Describe the Treatments Available to Help Infertile Couples
The definition of being infertile for a woman is to be unable to conceive a child by the usual natural process. For a man to be infertile, he is unable to produce sperm that have the capacity of fertilizing a woman’s egg.
Up to 10% of couples in the UK who want children can be considered infertile. Due to this being such a large percentage there are now many ways to get round this through different treatments. Although some may pose potential problems for religious beliefs this does not hinder many couples from using them.
Generally the most common treatment infertile couples use to conceive a child is called “In Vitro Fertilization” (IVF) for this to happen an egg from the mother is taken out of the womb and is fertilized from the male’s sperm in a dish in a laboratory. The embryo which is then created is then inserted back in to the mother’s womb. For some women, though, this is not possible as she may be immune to fertility drugs. At this point couples wanting a child may consider “Embryo Donation”. This is when both the egg and the sperm are anonymously donated and fertilized in a dish. The resulting embryo is the inserted into the mother’s womb.
Artificial insemination by husband/partner is commonly used when the woman is infertile. For this treatment the sperm from the partner is inserted into the woman’s womb in the hope that it will fertilize the egg. The alternative of this is called artificial insemination by donor. This treatment is commonly used when the partner’s sperm is infertile. For the treatment to take place the sperm of a donor, usually anonymously, is medically inserted into the mother’s womb. If partners have tried some of these treatments ...