When you and your partner have been trying to conceive a child naturally and are having a great deal of trouble doing so, you may find yourself feeling disheartened and frustrated. While this can be a difficult situation to deal with, you are not without your options to overcome your fertility struggles. If you are considering giving fertility treatments a try, it is important to keep up with the numerous different changes in medical technologies and treatments that can affect you and your desire to conceive a child. Get to know a bit about some of the newest advances in treatment so that you can be sure that you are getting the best fertility treatments possible in your attempts to conceive and carry a child.

In Vitro Maturation (IVM)

In vitro maturation (also referred to as IVM) is an infertility treatment that is is designed as an alternative to the standard or traditional IVF (in vitro fertilization) treatment. The process of in vitro fertilization is that a woman receives hormone injections to trigger her eggs to mature. When the eggs are mature, they are harvested and then fertilized and incubated in the laboratory until they are ready to be implanted in the uterus.

The in vitro maturation process is different in one key way. The eggs in IVM are harvested when they are still immature and are removed directly from the ovaries in this state. Some women have difficulty conceiving naturally because they suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome which can prevent their otherwise intact and healthy eggs from being released or maturing. IVM can be a great way to help them overcome this obstacle.

During IVM, the harvested immature eggs are matured and fertilized in the lab just like IVF. There are numerous benefits to IVM over IVF. You will not need to take as many hormones for IVM as the eggs are collected in their immature state. This saves on money and can reduce hormone therapy-related symptoms like mood swings and other issues and can be helpful to women who experience overreactions to hormone treatments.

Vaginal Incubation

One of the newest innovations in fertility treatments is the creation of a system that allows for the vaginal incubation of eggs that have been harvested and fertilized wither through IVM or IVF therapies. One of the biggest costs of such treatments are all of the procedures performed in a medical laboratory, including incubation.

This new and innovative vaginal incubation system allows for the process to be streamlined and much simpler for women overall. Using a device in the vaginal canal, doctors can allow the fertilization and incubation to occur in the woman's own body rather than in a laboratory. This implanted capsule can make couples feel more attached and connected to the fertility treatment process.

Vaginal incubation can reduce the risks of multiples (more than two fetuses) and can be effective when the reason for fertility struggles has been isolated to being due to male fertility issues. Cost and time savings that go along with the use of a vaginal incubation device also make it a more accessible treatment option for couples who find IVF cost prohibitive.

Now that you know a few of the more recent developments in medical technology as it relates to fertility treatments, you can be sure that you find a treatment option that works for you and your partner. Contact clinics like Missouri Center for Reproductive Medicine for more information or assistance.