Cycle Medications, Oocyte Retrieval with Ultrasound Guidance

Overview

IVF is an abbreviation for in vitro fertilization. It is one of the more well-known kinds of reproductive technology (ART). IVF works by combining medications and surgical techniques to assist sperm in fertilizing an egg and the fertilized egg in implanting in your uterus.

First, you take medicine to prepare some of your eggs for fertilization. The eggs are then retrieved from your body and mixed with sperm in a lab to assist the sperm fertilize the eggs. Then doctors implant one or more fertilized eggs (embryos) into your uterus. Pregnancy occurs if any of the embryos implant in the uterine lining.

If you're having difficulty conceiving or maintaining a pregnancy, your doctor may prescribe various drugs to address the problem(s) and/or assist your IUI or IVF treatment cycle. Medication can be used to help strengthen, control, or induce ovulation, increase follicle formation, and prevent/delay ovulation. There are treatments that can help prepare or strengthen the endometrial lining, as well as antibiotics to prevent infection and other anti-inflammatory therapies.