Egg freezing is a fantastic way to preserve your fertility in the event that you aren’t ready for kids yet, but wish to have some in the future. If it has been a few years and you’re ready to use them, this article will explain the steps that follow in your fertility journey.
Once You’ve Frozen Your Eggs, It’s Time To Undergo IVF
Once you decide you’re ready to attempt getting pregnant, we will proceed with North Houston IVF at one of our IVF clinics in Kingwood or The Woodlands.
IVF is a process in which we fertilize an egg outside of the body. Once the egg has been fertilized, we will let it grow to the day-5 embryo stage–known as the blastocyst stage–and then conduct Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT).
Preimplantation Genetic Testing To Improve Your Chances Of Carrying A Successful Pregnancy
Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT) is a way to determine if your embryo has a high chance of leading to a successful birth. The fertility specialists at our Kingwood IVF or The Woodlands IVF clinics will conduct genetic testing by performing a simple biopsy on the embryo, which gives us insight into embryo quality by showing any genetic abnormalities that may affect your chances of achieving a successful birth. If the embryo is genetically healthy, our Houston fertility doctors will transfer it to your uterus and conduct a pregnancy test after 10 days.
North Houston Frozen Embryo Transfer
Once the embryo has undergone PGT, Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) is the next step. At this time, we will prepare your uterus for pregnancy so it can accept the embryo. Our Kingwood and The Woodlands IVF specialists achieve this by administering hormonal medication so that your body undergoes the same hormonal changes it would with a conventional pregnancy. After a period of taking hormonal medication, the uterus is ready. We will thaw the frozen embryo and inject it into the uterus with the help of an abdominal ultrasound. You won’t feel any pain when this occurs.
North Houston IVF Specialists In The Woodlands And Kingwood Can Help You Achieve A Successful Pregnancy
If you have frozen your eggs and are ready to get pregnant, or would like to learn more about egg freezing, then please request an appointment with our IVF specialists. We want to provide the support you need to achieve your dreams of motherhood.
According to Penn Medicine, 1 to 2% of U.S. births every year are achieved through In Vitro Fertilization, also known as IVF. If you have been trying to get pregnant for over a year with no luck, then you may be experiencing infertility. North Houston IVF, a popular fertility treatment at our Kingwood and The Woodlands fertility clinics, is an option many patients turn to. So, is Kingwood and The Woodlands IVF right for you? Here’s what we think.
Understanding What North Houston IVF Is
Before you consider IVF, let’s discuss what it is.
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is the process by which an egg is fertilized by sperm outside of the body in one of our specialized Kingwood and The Woodlands IVF labs. After the fertilized egg develops into a day-5 embryo–known as the Blastocyst–we will implant it into the intended mother’s uterus (unless you opt for IVF with a gestational carrier).
Is North Houston IVF The Right Fertility Option For You?
Now that you understand what IVF is, here is what may make for a good North Houston IVF candidate:
In addition to good health–which may be improved upon by following a fertility-boosting diet–you might be a good IVF candidate if you:
- Have been trying to naturally conceive for over a year
- Haven’t successfully become pregnant with other fertility treatments, such as IUI
- Have been diagnosed with endometriosis
- Suffer from PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome)
- Are suffering from a low sperm count or low motility
- Are an LGBTQ+ couple
Ultimately, Fertility Testing And Our North Houston IVF Specialists Will Help Determine If IVF Is Right For You And Your Partner
IVF is effective for couples faced with several different circumstances, and our Kingwood and The Woodlands IVF clinics have impressive IVF success rates. However, we don’t usually recommend IVF as the first method to treat infertility. Often, lower-cost options may still result in a healthy pregnancy, but this just depends on our patients’ situations. If you would like to determine if North Houston IVF is a good option for you, please request an appointment with our IVF specialists in Kingwood or The Woodlands so we can begin our relationship with you by understanding your medical and sexual histories and initiating infertility testing.
It’s no secret that embarking on your fertility journey brings a lot of unknowns, and although this is a hard time, we are here to support you the entire way through. We want all of our patients–whether they are young couples, older couples, LGBTQ+ couples, or single–to have a successful pregnancy so they can experience the special joy children bring. Along with our impressive North Houston IVF success rates, we also over Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT). In this article, we will explain what PGT is, as well as the benefits of utilizing this service as part of your North Houston IVF treatment at our Kingwood and The Woodlands IVF clinics.
What is Preimplantation Genetic Testing?
Did you know that your embryos can be tested prior to being transferred into your (or your donor’s) uterus? Once you have undergone your North Houston IVF cycle and we have retrieved the eggs that will be implanted, we can proceed with Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT). Essentially, this means we will perform a simple biopsy on the embryos to better understand their quality.
Benefits Of PGT During Your North Houston IVF Treatment
There are numerous benefits to undergoing Preimplantation Genetic Testing during your IVF journey, but each of these benefits has to do with an overall healthier North Houston IVF pregnancy.
Did you know that 600 conditions are caused by genetic abnormalities? Or that some of these genetic abnormalities are responsible for causing a miscarriage? Without PGT, fertility specialists sometimes elect to implant multiple embryos in the body to see which one will result in a healthy pregnancy. However, by opting for genetic testing, our fertility specialists, as well as you and your partner, will be more educated about your unique North Houston IVF journey. At the end of the day, the greatest benefit of PGT is that out of the various embryos we let develop in our Kingwood and The Woodlands IVF labs, we can implant the one most likely to develop into a healthy baby.
The Success Of Your North Houston IVF Treatment May Be Up To Chance, But Preimplantation Genetic Testing Can Increase Your Chances
Our fertility specialists at our Kingwood and The Woodlands IVF clinics recommend PGT because it can help us and the intended parents gain a better idea of which embryo will likely have the greatest success. If you would like to take part in genetic testing through North Houston IVF, please request an appointment with us at our Kingwood or The Woodlands IVF clinics. We look forward to helping you also experience the joy and love of a child.
Egg freezing, otherwise known as Mature Oocyte Cryopreservation, is one of the more advanced modern fertility treatments we offer at our clinic. Mature Oocyte Cryopreservation remained in its experimental phase until January 2013, but today it is a routine procedure we perform at HART Fertility Clinic with positive results when in conjunction with our North Houston IVF treatment.
Who Should Consider Freezing Their Eggs?
Egg freezing is first and foremost used as a method to preserve your fertility in the event that you prefer to wait until later on to have children.
We often recommend that our patients freeze their eggs if:
- They are currently undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy, since these therapies may be toxic to their eggs
- They are suffering from an autoimmune disease
- They are a transgender patient
How Does The Egg Freezing Process Work?
If you plan to freeze your eggs, there are a few steps involved:
1: Ovarian Stimulation
Our fertility specialists at our IVF clinics in The Woodlands and Kingwood will first stimulate ovulation before we retrieve your eggs. This way, we may retrieve more than one healthy egg. To stimulate your ovaries, you will undergo hormone injections, similar to how IVF patients do.
2: Egg Retrieval
Once you have completed this series of injections, we will retrieve your eggs through a minor and very painless procedure known as a “transvaginal ultrasound-guided needle aspiration”.
3: Freezing Your Eggs
Once retrieved, we must immediately freeze your eggs. During the experimental phase, it was found that ice crystals would form over the egg, eventually destroying the cell. This was due to the high water content your eggs have, so to avoid this, we dehydrate the eggs and use a rapid freezing technique that protects the cell until you are ready to undergo IVF.
North Houston IVF In The Future
In the future, when you decide you’re ready to have children, we will thaw your frozen eggs and prepare your uterus to accept an embryo. Then, we will use your partner’s sperm or donor sperm to fertilize the egg and let it develop into a blastocyst–the day 5 embryo stage. At this stage, you may elect to under Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT) to give you the best chance of sustaining a healthy pregnancy and delivering a healthy baby. If you would like to find out if freezing your eggs is right for you, please request an appointment with us. We look forward to helping you achieve your dream of parenthood!
You’ve probably heard of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), one of the most popular fertility treatments available and one that our North Houston fertility clinics in The Woodlands and Kingwood boast a high success rate for. In addition to IVF, however, IUI is another successful (and often easier) fertility treatment. In this article, we will explain what IUI is, how it compares to IVF, and who might be a good candidate for it.
What Is IUI
Simply put, IUI–which stands for Intrauterine Insemination–is a fertility procedure in which we place washed sperm directly into the uterus.
How IUI and IVF Compare
When it comes to North Houston IVF, eggs are retrieved and sperm fertilizes them outside of the body in our laboratory setting. Once fertilized, we wait until the embryo reaches the day-5 blastocyst stage and then we implant the embryo back into the uterus.
IUI, on the other hand, allows for fertilization to take place inside the body. When performing IUI, our fertility doctors will extract a semen sample and wash it in our laboratory to select only the motile (moving) sperm. Following this process, we will use a catheter to inject the now-washed sperm into the uterus in an exam room. This procedure is very simple and brief and causes little to no discomfort, making it an attractive option for couples attempting to conceive or for single women wanting to become mothers.
Who Is A Good Candidate For IUI At Our Fertility Clinics In The Woodlands And Kingwood
We often recommend IUI before IVF simply because it is a more affordable, easier method used in getting pregnant. It is also highly effective if couples are suffering from semen/sperm abnormalities. Other patients who make good candidates may include the following:
Women:
- Women who suffer from PCOS or mild Endometriosis
- Women with cervical abnormalities
Men:
- Below-average sperm count
- Motility problems
IUI At Our Kingwood And The Woodlands Fertility Clinics
IUI is a highly effective and often more affordable option for patients who have mild infertility problems, while North Houston IVF is a viable option for patients who suffer from severe infertility problems. If you’re wondering whether or not you’re a good candidate for IUI, then please request an appointment with our fertility specialists so we can get to know your particular case and proceed with fertility testing. We look forward to helping you achieve your dreams of parenthood!
