In Vitro Fertilization in Humans By: Ifrah Abdulle

 In Vitro Fertilization in Humans

 

 

    Did you ever think it was possible for a baby to be conceived outside a mother’s womb? Well as surprising as it sounds Louise Brown, born in England in 1978, was the first baby to be born that way. The word in vitro means “outside the body.” Therefore, in vitro fertilization (IVF) literally means ‘fertilization in glass’ recognizably known as the term ‘test tube baby’. In the past, in vitro fertilization was not much heard of, however with the advancement and research in the areas of reproductive technologies it is commonly known in our progressing society.

      

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 
  In essence, IVF is a cycle of procedures used to treat fertility problems and aid with the conception of a child. Therefore, IVF is used to treat many causes of infertility. Some include, an older aged woman and damaged or blocked fallopian tubes. In vitro fertilization is the joining of a woman’s egg and a man’s sperm in a laboratory dish. For example, during the IVF procedure, mature eggs are removed from the ovaries and fertilized by sperm in a lab. Then the fertilized egg (embryo) or eggs is then placed in the woman’s womb. One cycle of IVF takes about two weeks. The probability of having a healthy baby using IVF depend on many factors, like your age and the cause of infertility. Also, success rates differ across IVF clinic, and with the woman’s age. Generally, some clinics achieve pregnancies in about 90% of women aged under 35 years, 85% of women aged 35 to 39, and 45% of women aged 40 to 44.

 

 

   IVF is an expensive and lengthy procedure. There is a high chance that many women give birth to more than one baby. This occurs when several embryos are implanted in the uterus. Therefore, multiple pregnancies is a frequent risk. Twins occur in 10% to 35% of pregnancies, while triplets occur in 1% to 5%. A higher risk of premature delivery and other related complications is a result of multiple pregnancies. For instance, it is more possible to have a baby with a birth defect like spina bifida if it was conceived with IVF. Another problem associated with this technology is a condition called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). This syndrome is when the levels of oestrogen rise above normal, the ovaries become inflamed and extra fluid collects in the abdomen. OHSS causes marked abdominal swelling, nausea, diarrhoea and shortness of breath. Despite the effects, OHSS doesn’t normally require hospitalization. Overall, there are many complications associated with this technology, however many women are brave enough to endure this process to experience the miracle of life.  More severe symptoms that occur in 1% of cases, include the following:

 

• Severe abdominal pain
• Decreased urinary frequency
• Dark-colored urine
• Ten pound weight gain within three to five days

 

    There are many ethical issues regarding the IVF procedure. One step in the process requires the disposal of excess embryos. When embryos are ready to be put back into the uterus  some embryos are not used because of criteria such as handicaps, genetic disorders, or gender. This is an ethical issue because multiple fertilized eggs start development, and only a few are used for implantation. Another moral question is based on giving birth after menopause. Naturally women over the age of fifty are unable to conceive a child as they become menopausal. Nevertheless,  IVF has provided scientific measures to ensure pregnancy. These women obtain embryos that  come from egg donors. Particularly, these women are not genetically related with the child in any way, but they still feel the experience of pregnancy and childbirth. The ethics regarding IVF is a heated topic. There are some people who agree with the IVF practice itself but are highly concerned about the integrity behind the prosperous industry. These individuals believe that since IVF is currently a multi-billion industry it will be subjected to serious exploitation and neglect. For instance, various practitioners will take advantage of the vulnerable customers at their expense to gain profit. Additionally, laboratory mistakes have happened in the past like unidentified gametes and the transfer of wrong embryos. This resulted in legal action against the IVF provider and intricate paternity suits.

   Currently there are many extensive initiatives and research that scientists are doing to improve to quality of the IVF procedure. I believe in order to improve and ensure safety pregnancy results scientist should find a way to prevent multiple pregnancies. They could approach this obstacle by developing new technologies to study effective methods of implanting a single embryo in the uterus to achieve pregnancy.  Scientists could also test there scientific findings on other species like mice. Finally, I believe they should focus their studies on embryo development to overall improve the reliability of the IVF technology.

 Even after menopause the uterus is entirely capable of carrying out a pregnancy. In your opinion, at what age do you think it is inappropriate to have a child with in vitro fertilization?  How old is too old?

References:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/in-vitro-fertilization/basics/how-you-prepare/prc-20018905
http://www.babycenter.ca/a4094/fertility-treatment-in-vitro-fertilization-ivf
http://www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/guide/in-vitro-fertilization
http://americanpregnancy.org/infertility/ivf.html
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007279.htm



Blog Written by Ifrah Abdulle