Australia IVF - In Vitro Fertilisation - Infertility Treatments Information

“Women undertaking In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) treatment are more likely to give birth to a boy.A study by IVF Australia embryologist Jean Scott found that embryos conceived using the IVF technique and grown for a longer period of time had a higher chance of being male.”

The report published in Sydney Morning Herald is presented to the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Prague last week. The findings indicate that doctors choose to use those embryos which are dividing fastest and that these embryos tend to be male. There is a 56% percent chance of a male baby if an embryo is conceived using IVF and grown to blastocyst (8 cell - 5 day) stage. 

ICSI is the injection of a single sperm directly into the egg using a specially prepared needle. It is recommended for severe cases of male infertility and where there has been no fertilisation following IVF previously. 

With ICSI (Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection), very few sperm are required and the ability of the sperm to penetrate the egg is no longer important as this penetration is bypassed by the ICSI technique. It is important to remember that whilst ICSI is a technique used in the laboratory to help fertilisation occur, it does not guarantee it. Couples go through the same preparatory processes as with IVF, namely ovulation induction and egg collection.

ICSI can only be carried out on a mature egg. Unfortunately egg maturity can only be truly identified under the microscope and it is, therefore, possible that following egg collection, none of the eggs are suitable for ICSI. This situation is fortunately rare.

A small percentage of eggs (fewer than 1 in 10) will be damaged by the injection process and the damage is evident at the time of the injection procedure. These eggs can no longer be used. Of the remaining eggs, however, on average 6 out of 10 are fertilised following the ICSI procedure. The fertilised embryos are allowed to develop as for standard IVF treatment prior to embryo transfer.

One of the Treatment Options for infertility is by using  Ovulation inducing and cycle monitoring. If a woman has an irregular menstrual cycle, monitoring with ultrasound scans and hormone assessments may help to identify the fertile time of the month and so improve the chances of natural conception. If ovulation is not occurring, then drugs may be administered after the onset of menstruation to stimulate egg production. The simplest treatment is with tablets (Clomiphene and Tamoxifen) given within the first few days of the cycle. The response is monitored by ultrasound scans. These are not always effective and more powerful fertility injections may be necessary to stimulate egg production in the ovaries. With these more potent drugs there is a greater risk of increased egg production and, therefore, the risks of multiple pregnancy are greater. Women receiving fertility injections are monitored by ultrasound scans and hormone assessment.