Fertility Treatments

IVF involves the fertilisation of eggs with sperm in a laboratory incubator. Eggs are collected from the womb using ultrasound guidance after a series of injections based around the woman’s cycle and personal care needs. Partner or donor sperm is then mixed with them to allow fertilisation to occur. The developing embryos are tracked, and up to five days later – depending on their progress – one or two embryos are transferred back to the woman with the aim of implantation and pregnancy.

If the chances of success of IVF are low because the number of suitable sperm is too low, the eggs obtained following hormonal stimulation can be fertilised in the laboratory by means of microinjection using one sperm cell each. The resulting embryos are transferred to the uterus, just like in IVF.

IVM is suitable for women who want to avoid the use of fertility drugs, often due to an existing medical condition. The main difference between IVF and IVM is that in IVM, immature eggs are collected and grown in a laboratory before being fertilised and inserted into the womb.

Unused embryos from your IVF treatment can be frozen for future use, depending on their quality, meaning that you don’t need to go through a potentially intensive egg collection cycle when you would like to try for a baby. These embryos can be used for future pregnancies, and recent studies have shown there is no difference in pregnancy rates between frozen and fresh embryos. In fact, a FET may have a higher success rate.

Vitrification involves much more rapid cooling than other less advanced methods of freezing, and it prevents ice crystals from forming. This preserves the quality of the cells and improves the chances of success when they are thawed.

The body’s hormones are fundamental to everyday life. Changes in their balance need careful management, whether it be due to a medical condition or a specific stage of life. Hormone Health’s range of expertise means they can offer appropriate advice and treatments for women throughout their lives.

We have partnered with The Natural Fertility Clinic to offer therapy for patients trying to conceive either naturally or via IVF, ICSI and IUI. It’s available at our site in Oxford, where we offer a dedicated, unique and comfortable environment for patients to undergo acupuncture and reflexology treatments that may enhance their chances of conception.

The EmbryoScope+ is a special incubator that has a 15 built-in cameras, capable of taking pictures of your embryo several times an hour. These pictures are then combined to create a time-lapse video showing the embryo’s development right up to the blastocyst stage.