If you are considering IVF therapy or have been advised to do so by your fertility specialist, there are a few other considerations that may come to your mind. It is important that you understand what happens at each stage of treatment, even though the words may sound confusing. We will talk about the first step in this blog post, which is ovarian stimulation.
To more fully understand the ovarian stimulation phase, you need to be familiar with the process of female ovulation.
A woman's menstrual cycle typically lasts around 28 days, though this might vary widely from woman to woman. When the endometrial lining sheds, the first day of the menstrual cycle is regarded as the first day of menstruation. Every woman's monthly cycle has specific times when significant things take place, making her fertile and may be able to produce a kid. The cycle begins with the follicular phase, which is followed by ovulation. The luteal phase continues for the remainder of the period till the cycle restarts. Each of these procedures is activated by hormones produced by the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland and regulated by the hypothalamus. Two particularly significant hormones for the menstrual cycle are luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH).
Ovarian stimulation is generally used:
First, let's review the history of in vitro fertilization (IVF). The IVF procedure is first performed during a woman's regular menstrual cycle. Two issues immediately emerged. One possibility was that a woman receiving treatment for irregular ovulation would not produce any oocytes at all. Others had a low level of efficiency dealing with only a single embryo and the possibility that the entire process would fail if this one oocyte was of insufficient quality. Because of these difficulties, ovarian stimulation that allows the production of multiple oocytes is performed. This has quickly exhausted the use of the natural cycle. This made it possible to choose products of the highest caliber. Since then, many years of research have been conducted with the aim of maximizing the effectiveness of this part of IVF technology.
1. Ovarian stimulation
2. Oocyte retrieval
3. Insemination/ ICSI
4. Embryo transfer
Prolongation protocol and antagonist protocol are two different types of ovarian stimulation. In longer treatment, ovarian stimulation is usually started one week before the expected start of the next menstrual cycle. Stimulation in the antagonist protocol begins on the second day of the menstrual cycle. In order to collect as many mature oocytes as possible during the egg retrieval process, several hormones are given.
A crucial first step in many reproductive treatments is ovarian stimulation. Always visit a qualified specialist before using any drug prescribed by a doctor for ovarian stimulation. Gynecologist Dr. Ashwini Kale offers counselling on ovarian stimulation at Ashakiran Hospital.