Some of these issues can be solved with minor surgeries or by taking medications orally or through injections; however, other types of procedures may be needed if the problem is more severe. In 1981, IVF was successfully completed in the United States for the first time.



Since that time, well over 250,000 babies have been born as a result of using this technique. IVF has allowed many women who have not been able to conceive a baby in the past, to get pregnant and have a baby of their own.

IVF is a procedure where a man's sperm is introduced to the woman's egg in a laboratory dish where it is then fertilized, for about 40 hours. After this time period they are checked to see if fertilization has indeed occurred.

This IVF process is one method of infertility treatment and is also known as assisted reproduction. After the woman's egg has been fertilized, the embryo is then transferred into the womb and allowed to develop naturally. When the implanting process takes place, 2 to 4 embryos are normally placed into the uterus or womb.

During the early years of in vitro fertilization and sometimes still today, the children born of this technique are referred to as "test tube babies." The first test tube baby was born in England in 1978. IVF is normally used as a treatment when a woman has blocked tubes, severely damaged tubes or has no fallopian tubes at all.

However, it can also be used when the person trying to conceive has endometriosis or if the male involved has a low sperm count. There are also times that IVF is used when other fertility methods and fertility drugs have failed.

In vitro fertilization has made it possible for women, who once thought they could never conceive a child, to become mothers of their naturally born children. Even women over the age of 40 have a success rate of about 13% with IVF. It should be noted that reproductive health is not all that has to be considered when dealing with assisted conception.

If the female faces other medical issues, this can raise a problem. Several factors such as age, overall physical health and medical history should be considered before IVF or any other infertility procedure is practised.