In vitro fertilization, or IVF, is often used when simpler fertility treatments have not been successful. If you have already tried fertility charting, fertility drugs, and artificial insemination, you may be curious about how to use IVF.http://www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/guide/in-vitro-fertilization?page=2 The term "in vitro fertilization" is used to describe a series of processes that culminate in the production of a human embryo and the transfer of that embryo.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfS4v9jENos

Success rates of IVF for infertile women range from approximately 40%-50% for women under 35 to 20% or less for women over 40 years of age.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfS4v9jENos Embryos that are transferred to your uterus can be frozen in case they are needed for a future IVF procedure.http://www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/guide/in-vitro-fertilization?page=2

When beginning in vitro fertilization, you will first have to administer injections to yourself for approximately two weeks.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfS4v9jENos The hormone injections encourage your body to produce multiple eggs each cycle instead of just one. Before the egg retrieval procedure, you will be given a second round of injections that promotes ovulation.http://www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/guide/in-vitro-fertilization

When your eggs are ready they will be retrieved in an operating room using a suction needle. The eggs will then be transferred to an IVF laboratory where they will be fertilized with the father's sperm. Your fertilized eggs are then given three to five days to grow as embryos.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfS4v9jENos

In the final step of in vitro fertilization, the embryos will be transferred into your uterus. The number of embryos that are transferred depends on your age. If you are 35 years of age or younger you will have one to two embryos transferred. Women between the ages of 35-40 will have two to three embryos transferred and women over 40 will have five embryos transferred. The number of embryos is kept as low as possible to safeguard against the chance of having multiples.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfS4v9jENos

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