karadi

Infertility treatments simplified
A woman attains complete womanhood when she becomes a 'mother', while a man graduates into newfound maturity when he holds his little bundle of

Infertility treatments simplified (Getty Images)

joy in his hands. But, unfortunately there are many families that are not blessed enough to experience this joy.

For many who experience long-term infertility, pregnancy

remains an idealised dream. Countless times their hopes are shattered, yet innumerable times they gather courage to give it another try. With their dreams vacillating between hopeful fantasies of a successful pregnancy and fearful apprehension of yet another disappointment, a childless couple's life is often an emotional roller coaster.

Blame it on the lack of awareness about popular fertility treatments or the myths surrounding them, many childless couples still fall prey to apprehensions, with just a lucky few enjoying the boon of medical
technology. "Mental and emotional preparation together with demystifying the facts is very important before starting an infertility treatment," suggest Dr. Hrishikesh Pai, Infertility expert, Fortis La Femme.

So, busting common myths and shunning dreaded apprehensions, we explain the popular infertility treatments:

Intra Vitro Fertilisation (IVF)
This treatment has emerged as a God-sent therapy for infertile couples with about nearly 2,000 couples taking the IVF cycle annually in India itself. Doctors term it as very patient friendly therapy as it doesn't
hamper with a patient's routine activities. This treatment can be used for a multitude of infertility problems, including low/nil sperm count in men, nil egg count among women and unavailability of embryo or
uterus among women.

"In IVF, fertilisation occurs outside the womb. In vitro the egg is fertilised in a glass. The man's sperm and the woman's egg are fertilised in a laboratory dish and the resulting embryo is then transferred to the woman's uterus. Depending upon the kind of problem in both the sexes, various permutations and combinations of sperms, eggs, embryo etc. can be used to find the desired solution," informs Delhi-based infertility expert Dr. Sonia Malik.
1. In case of a low sperm count in a man, the donor's sperm can be fertilised with the wife's egg.
2. When the wife doesn't have eggs, another woman's eggs are fertilised with her husband's sperms and the resulting embryo is then transferred into the wife's uterus.