In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) is a fertility treatment where eggs are fertilised in a laboratory with sperm rather than in the body. IVF is one of the most common assisted reproduction treatments used today.
In a standard IVF cycle a woman takes a series of medication to stimulate her ovaries to produce a few eggs. The eggs are collected while she is asleep and then mixed with sperm and incubated. If fertilisation occurs the embryos are grown in culture for a further 5 days until they reach the blastocyst stage.
Once the embryos reach the blastocyst stage then one is usually replaced in the womb to hopefully implant and create a successful pregnancy. Additional good quality embryos may be frozen for future use.