In 1978, the birth of Louise Brown, the world’s first “test tube baby”, provided an exciting new approach to female tubal infertility. The birth of Louise Brown, the first IVF case in the world in 1978, provided an exciting new approach to female tubal infertility and marked the success of assisted reproductive technology, creating a new era in the history of reproductive medicine. It has become the most widely used human assisted reproductive technology in the world. The first IVF case was also born in mainland China in 1988. What are the main applications for IVF? First of all, the female partner has fallopian tube obstruction, mucous membrane damage, loss of cilia, tubal peristalsis, umbilical atresia, or adhesions around it due to tubal inflammation, peritubal lesions, post-tubal pregnancy, tubal ligation or chemical blockage, and tubal dysplasia, etc., which prevent sperm-egg encounter, or tubal effusion, cytokines from endometriosis, etc., which directly or indirectly affect The solution is to try to make the sperm and egg meet and fertilize in vitro, i.e. IVF, which is the only option for couples who are infertile due to tubal incompetence. Of course, IVF can also be used to treat some other causes of infertility. For example, ovulation disorders (polycystic ovaries, unruptured follicles, luteinization, etc.) that have not been treated with ovulation promotion; some cases of endometriosis that have not been treated with drugs or surgery; immune factors (cervical infertility and immune infertility) and unexplained infertility that have not been treated with other assisted reproductive techniques (especially intrauterine insemination or combined with ovulation promotion techniques); and male oligo- and hypospermia. Spermatozoospermia, etc. The whole procedure of IVF includes ovulation promotion, egg collection, sperm collection, in vitro fertilization and culture of eggs and embryo transfer, and luteal support. ① Ovulation promotion: A woman has only one egg developing and maturing each month during her natural menstrual cycle. With ovulation promotion drugs, we can obtain multiple eggs in one menstrual cycle to improve the success rate of IVF. (ii) Egg collection: Once the eggs are close to maturity, they need to be collected by transvaginal puncture under vaginal ultrasound guidance. The procedure takes about ten minutes and does not require hospitalization, and you can return home after a half hour break. ③Sperm collection: On the day of egg collection by the woman, the husband needs to collect sperm from the hospital. The sperm is obtained through the masturbation (also called masturbation) method and the collected semen is processed for preferential selection. ④Egg in vitro fertilization: After the sperm-egg collection will be sent to the embryo culture room where the laboratory technicians will fertilize the eggs and sperm in a certain ratio in vitro. ⑤Culture and embryo transfer: The sperm and eggs are combined to form fertilized eggs and continue to be cultured in the laboratory for 3-5 days. 2-3 well-developed embryos are selected by the laboratory technician and sent back to the uterine cavity through a flexible thin tube for further growth and development. In order to facilitate the implantation of the embryos in the endometrium, some medications are also used to support the luteal function of the ovaries. After 14 days, the pregnancy can be confirmed by checking the blood and urine levels of human chorionic gonadotropin, and after another 14 days, an ultrasound can be performed to observe the fetal sac and the primordial fetal heartbeat. The subsequent pregnancy process is the same as a natural pregnancy. Who is not a good candidate for IVF? IVF is not suitable for those who are suffering from acute infectious diseases of the reproductive or urinary system or sexually transmitted diseases, or who have bad habits such as alcoholism or drug addiction; those who are exposed to teratogenic rays, poisons or drugs and are in the period of action; those whose uterus does not have the function of pregnancy or who have serious physical diseases that cannot bear pregnancy. The “quality” of IVF has become a major concern as the number of IVF births has increased. A large number of domestic and foreign literature reports suggest that the incidence of birth defects in IVF is about 1% to 3%, which is close to the incidence of birth defects in natural pregnancies (2% to 3%), and that there are no significant differences in intelligence and intellectual development between babies with natural pregnancies. Meanwhile, the world’s first IVF baby, Louise Brown, gave birth to a son in December 2006 through a natural pregnancy, which is the first proof that the offspring born from IVF technology are no different from those from natural pregnancies and can reproduce normally. However, there are still limitations and risks associated with IVF technology: ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome caused by ovulation promotion; higher costs compared to other methods of pregnancy assistance; pregnancy success rates of only 30% to 50%, and sometimes success is not achieved after a single cycle of treatment, and multiple cycles of treatment may be required to achieve a pregnancy. Some women undergoing IVF treatment are highly stressed, because the IVF treatment process is complex and repeated tests and treatments may cause emotional changes at any time, and excessive emotional excitement, excessive physical fatigue, and stress of excessive financial burden at any stage of the treatment process can lead to IVF failure. Therefore, couples undergoing IVF treatment should make adequate psychological preparation, adjust their mindset, and actively cooperate with the doctors to have a healthy baby as soon as possible!