Embryo transfer

The embryo culture stage can last between two and five days. This enables us to observe the embryo development in order to select the ones with the highest quality. Nature will reject the weaker ones. In general, during a longer culture period, there are fewer viable embryos but they are of much better quality than the embryos achieved during a short culture period.

The implantation rate, meaning the percentage of embryos that take hold in the uterus, is generally between 40 and 50%. In order to avoid multiple pregnancies we often propose transferring only one embryo and freezing the rest. The embryos are placed in the uterus through a quick and painless procedure.

Embryo cryopreservation

Any remaining viable embryos are cryopreserved. That is to say, they are frozen to allow for future transfers if pregnancy does not occur after the first transfer and the procedure needs to be repeated or to give the couple the option of having another child at a later date without having to undergo the entire IVF process from the beginning. The pregnancy rate obtained after cryopreservation is 40%.

Having viable embryos does not necessarily mean that a pregnancy will develop. Unfortunately, the implantation rate in human beings is not so high and not all transfers develop into a pregnancy. In most cases it is not possible to know why embryo transfers have not succeeded, because in a natural pregnancy the number of embryos that do not implant is very high. Currently this is the basis of many scientific studies.

Our goal is not to obtain multiple pregnancies but rather to obtain the highest success rate per cycle. Nevertheless, since the embryo does not always implant, in many cases we transfer two or three embryos. Transferring more embryos is not entirely beneficial as there is a risk of multiple pregnancy.

Pregnancy

Once gestation has been attained, the pregnancy will develop normally without requiring special controls, except for the usual attention that is paid to highly desired pregnancies. Please note that the possibility of miscarriage, malformations, etc. is the same as for naturally-achieved pregnancies.

If the treatment ends and pregnancy has not been achieved, the Reproduction Committee, represented by the team in charge of the particular case, will re-evaluate the situation in order to advise the patients on the subsequent steps to be taken. For this purpose, we conduct a personal interview with the couple.

The above information may be modified due to the constantly evolving legal and medical changes that occur in Reproductive Medicine and due to the specific characteristics of each case. At Instituto Bernabeu, all our doctors, biologists, nurses, laboratory and administration staff do their best to help each couple achieve our common goal: the birth of a healthy child.

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