Please visit our website for more information about using Nucleus content for patient engagement and content marketing: http://www.nucleushealth.com/ MEDICAL ANIMATION TRANSCRIPT: In vitro fertilization is a process by which a woman’s eggs are fertilized outside the body and then placed inside the body to help her conceive. A woman’s reproductive system includes the vagina, cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. During the monthly menstruation cycle, one of the ovaries releases an egg in a process called ovulation. After ovulation, the egg enters the fallopian tube. A woman is most likely to become pregnant if she has sex in the days just before, during, or after ovulation. During this time, a sperm cell from the man’s reproductive fluid called semen can fertilize the egg inside the fallopian tube. As it passes through the fallopian tube, the fertilized egg, now called an embryo, loses the outer cells that nourished it in the ovary. The embryo moves from the fallopian tube to the uterus. In the uterus, the embryo sheds the protective outer layer called the zona pellucida, a process called zona incubation. Zona incubation is necessary for the embryo to implant in the tissue lining the uterus. During implantation, the connection between the woman and the embryo begins to form. This organ called the placenta allows oxygen and nutrients to pass from the mother to the embryo. In vitro fertilization may be performed if a woman is having trouble getting pregnant, has a condition called infertility, or if a woman wants to conceive a child without a male partner. Before IVF, a woman will be given fertility drugs that cause one or more eggs to mature in the ovaries. The man will provide a semen sample to collect the healthiest sperm for fertilization. If the male partner is completely infertile, also known as sterile, or if the woman does not have a male partner, a donor can be found to provide sperm for this process. In vitro fertilization consists of three main procedures: follicular aspiration, fertilization, and embryo transfer. During the first procedure called follicular aspiration, eggs are collected from the ovaries. At the beginning of this procedure, an ultrasound probe is inserted into the woman's vagina so the doctor can see the ovaries. Inside the ovaries, the doctor looks for the follicles. Each follicle is a fluid-filled sac that contains an egg. The doctor then inserts a long, thin needle through the vaginal wall into the ovary. A suction device attached to the needle will collect several eggs from inside the follicles. During the second part of IVF, called fertilization, the collected eggs are immediately taken to a laboratory where they will be fertilized. Fertilization can be done through insemination where several sperm are mixed with the healthiest eggs or the eggs can be fertilized with sperm injected directly into them during a process called intracytoplasmic sperm injection. The fertilized eggs, also called embryos, will be monitored for three to five days as they begin to grow. At this time, the laboratory may create a hole in the pelvic area that surrounds some embryos. This process called assisted incubation will help the embryos implant in the uterus. Some of the embryos will be used right away for embryo transfer and the rest will be frozen and saved for later use if needed. The third part of IVF is called embryo transfer which is done three to five days after fertilization. During embryo transfer, a tool called a speculum is inserted into the woman's vagina so the doctor can see the cervix. A syringe will be filled with fluid containing one or more incubating embryos. The syringe will then be attached to a long, thin tube called a catheter. The doctor will insert the catheter into the vagina through the cervix and into the uterus. Once inside the uterus, the doctor will inject the embryos. The catheter and speculum will then be removed. The woman may need to lie down for about 15 minutes. ANH14121