Fertility treatment

Cards (12)

Infertility
Being unable to conceive
Purpose of fertility treatment
To help a person become pregnant
2 main causes of infertility in women
Eggs do not mature
Eggs aren’t released properly
Main cause of male infertility
Sperm cannot swim well enough
2 hormones used in fertility treatment
FSH
LH
How can FSH help with fertility
Stimulates the egg in the ovary to develop and mature
How can LH help with infertility
Stimulated eggs to be released (ovulation)
IVF
In Vitro Fertilisation
Stages of IVF
Woman is given FSH and LH to stimulate her eggs
Eggs are collected from the woman’s ovaries
Sperm gathered from make
Eggs are then fertilised by the sperm in a lab to from zygotes
Zygotes are left to grow into embryos in a lab incubator
Once the embryos are large enough they are transferred to the woman’s uterus to develop into a foetus
Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection 
Sperm is injected into an egg with a tiny needle
5 drawbacks of IVF
High chance of multiple births and complications
Can cause abdominal pain and vomiting
Can be stressful and emotionally upsetting
It’s expensive
Why can IVF be seen as unethical
Some embryos are destroyed
Can lead to ’designer babies’