Hormones to Treat Infertility (OCR Gateway GCSE Biology: Combined Science)

Higher Tier Only

• In situations where couples find it difficult to conceive, fertility treatments can improve their chances
• There are several different options, depending on what the fertility issue is

• Hormones to promote natural pregnancy
  • Sometimes women may have low numbers of eggs maturing in their ovaries or no eggs being released during ovulation
  • Hormones can be given to promote egg production
    • FSH is given to stimulate eggs to mature
    • LH is given to stimulate ovulation
  • This method carries the risk that several eggs may be released at once which would increase the chance of multiple births (twins or triplets etc)

• In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF)
  • If the female cannot conceive naturally even after taking fertility drugs, or if there are issues with both male and female fertility in a couple, IVF can be used
    • This involves FSH and LH being given to the female to stimulate egg production before they are harvested from the ovary
    • The eggs are then inseminated in a petri dish using sperm from the male (‘in vitro’ means ‘in glass’)
    • Once embryos have formed, they are placed back into the uterus of the female
    • Several embryos are implanted to increase the chance of one developing further
  • This method has several issues that should be considered
    • IVF is relatively expensive and not all couples can afford it
    • As several embryos are implanted, the risk of multiple births is quite high