Looking for a pregnancy and not getting it can be a difficult time in the life of a couple (or a single person).
The advantage of today is that if there are difficulties in conceiving, there are many assisted reproductive techniques with a very high degree of success.
The reality is that we have the feeling that every day it is more common: we know cases around us, there are many more twins than before (the result of artificial inseminations and fertilizations vitro), and people often talk about their fertility treatments in a (a bit) more open way.
But… although it may seem like it, fertility aid techniques are nothing new. First in animals and later in humans, since ancient times it was tried, with the difficulties of each era, to help overcome obstacles between couples when conceiving.
History of assisted reproduction
A well-known and documented case of Artificial Insemination, a prelude to a civil war, took place already at the time of the Catholic Monarchs.
A Jewish doctor introduced the semen of King Henry IV of Castile, called "The Impotent" into the body of his wife, Queen Joan of Portugal, through a gold cannula.
The queen finally had a daughter, Princess Juana, but doubts about the technique were revealed, since the monarch had no more offspring with another wife or lovers.
Evil tongues said that she was not the daughter of the king, but of one of his trusted men: Beltrán de la Cueva, which caused the young woman to receive the nickname "la Beltraneja."
In addition, due to that fact, she was not recognized as her father's heir by half the population.
First cases of fertilization vitro
The first fertilization vitro world was in 1977, but although there was fertilization and implantation, the embryo did not survive and after a few weeks it was lost.
The first child born by fertilization vitro It was a year later, in 1978, in England, it was a girl, Louise Brown.
In Spain, the first case was in 1984 in private healthcare, and in 1985 in public healthcare.
It was not until July 1987 that the first case of birth occurred after embryo freezing and thawing and, a year later, in 1988, the first successes of oocyte donation. In 2007, the first positive case was achieved in Spain after oocyte vitrification.
What is assisted reproduction for?
Today, assisted reproductive techniques allow many couples to overcome physical and physiological obstacles throughout the world, both male and female.
Assisted reproduction for problems in men
Assisted reproduction helps men who have problems with the quality and quantity of sperm, retrograde ejaculation or erection problems, among others.
Assisted reproduction for problems in women
In the case of women, the different assisted reproductive techniques can help in ovulation disorders, problems with the patency of the fallopian tubes, cases of endometriosis or vaginismus.
Assisted reproduction for problems in men and women
In addition, the different types of assisted reproduction allow solving problems that can occur in both men and women: immunological or hereditary problems.
What are the technical differences between Artificial Insemination and IVF?
Both techniques are used to increase the chances of pregnancy for women.
And, although there are nuances and variants, these two techniques continue to be the two main tools within fertility or assisted reproduction programs.
But let's see the differences between the two techniques.
Place of fertilization
The main difference between artificial insemination and fertilization vitro is place where fertilization occurs it is yes, that is, the place where the union between the woman's ovum and the man's sperm occurs.
In the case of artificial insemination (INS), this process occurs within the woman. On the one hand, the path that sperm must take to reach the ovum is artificially shortened and, on the other, the optimal moment for this encounter to take place within the woman is monitored.
In the case of fertilization vitro (IVF), the meeting between the ovum and the sperm occurs outside the woman's body, in a test tube. The process is more controlled. As soon as fertilization has taken place, the fertilized egg or eggs are introduced into the woman's body for implantation to take place.
Degree of interventionism
The process of artificial insemination is less directed and somewhat more natural (although hormonal processes are involved) and that of fertilization vitro it is more controlled.
Egg donation and spermodonation options
Fertilization vitroFor its part, it offers more fertility support options in the sense that both the egg and the sperm could be from a donor, if necessary.
In artificial insemination, only the sperm could be from a donor. The woman must have a good basic ovarian reserve.
Women's ovarian stimulation
On the other hand, although in both processes a hormonal stimulation is caused in the woman, in Artificial Insemination this stimulation is very slight.
Nowadays, it would not make sense to stimulate the woman too much and that she could become pregnant naturally from a multiple pregnancy, with the risks that it entails.
In fertilization vitroInstead, the stimulation is stronger voluntarily. The objective is for the woman to generate more eggs than normal, so that these can be extracted, fertilized in the laboratory and the desired embryos can be transferred to the woman. The rest of the fertilized embryos can be frozen for future occasions.
There is also the possibility of performing what is known as Mini IVF: a fertilization vitro with less hormonal load, less stimulation and fewer final follicles available to fertilize.
Necessary surgical intervention
In the case of fertilization vitro A small surgical intervention is necessary in the woman when it comes to extracting her own oocytes, while in artificial insemination this step does not exist.
Extra alternatives IVF
Finally, IVF also allows two modalities that help to save some particular circumstances.
With regard to fertilization, the ovum and sperm can be placed close to each other in the same test tube so that it is expected that they will naturally meet each other. This technique has its defenders and its detractors.
On the one hand, it is believed that in this way the best sperm is the one that manages to arrive. On the other hand, there is a greater risk that fertilization may not be carried out.
The other, opposite technique, forces fertilization by puncturing the membrane of the ovum and thus introducing the sperm directly. This technique, known as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is not always necessary, but there are couples for whom this technique allows them to finally achieve pregnancy.
Final treatment price
Finally, another important difference is the price of the treatment. Being more complex and controlled, fertilization vitro worth more money than artificial insemination.
We have seen that there are numerous differences between fertilization vitro and artificial insemination, although both are aimed at achieving pregnancy in cases in which the positive is not achieved naturally.
In the next post I will tell you who each technique is aimed at and how to choose it according to the situation, as well as the success rates.
It may interest you:
- Natural therapies in assisted reproduction processes
- How to choose the best assisted reproduction clinic
Related products:
