In vitro fertilization, or IVF, is a fertility treatment that involves growing multiple eggs (also known as oo cytes) at once, removing them from the ovaries by a procedure known as an egg retrieval, and fertilizing them with sperm in the IVF laboratory.
An egg that has been fertilized by a sperm is known as an embryo. Embryos are grown for several days outside of the body, and one or more embryos are then placed back in the uterus in a procedure known as an embryo transfer to achieve pregnancy.
There are a variety of different protocols in IVF. Your doctor will determine which approach is best for you. Regardless of the details of your protocol, there are a few consistent stages of an IVF cycle that we will review here.
