"In a natural cycle there is only one egg that is typically released. In an IUI cycle, we program the protocol such that the lady produces 1 , 2 or maximum 3 follicles. One follicle contains one egg. An optimum IUI cycle is where anything between 1 to 3 eggs. In an IVF cycle however we do a procedure called controlled ovarian hyperstimulation where we want the lady to procedure around 10 to 15 follicles. The aim of producing 10 to 15 follicles is to get atleast 9 to 10 mature eggs. When we have 9 to 10 mature eggs, typically we have 6 to 7 embryos, to choose from so that we can select the best embryo to transfer from the embryo transfer procedure, all these numbers are so as to optimize the success rate in the cycle that we are undertaking"

"We have this opportunity to slow down her biological clock. This ideally should be done in her early 30’s or even late 20’s. The other factors that affect egg freezing are where the lady has not found a suitable partner"

"An IVF cycle typically consists of 4 phase. The first phase is where we are developing multiple eggs, that is the phase of egg development. This is usually treated on the 2nd and 3rd day of the lady’s menstrual cycle we give her hormone based injections with an aim of producing 10 to 12 follicles. Once these follicles which contain eggs have reached a nature size say about 17 to 18 mm, we start the next phase, that is a one day procedure that is a one stage procedure called as ovum pick up. This procedure is done under short general anesthesia. It is usually done on the 13th and the 14th day of the lady’s periods, where it is a very short surgical procedure where we retrieve the eggs, from the lady’s ovaries. So the second phase was ovum pickup. Once we have retrieved the eggs, the third phase is embryo development in the IVF lab. This is done by injecting the lady’s eggs with her husband’s sperm or simply keeping her eggs next to her husband’s sperms as in conventional IVF so as to develop or create her embryos in the IVF lab. These embryos are crated in an artificial condition simulating the human body in all respects. Once these embryos are developed. The next process is transferring the good embryos in the lady uterus by a procedure called as embryo transfer or ET. This embryo transfer can be done fresh in that particular cycle, or in certain cases, we advise frozen embryo transfer. If we feel that the ladies cannot receive the embryos due to some issue regarding her receptivity. We then freeze the embryos and delay the transfer to a remote cycle later"

"IVF stands for invitro fertilization. Invitro fertilization is the process where we fertilize the wive's eggs and the husband’s sperms outside the human body. The term “invitro” in Latin means in “glass”. Glass denotes test tube. So "test tube baby" denotes IVF or invitro fertilization. "Invitro fertilization" is the more scientific term whereas "test tube baby" is a more colloquial term. IVF is indicated in certain conditions where the couple may not be able to conceive without doing this. One of the indication is severely affected tubes. If there is a severe tubal factor, the chance of natural conception or IUI conception is almost impossible. Also if the male partner has a very low sperm count then an IVF or an advance over it , this ICSI might help. Also there are times when we need to resort to donor egg programs or gestational surrogacy, in which case IVF comes to the rescue"

"Infertility is the inability of the couple to conceive within 1 year of marriage. Depending upon the cause of infertility the treatment varies. Typically out of 100 cases of infertility, 30 would be due to female partner, 30 would be due to male partner, 30 could be a combination of male and female partner and 10% are the cases where we do not know the cause and it comes under the umbrella of unexplained infertility. In my cases we may just give few tablets to the wife so that she produce her eggs. When these eggs rupture, which is monitored by follicular scan or ultrasounds we tell the couple when to have intercourse depending on the time when the egg is released. This is called as ovulation induction with timed intercourse or planned relation. If few cycles of this do not work, then we go to the next level of treatment which is IUI or intrauterine insemination. In intrauterine insemination, we start treatment usually on the 2nd or 3rd day of lady’s periods, where we give her hormones in the form of tablets and sometimes injectables with an aim of producing a maximum of 2 or 3 follicles. When these follicles ruptures, it usually happens around 13th or 14th day of the periods we ask the husband to give us the sperm, we clean the sperm by a process of centrifugation where we remove the dead sperms, we remove the immotile sperms and we transfer the good motile concentrate into the uterus, using a painless technique called as IUI or intrauterine insemination. IUI has a success rate of 10 to 15% per cycles if multiple IUI cycles haven’t worked, say 6 IUI cycles, or depending upon the case we sometimes shorten the IUI trying tie to 3 to 4 cycles and if multiple IUI cycles don’t work, to the tune of 4 to 5 IUI cycles, depending upon the case, we may need to advise the next levels of fertility treatment, which is invitro fertilization or IVF"