In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is an assisted reproductive technology (ART), originally introduced by Patrick Steptow and Robert Edwards in the 1970s for treatment of female infertility caused by obstruction of the fallopian tubes.
This major breakthrough in embryology, obstetrics and gynecology for nearly 50 years has given many women the opportunity to become pregnant, while advances in the field have dramatically increased their chances. IVF is a laboratory procedure where semen and oocytes are fertilized outside the body — the term «in vitro» in Latin means «in glass».
THE FIRST «TEST TUBE BABY»
The idea of fertilization outside the female body has been of interest to scientists since the 19th century. The first attempts at in vitro fertilization were performed on animals, and later on humans, but ended with an early miscarriage, also known as chemical pregnancy.
The first IVF successful IVF pregnancy was in 1978, when the little girl Louise Brown was born in a hospital near Manchester, United Kingdom. In 1979. and the first boy is born.
To his great success, Robert Edwards received the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine.
In 2006. Louise became pregnant naturally and gave birth to a healthy child, refuting some assumptions that in babies born through IVF have fertility problems.
The next stage in in vitro fertilization was makred by the ICSI method — the intracytoplasmic injection of sperm into the egg. It is used when sperm are unable to fertilize the egg by themselves. Under a strong microscope, a well-developed sperm cell is selected, grasped with the help of special microscopic instruments and intjected directly into the egg.
IN VITRO FERTILIZATION IN BULGARIA
The method was introduced in Bulgaria in 1987 and the first children conceived through IVF were born in early 1988. By 2010, dozens of clinics across the country offered in vitro procedures. With a decision of the Council of Ministers in 2009, the Center for Assisted Reproduction (CAR) was established with the aim to financially support treatment of childless couples in Bulgaria.
New Life Medical Center for Reproductive Health has a contract with the Center for Assisted Reproduction. You are always welcome to contact us about financing your in vitro procedure.