If you're worried about infertility, the chances are a trip to your doctor will give you the reassurance or advice you need.
However, some couples will need to be referred to a clinic specialising in assisted conception techniques to help them make a baby. The services below gives a brief outline of the most popular fertility treatments available with Vcare Fertility
Fertility drugs:Drugs such as clomifene pills and gonadotrophin injections regulate hormones and trigger the release of more eggs per cycle. About 28 per cent pregnancy rate for clomifene, 7 to 14 per cent for gonadotrophins.
What else should I know? Clomifene can cause hot flushes, mood swings, breast tenderness and vaginal dryness. Gonadotrophin injections can cause digestive upsets, bloating, headache and soreness or a reaction where you've had the jabs.
Keyhole surgery (laparoscopy): Treatment to unblock your Fallopian tubes or remove scarring caused by endometriosis, fibroid, or ovarian cysts can increase your chances of conception. Depends on your individual circumstances.
What else should I know? After laparoscopy you may have discomfort in your chest and shoulders from the carbon dioxide used during surgery. (Your doctor inflates your belly slightly with carbon dioxide so he can see your organs more easily.) Your belly will also feel sore for a few days.
Intrauterine insemination (IUI): Your spouse's s***m or a donor's s***m is injected into your uterus or Fallopian tubes via a thin, flexible tube (catheter). The s***m sample is pre-treated to extract the best quality s***m. About 16 per cent live birth rate.
What else should I know? After the s***m is injected, you may feel cramping for a day or so. Your spouse may need support in advance, as providing a s***m sample on demand in a clinic isn't easy.
In vitro fertilisation (IVF): A specialist doctor removes your eggs from your ovaries. Your eggs are fertilised with s***m in a laboratory and left to grow into embryos. The embryos are transplanted back into your uterus. 32 per cent live birth rate with your own fresh eggs.
What else should I know? The fertility drugs you take as part of the treatment can cause unpleasant side-effects, and raise your chances of having a multiple pregnancy. If you use your spouse's s***m, he will have to give a s***m sample on demand.
Intracytoplasmic s***m injection (ICSI): A single s***m is injected into a single egg and the resulting embryo is transplanted into your uterus. 35 per cent live birth rate.
What else should I know? It's very similar to having a cycle of IVF. A doctor may need to collect s***m from your spouse's testicle via a needle or tiny cut. Your doctor will give your spouse a local anesthetic, and after that, over-the-counter painkillers work fine to ease any discomfort.
Donor insemination (DI): Donor s***m is used to fertilise your egg via IUI treatment. IVF techniques can also use donor s***m. 15 per cent live birth rate per cycle for DI, 43 per cent for IVF using fresh eggs and donor s***m.
What else should I know? You may feel a sense of loss that you are not having a baby who shares both your genes. Your child may want to know about the donor's identity when he or she is older.
Egg (or embryo) donation: An egg donated by another woman is mixed with s***m and implanted in your uterus. Some couples donate embryos they have not needed from IVF cycles. 32 per cent live birth rate using fresh donor eggs.
What else should I know? You may feel a sense of loss that you are not having a baby who shares both your genes.
Surrogacy: Another woman carries a baby for you through to birth, after which you legally become the baby's parents. Your baby may grow from an embryo made from your egg and your spouse's s***m, or from a donor embryo. Too many factors affect success rates for a figure to be given.
What else should I know? You may feel as if you have no control over the pregnancy, from what your surrogate mum eats to how she handles stress. Carefully choose someone you can share your feelings with. You can join our community and talk with other couples considering fertility treatments.
