Hormones & Assisted Reproductive Technology
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
- 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
