suck out the eggs. Egg retrieval is usually performed under intravenous anesthesia, so women do not feel the pain caused by the puncture process.

In vitro fertilization

Sperm collection: When the woman collects eggs, the man collects sperm. After the semen goes through a special washing process, the sperm and eggs are placed in a special culture medium in the hope of natural combination. This is the so-called conventional fertilization method.

Embryo transfer

A few days after fertilization, a very thin embryo transfer tube is used to transfer the best embryo into the mother's uterus through the cervix. The number of embryos to be transferred is determined by age, embryo quality, and the outcome of previous IVF. Usually 2-3 embryos are transferred. In recent years, in order to reduce the rate of multiple pregnancies, some centers have chosen to transfer a single embryo, or a maximum of 2 embryos.

Because the embryo transfer tube is very thin and the doctor's movements are gentle, the patient usually does not feel any pain.

Luteal Support

Due to the use of GnRH agonists/antagonists and ovulation-inducing drugs, as well as the loss of follicular granulosa cells caused by oocyte retrieval, women usually have luteal insufficiency during the oocyte retrieval cycle and need to use progesterone and/or chorionic gonadotropin for luteal supplementation/support. If there is no pregnancy, stop using progesterone and wait for menstruation. If pregnancy occurs, continue to use progesterone, usually until 3 weeks after the fetal heart rate is seen on B-ultrasound.

Confirmation of pregnancy

Serum HCG is measured 14 days after embryo transfer to determine whether pregnancy is present. Serum HCG is measured again 21 days after embryo transfer to understand the development of the embryo. Transvaginal ultrasound examination is performed 30 days after embryo transfer to determine whether intrauterine pregnancy is present and whether there is fetal heartbeat.

In summary, generally speaking, IVF will not cause much pain to women. However, everyone's physical condition is different, so just follow the doctor's advice.

How much does IVF cost?

With the development of science and technology, IVF technology has also been continuously maturing. From the natural combination of sperm and egg in the beginning, to the artificial sperm injection into the egg in the second generation, to the genetic disease screening of fertilized eggs in the third generation, the application scope of IVF is getting wider and wider. In addition, with the improvement of technology and medication regimen, the success rate of IVF has also been greatly improved. Relevant data show that the success rate of IVF can now reach 40%.

The cost is determined by your own financial ability

When it comes to test-tube babies, many people will be shocked. In most people's impression, a test-tube baby cannot be done without more than 100,000 or 200,000 yuan. But in fact, the current price of test-tube babies is already very affordable. According to Fang, deputy director of the Reproductive Center of Zhongshan Boai Hospital, the cost of conceiving a test-tube baby is divided into three parts: examination, medicine, and surgery. If the normal examination and egg retrieval cost only about 9,000 yuan each time, the main factor causing the large difference in the cost price of test-tube babies is the patient's choice of medicine. If the patient's requirements are not high and domestically produced affordable medicines are used during the treatment process, it only costs about 15,000 to 20,000 yuan. If the patient requires imported medicines, the cost will be 30,000 to 40,000 yuan, so the cost of test-tube babies is also determined by the patient himself based on his own financial ability.

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