Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) helps couples who find it hard to conceive. There are many causes of infertility, for example a woman not releasing eggs. Hormones are used in two main treatments.
Clomifene therapy is for women who do not ovulate regularly. Clomifene is taken as tablets and it makes the pituitary gland release more FSH and LH. FSH makes eggs mature in the ovary and LH triggers ovulation, so an egg is released and can be fertilised naturally. A risk is that several eggs may be released, which can lead to multiple births such as twins or triplets.
IVF stands for in vitro fertilisation. The woman is injected with FSH and LH so that several eggs mature at once. The eggs are collected from her ovaries and mixed with sperm in a laboratory dish, where they are fertilised outside the body. The fertilised eggs develop into tiny embryos, and one or two embryos are placed in the uterus. The hormone progesterone may be given to help maintain the lining of the uterus.
ART gives hope to couples, but the success rate is low, treatment is expensive, and it can be stressful. Using hormones can have side effects, and putting back more than one embryo increases the chance of multiple births.