Vitro\' Fertilization Is One of the Applications

Vitro' fertilization is one of the applications of advanced technology that provides a solution to infertility among couples. The practice has long been in existence, and many referred to offspring of couples who have undergone this process, 'test tube babies.' In vitro ('in glass') fertilization is only one of the many treatments for infertility. The general term by which in vitro can be identified is through artificial insemination, wherein semen taken from the woman's partner or male donor is "injected" into a woman's uterus. In the technique of in vitro fertilization, however, "eggs are removed from a woman's ovaries and fertilized in a laboratory dish with her partner's sperm" (Dmowski 1991 265).

There are several reasons why infertility happens, and indications that show that a couple needs to undergo an in vitro treatment. Infertility may be due to either the man or the woman's infertility. A man becomes infertile when laboratory analysis of the man's semen shows that there is an absence of sperm, a low sperm count, or a high percentage of sperm that do not function normally." In fact, it was said that "two fifths of all cases of infertility... predominant cause is some disorder in the man." In women, a common ailment involves the blockage of the fallopian tube, which is essential in fertilization since the fallopian tube is the 'pathway' by which the sperm and the egg meets. Blockage of the fallopian tube also hinders the fertilization process because the transmission of the eggs from the ovaries to the uterus does not happen due to tube blockage (Dmowski 1991 264).

A couple may subsist to in vitro fertilization as treatment due to several reasons. In the IVF Program of the South Jersey Fertility Center (2000), several "indications" were provided to help couples determine the best way to cure their problem of infertility. Some of the "indicators" given were "blockage of the fallopian tubes, functionally damaged tubes, insufficient sperm, long standing infertility despite conventional therapy, and unexplained infertility." These indicators will help a couple decide if in vitro treatment is suitable for them. In vitro is apparently the 'last resort' of many couples when all types of 'conventional treatments' for their infertility were already used, and the couple continually fails in each treatment. In vitro fertilization consists of several steps: the first step involves the ovarian stimulation, wherein women will be drugged with a hormone-enhancing substance so that egg production will increase, which in turn, also increases the woman's chances to have 'healthy' and 'functional' eggs. Second, the eggs, when ripe, will then be collected for the third step, which is the fertilization of the eggs with the sperm in an artificial environment. Lastly, a "select embryo" will then be implanted in a woman's uterus, from which the process of natural conception and pregnancy (if the treatment is successful) takes place (IVF Program 2000).

In vitro treatment is often used as an infertility treatment because "IVF offers couples who cannot have children naturally... A chance of having a baby" and even though fertilization takes place outside the woman's body, the couple will still experience the process of natural pregnancy and conception, as well as the opportunity to conceive their own child. In vitro fertilization also prevents the problem of custody over a child that usually happens when couples adopt or subsist to surrogacy, wherein the child was conceived in another woman's womb (fertility Confidential 2001). These problems are not only legally demanding, but also emotionally straining to couples that have used these measures to have their own child.

In vitro may have contributed happiness and satisfaction to a couple by helping them able to conceive a child, given that the treatment was successful. However, there have been issues regarding some negative effects of this kind of treatment not only to the woman who bore a child through in vitro fertilization, but also to the child borne out of it (IVF). In an article by Miryam Williamson entitled, "Waiting Longer to Get Pregnant: The Advantages and Disadvantages for Women," the author discusses the accompanying and after-effects of IVF to woman and her child. While there are good reasons for couples to subsist to IVF treatment, the number of its disadvantages outnumbers its beneficiary effects. Williamson enumerated many disadvantages of the said treatment, and this includes the harmful effects IVF can do to the child, because according to the author, IVF results to "the potential for giving birth to a baby with a chromosome problem, such as Down syndrome," and in the past years the number of cases for such problems are increasing. Further, IVF treatment also results to "increased risks associated with pregnancy," and these complications are the common occurrence of ailments such as "high blood pressure, low birth weight (of the child), diabetes, premature labor, and pre-eclampsia" (Williamson 2000). It is evident that although the couple was able to naturally have their own child, the process of pregnancy is often accompanied with numerous ailments and unhealthy disposition of the woman, which can be physically straining, and the problem of the possibility of having a child with Down syndrome, which is again an emotional strain for the couple. Another disadvantage of IVF is that its success cannot be assured even at the course of a woman's pregnancy. A woman may lose her child while undergoing amniocentesis, a procedure that examines any genetic problem in the child, so that the possibility of the child having a Down syndrome will be prevented. However, this kind of examination, while aiming for a good cause of determining the over-all health of the baby, is, unfortunately, one main reason for the couple to lose their baby.