Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Nana's Journey Into IVF (In-Vitro Fertilization)


In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process by which an egg is fertilised by sperm outside the body: in vitro. IVF is a major treatment for infertility when other methods of assisted reproductive technology have failed. The process involves monitoring a woman's ovulatory process, removing ovum or ova (egg or eggs) from the woman's ovaries and letting sperm fertilise them in a fluid medium in a laboratory. When a woman's natural cycle is monitored to collect a naturally selected ovum (egg) for fertilisation, it is known as natural cycle IVF. The fertilised egg (zygote) is then transferred to the patient's uterus with the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy. The first successful birth of a "test tube baby", Louise Brown, occurred in 1978.

Louise Brown was born as a result of natural cycle IVF. Robert G. Edwards, the physiologist who developed the treatment, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2010.

The term in vitro, from the Latin meaning in glass, is used, because early biological experiments involving cultivation of tissues outside the living organism from which they came, were carried out in glass containers such as beakers, test tubes, or petri dishes. Today, the term in vitro is used to refer to any biological procedure that is performed outside the organism it would normally be occurring in, to distinguish it from an in vivo procedure, where the tissue remains inside the living organism within which it is normally found. A colloquial term for babies conceived as the result of IVF, "test tube babies", refers to the tube-shaped containers of glass or plastic resin, called test tubes, that are commonly used in chemistry labs and biology labs. However, in vitro fertilisation is usually performed in the shallower containers called Petri dishes. One IVF method, Autologous Endometrial Coculture, is actually performed on organic material, but is still considered in vitro.

Now that you understand how it works, let me tell you that one of my children is about to undergo this procedure. I'll begin by telling you how nervous I am.  The hormone shots, the manipulation of nature gives this Nana lots of worries.  If the procedure works, she has one in three changes of having twins.  The twins are the fun part.  The former plays hard on my stomach. My brain.  Her bodymind.  

I love my children dearly.  I'd do anything for them. I thought teaching them to drive was the hardest thing I did.  Little did I know.  

Soon I learn how to administer shots.  Injections.  Four a day actually.  She will master the art. I will accompany her as a second set of eyes and ears. And stable legs.

My faithful readers, please pray for her.  That she is healthy and has a healthy baby.

Thank you.



 

 

 

2 comments:

  1. Beth,
    I suspect that I would feel the same if I were in your shoes. You are both in my thoughts and prayers.
    Hugs, ~t

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Treeful. I'm grateful for good friends with whom to share all of this.

      Hugs ~

      Beth

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