hormones to treat infertility

• Hormones


  Used to treat infertility
• IVF (In Vitro Fertilization)

  1. Mother treated with FSH and LH to mature several eggs

  2. Eggs collected from mother

  3. Sperm from father used to fertilize eggs in laboratory

  4. Fertilized eggs develop into embryos

  5. Embryos inserted into mother's uterus
• Benefits of IVF


  • Gives woman chance to have own baby
• Problems with IVF


  • Success rates not high
  • Emotionally very stressful for parents
  • Physically demanding on mother
  • Can lead to multiple births
• Other issues with IVF

  • Not all embryos created are transferred, some are destroyed
  • IVF is expensive, money could be spent on other medical issues
• FSH triggers an egg to mature in one of the ovaries
• LH triggers the mature egg to be released, i.e. ovulation
• Fertility treatment involves giving FSH and LH to a woman to cause her to ovulate more than usual, increasing her chances of becoming pregnant