Infertility treatments - Higher
Some women have difficulty becoming pregnant because they don't produce enough FSH to allow their eggs to mature. Fertility drugs contain Follicle Stimulating Hormone. It stimulates oestrogen production and the growth of follicles (egg-sacs) in the ovary. It is secreted by the pituitary gland. and Luteinising Hormone, secreted by the pituitary gland, which stimulates ovulation., which stimulate eggs to mature in the ovary.
Fertility treatments increase a woman's chance of becoming pregnant, although the treatment may not always work. On the other hand, because the treatment boosts the production of mature eggs, it increases the chance of twins or triplets.
Multiple pregnancies carry a risk of complications, and may lead to premature or underweight babies.
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment
If a couple are having difficulty conceiving a child because there are issues with the quality of the man's sperm, or a woman has blocked oviducts, then The letters stand for 'in vitro fertilisation'. This involves bringing the sperm and the egg together to create an embryo, which is placed into the woman's womb to increase the chance of giving birth. can be used.
- IVF involves giving a mother FSH and LH to stimulate the maturation of several eggs.
- The eggs are collected from the mother and fertilised by sperm from the father in a dish in the laboratory.
- The fertilised eggs develop into embryos.
- At the stage when they are tiny balls of cells, one or two embryos are inserted into the mother's uterus (womb).
The development of microscopy techniques has allowed IVF treatments to be developed further.
Evaluating infertility treatments
The The National Health Service (NHS) is a free health care system in the UK. has to choose which couples they can fund for IVF. If they cannot be treated on the NHS, some people choose to pay privately for treatment. This is very expensive, and costs several thousand pounds.
The chances of a successful pregnancy vary depending on the age of the woman involved. As a woman's age increases, the chance of conception decreases. In particular, the chances of a woman over the age of 43 becoming pregnant decreases to a 5% success rate.
Data from the NHS choices website shows that:
In 2010, the percentage of IVF treatments that resulted in a live birth was:
- 32.2% for women under 35
- 27.7% for women aged 35-37
- 20.8% for women aged 38-39
- 13.6% for women aged 40-42
- 5% for women aged 43-44
- 1.9% for women aged over 44
Advantages of IVF
- It allows people to have babies of their own, who otherwise can't due to a variety of reasons.
- It has a safe track record and has been used since 1978. The embryos can be screened for genetic diseases, which is important for families that already have an affected child. Only unaffected embryos are used.
- Unused eggs can be used for research or donated to other couples.
Disadvantages of IVF
- There are side effects from the drugs used, such as hot flushes and severe headaches.
- There is a possibility of multiple births, which is dangerous for mother and babies.
- Ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome (OHS), when too many eggs develop in the ovaries.
- It is very emotionally and physically stressful.
- The success rates are not high.
Ethical concerns
Some people worry about the ethical implications of IVF. They are concerned that couples may want 'designer babies' with 'desirable' qualities, so may only want certain fertilised eggs. For example, they may want a girl if they have lots of boys in the family.
Also, the embryos that are not used may be destroyed. Some people might view these as new lives, so may consider destroying them to be unethical.