IVF and ICSI

In vitro fertilisation means that your hormone stimulation is increased so that several mature eggs (oocytes) are developed at a time. Prior to the treatment you will receive instructions as to how you can yourself inject the medicine under the skin of the abdomen. We will teach you to make these injections yourself. You will find more information on administration of medication by using our links.

The development of the follicles is followed by means of ultrasound scanning through the vagina. When the follicles are mature, the oocytes are sucked out of the ovaries with a thin needle inserted through the vagina at the same time as the scanning is being performed. The recovery of the oocytes may be a little bit uncomfortable, but it is not painful. We give you a local anaesthetic and some intravenous analgesic medicine during the intervention. The oocyte recovery lasts about 10 minutes, depending on the number of follicles.

The oocytes are placed in an incubator where they are fertilised and cultured for 2-3 days. Where an intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is to be made, one sperm cell is gently injected into each oocyte.

Two or three days after fertilisation, one or two of the embryos (fertilised eggs) are transferred to the uterus. The embryos are sucked into a thin tube that is inserted into the uterus through the cervix. This is not painful at all.

After this you must use hormone suppositories for a fortnight to support the uterine mucosa and prevent premature menstruation.

Quite a few women supplement this treatment with acupuncture. At the Danish Fertility Clinic we collaborate with the Chinese doctor and acupuncture practitioner Qunhui Mao, who also has a clinic in Frederiksberg.

After a fortnight a blood test will be made to establish whether you are pregnant. If you are pregnant, we will give you an appointment for a pregnancy scan about three weeks later. The chance of a positive pregnancy test is 25 – 50% when one or two good embryos have been transferred to the uterus, depending on the age of the woman. If there are more good embryos than can be inserted into the uterus, the remaining embryos may be frozen for later transfer (see the section about treatment using frozen embryos). For further information on IVF and ICSI, have a look at our IVF Treatment guide.

If you want more information about insemination with your partners semen or donorinsemination, click here. According to the National Board of Health sperm donation must continue to be anonymous.