 
|
||||||
              
|
  Infertility Treatment Glossary Assisted reproductive technologies: Term that covers several high-tech treatments to mix sperm and egg, including the most common, in vitro fertilization. Others are gamete intrafallopian transfer and zygote intrafallopian transfer, also known as GIFT and ZIFT. Embryo: The term given the early life stage of the first eight weeks following fertilization, after which the developing child is considered a fetus. Fertilization: Penetration of the woman's egg by a sperm cell. It is the first interaction that can lead to a child, though pregnancy does not necessarily result. Fertility drug: Any of a number of medications designed to increase a couple's chances of pregnancy, primarily by improving a woman's ability to ovulate. Women usually begin with pills and proceed, if unsuccessful, to more expensive needle injections. None of the drugs guarantees pregnancy. Follicle: A small sac in the ovary that contains an egg, which is released for possible fertilization during a woman's monthly ovulation. Infertility: A failure to conceive during a year of unprotected intercourse. For couples who are older or have had problems with their reproductive organs, doctors sometimes consider them infertile after six months. Intrauterine insemination: The most common type of artificial insemination, in which a doctor places a man's sperm into the uterine cavity. In vitro fertilization: The most common type of assisted reproductive technology, in which eggs are removed from the ovary, fertilized in a laboratory and transferred days later into the uterine cavity.
|
|||||
