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IVF (In-vitro fertilisation)

Our founders pioneered the techniques for IVF and won a Nobel Prize for their work, with the world’s first-ever IVF baby, Louise Brown, born in July 1978 – followed by the second IVF baby, and first boy, Alastair MacDonald born in January 1979.

If IVF is part of your fertility journey, you’re in expert hands at Bourn Hall

Our founders pioneered the techniques for IVF and won a Nobel Prize for their work, with the world’s first-ever IVF baby, Louise Brown, born in July 1978 – followed by the second IVF baby, and first boy, Alastair MacDonald born in January 1979.

What is IVF?

In-vitro fertilisation literally means fertilisation ‘in glass’. In practice, it’s where eggs and sperm are brought together in a carefully controlled environment to create embryos.

In natural conception, sperm and eggs meet in the fallopian tube and begin the complex process of fertilisation, embryo formation and growth. In IVF, introducing the sperm to the eggs in a carefully controlled environment can overcome the physical, endocrine and immune problems that may be preventing you from conceiving.

How does it work?

First, you need to produce some eggs. To assist, we use fertility drugs to stimulate your ovaries to produce a number of eggs. Then, we collect the eggs from your ovaries (via the vagina also known as birth canal using ultrasound guidance) and place them in a culture dish.

Next, we take your husband’s semen – usually produced by masturbation – and, using a variety of techniques, wash it and select the best sperm. These are put in culture with the egg, and fertilisation occurs naturally over the next 18 hours or so. We also have a technique called ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection). If your chances of success are regarded as low based on either sperm analysis or medical history then your eggs can be fertilised in the laboratory by means of injection using one sperm cell each.

After a period of growth in culture, our skilled embryologists assess the delicate embryos’ developing cell structure under a microscope. One or two are then transferred into your womb. If suitable, the remaining embryos can be frozen for future use.

Endometrial scratching is a technique which is sometimes recommended as it can help with embryo implantation.

What are the different ‘stimulation protocols’?

In conventional IVF, there are two stimulation protocols:

‘Long’ Protocol IVF (also known as ‘down regulation protocol’) involves patient injections for a minimum of two weeks to achieve down regulation before starting ovarian stimulation. It’s called ‘long’ because it takes approximately four to five weeks to prepare for egg collection.
‘Short’ Protocol IVF (also known as ‘antagonist protocol’) involves starting ovarian stimulation drugs at the beginning of your menstrual cycle. A second drug called an ‘antagonist’ is added approx. five days after ovarian stimulation begins. The antagonist is continued until egg collection to avoid premature release of the eggs.

The main difference between the long and short protocols is that there are two distinct stages (down-regulating and stimulating) in the long protocol. In the short protocol, patients go straight to the stimulating stage.

Click here to compare timelines of ‘long’ and ‘short’ stimulation protocols

Know More

Bourn Hall also offers the treatment options of Natural Cycle IVF and Mini IVF

Who is IVF for?

We’ve helped create thousands of families through successful IVF treatment

IVF treatment could be ideal for you if:

You’re a couple experiencing

‘Unexplained infertility’

You have male factor sub/infertility caused by:

Low sperm count / low quality sperm

Varicocele

Azoospermia

Hereditary/genetic diseases

Past injury

You have female factor sub/infertility caused by:

Endometriosis

Fibroids

PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome)

Tubal or cervical blockages

Hormonal imbalances

Nutritional deficiencies

Hereditary/genetic diseases

Whatever your situation and wherever you are on your fertility journey, we’ll work with you to develop a personalised treatment plan that optimises your chances of success

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Frequently Asked Questions:

When you come to Bourn Hall for fertility expertise and advice, we’ll take the time to get to know you, understand your medical history and discuss what treatment options could help you. At Bourn Hall, you’re in safe hands.

We tailor our fertility treatments to your individual circumstances. Therefore, the time that IVF treatment takes can vary. Most cycles are between six and nine weeks from your initial consultation to taking a pregnancy test two weeks after embryo transfer. 

If you have any questions about the length of time your treatment might take, let us know and we will gladly answer them. 

IVF is widely regarded as a very safe fertility treatment. It does however carry some risks.

A serious potential complication is a woman’s over-response to the stimulation drugs. This is called OHSS (Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome). Fortunately, the incidence of severe OHSS is less than 1% but moderate OHSS can range between 3-10% of female patients. 

Egg collection involves a minor surgical procedure performed under brief anaesthetic in our theatre. A fine needle is passed through the vaginal wall into each ovary to retrieve the mature eggs. This carries the potential (but exceptionally rare) risk of bleeding or injury to internal organs. Infection is more common which is why female patients receive antibiotics prophylaxis. 

Embryo transfer is a safe process but can be complicated in the event of multiple pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage. 

IVF can be both physically and emotionally challenging. At Bourn Hall we place patient care at the centre of everything we do.  

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