Endometrial Scratching

Your in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle has failed, and you do not know why. You had diligently followed your IVF protocol, had several eggs successfully retrieved and fertilized, then screened the embryos for chromosomal abnormalities and had at least one normal embryo. You also have no anatomical anomalies, your uterine lining was triple-layered and thick enough, and the embryo transfer procedure had gone smoothly. Still, your pregnancy test came out negative. What do you do? Repeat the same steps and hope for better luck? If the answer is yes, you might also want to consider endometrial scratching. It could help tilt the scales in the other direction.

My Preimplantation Genetic Screening (PGS) Results (UPDATED)

As a follow-up to my post called “Preimplantation Genetic Screening (PGS): Why You Should Do It,” I decided to publish the results of my two PGS tests. I hope the information is useful to anyone who wishes to compare her results or get a better idea of how maternal age may affect the quality of embryos.

IVF Milestone: Egg Retrieval

Egg retrieval is one of the key phases of in vitro fertilization (IVF). After multiple follicles in the ovaries have matured sufficiently (i.e., have reached at least 15 mm in diameter), your doctor will instruct you on when to have the ovulation trigger shot. (The timing needs to be precise.) The egg retrieval takes place about 35 hours after this shot.