Assisted Reproductive Technologies

Medical advances have made it possible for many couples to have their own child. Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) helps the woman of an infertile couple become pregnant.

The Mayflower Women's Hospital ART (MCART) health-care team includes physicians, embryologists, laboratory technicians, nurses, psychologists, and allied health professionals who work together to help infertile couples.

In Vitro Fertilization

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is the most commonly used ART technique.

Other Forms of Assisted Reproductive Technology

Other forms of Assisted Reproductive Technology include Zygote Intrafallopian Removal Transfer (ZIFT) and Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer (GIFT). With ZIFT, a zygote (fertilized egg) is placed into the fallopian tube the day after the eggs are retrieved. The zygote moves naturally down the tube and into the uterus. With GIFT, unfertilized eggs and sperm are placed directly into the fallopian tube. The eggs are fertilized while in the fallopian tube, and the embryos move naturally down the tube and into the uterus.

You need to have healthy fallopian tubes to be a candidate for GIFT or ZIFT.

The success rates of these different techniques are comparable with IVF. Since GIFT and ZIFT involve general anesthesia and are more invasive and costly, most ART programs have abandoned using these procedures in favor of IVF with embryo transfer.

Risks Associated With Assisted Reproductive Technology

Risks associated with ART involve the medications and the surgical procedure used to remove the eggs. Some risks include:

• Hemorrhage
• Infection
• Damage to adjacent organs
• Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome -- an overstimulation of the ovaries which causes an enlargement of the ovaries and abdominal discomfort
• Increased chance of multiple pregnancy (twins usually)

Research shows that there is no higher risk of genetic abnormalities in the child conceived with ART.

Situations In Which ART Is Used

In vitro fertilization (IVF) offers a chance for pregnancy if both fallopian tubes are blocked. It also is used widely for a number of other conditions such as:

• Endometriosis
• Unexplained infertility
• Cervical factor infertility
• Male factor infertility
• Ovulation disorders

Assisted reproductive techniques have higher success rates for couples where:

• The woman responds well to fertility drugs, ovulates naturally, or uses donor eggs
• The woman has a healthy uterus

There is a lower success rate among the following:

• Women over the age of 40 (when using their own eggs)
• Women faced with early menopause who no longer produce as many eggs (when using their own eggs)
• Women with untreated conditions of the uterus such as scar tissue or some uterine fibroids and polyps