According to The National Women’s Health Information Center, infertility isn’t only described as not being able to conceive a child, but the process of having repeated miscarriages. In the event of a third of cases of women not being able to have children, Assisted Reproductive Technology was created. A national report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that there were 134,260 assisted reproduction technology cycles performed in the year 2005. This resulted in 38,910 births that included more than one baby being born.
Assisted Reproductive Technology is different methods used to help infertile couples, which involves removing eggs from a woman's body, mixing them with sperm in the laboratory, and putting the embryos back into a woman's body. According to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology’s 2007 National Summary, one of the most popular and effective methods of ART is In Vitro Fertilization ranking 99 percent in usage. In vitro fertilization is where the removal of mature eggs from a woman’s body mixed with a man’s sperm to be put into a woman’s uterus after three to five days.
The success rate depends on different factors such as the type of method used, age of the partners, the cause of infertility, and is the egg or embryo fresh or frozen. A 2003 U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention report showed that there is a better success rate in the age of 35 in under, which is 37.3 percent oppose to women over 35 where the rate is below 30 percent.
Other forms of the assisted reproductive technology are Zygote intrafallopian transfer, gamete intrafallopian transfer, and intracytoplasmic sperm injection. There are other methods than just those of ART. A woman could use fertility medicines. Some that are common is Clomiphane, Gonadotropin, and Bromocriptine.
Clomiphane is a five day cycle pill that helps conceive a baby if one ovulates irregularly or not at all. It is used before undergoing an assisted reproductive technology, such as in vitro fertilization. Some of the side effects are ovarian cysts, depression, weight gain, and mild swelling of the ovaries. Even though, triplets can be conceived, there is only a 10 percent chance in conceiving twins. Of 80 percent of the women who ovulate from the treatment only 40 percent has the opportunity to get pregnant.
Gonadotropin is another alternative of an infertility drug if Clomiphane doesn’t work. This medicine comes in an injection form that is taken seven to 12 days to be considered a dose, which runs from $2,000 to $5,000 per cycle. After the injections, there is a follow up injection called, Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, which tells your ovaries to release your mature eggs into your fallopian tubes. Side effects could consist of tenderness in the back area, bloating, weight gain, and fluid retention. A study shows that there is a 20 to 60 percent chance in conceiving, with 10 to 40 percent chance of conceiving more than twins.
Bromocriptine could be found in an oral or vaginal pill form, which is used for patients who has ovulation problems cause by Pituitary Adenoma. Pituitary Adenoma is a tumor in your pituitary gland that is found in your brain right behind the back of your nose. This particular medication is to be taken two to three times a day until a child is conceived. Some side effects that can occur are dizziness, diarrhea, and headaches. There is a 90 percent rate of women who ovulate from the medication, of those 65 to 85 percent gets pregnant.
