What to expect during the IVF process
IVF is a complex process that requires coordinated lab work and procedures to achieve ideal results. We provide outpatient IVF services at Penn Medicine locations across southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. We also offer in-hospital IVF for people with complex medical conditions requiring specialized care.
The IVF process involves several steps and visits to our facility:
People who have IVF may choose to use their own eggs or donor eggs for the procedure. If you choose to use your eggs, we stimulate your ovaries with fertility medication that helps your body produce more eggs. Our providers use blood tests and transvaginal ultrasound to monitor your hormones and egg development.
When your eggs are ready, we collect them during an outpatient procedure called follicular aspiration. Our provider uses transvaginal ultrasound to guide a thin needle through your vagina and into your ovaries to retrieve your eggs. You may choose to freeze eggs for future implantation.
Your partner provides a sperm sample while we remove your eggs, or you may choose to use donor sperm. We wash the sperm to find the healthiest ones.
After retrieving your eggs, we take them to our lab to fertilize them immediately. We can also inject sperm directly into the eggs through a process called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).
We give you medication to prepare the lining of your uterus for your embryo(s). You may choose preimplantation genetic testing to check embryos for genetic or chromosomal disorders before we implant them.
Three to five days after fertilizing your eggs, we insert the embryos into your uterus using a long, thin tube (catheter). If you’ve chosen to freeze your embryos, we flash-freeze them in the lab and store them for your future use. We’ll test your blood a few weeks after the embryo transfer to determine if you’re pregnant.