DON’T WORRY: YOU TOO CAN HAVE A BABY

   18 ways to make a baby

There is good news for childless couples. Recent advancements in Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) and IVF have considerably increased the chances for having a baby for any infertile couple. The article narrates how a highly dejected couple had treatment under Dr. Malpani and was finally blessed with kids despite many complications.

It was not a typical Dr. Malpani Complaint of childlessness as Mrs DF, a 35 year old woman turned up to take a second opinion in 1991. She had failed to conceive even after three years of marriage despite being normal.  The problem was with her husband in the form of azoospermia or zero sperms and he was not accepting that situation. So the desperate wife bore all taunts of ‘barrenness’  to protect her husband's prestige ego and suffered in silence .

Investigation

During Dr.Malpani Review, the couples were examined and the husband was asked to undergo a semen analysis from a trusted lab. A diagnosis of cryptozoopsermia (very few sperms ) was confirmed. It is caused usually by partial testicular failure. In 1991 it had no treatment and the only remedy for the couple was donor insemination. The IVF option could not work as it required at least 1,00,000 sperms. Refusing donor sperm option they went back disappointed.

ICSI Option

In 1994, the husband came back with the news of an innovation happening in Belgium where a technique is enabling fertilization of a single egg with a single sperm. 
This treatment intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was becoming popular and this couple also gave their nod for this treatment.But the hurdle surfaced, when the wife, who had turned 39 by then, showed she had a poor ovarian response in producing eggs. So, the couple agreed for a donor egg ICSI.  In that treatment process, the cycles of the donor and the wife were synchronized and ICSI performed by injecting a single sperm into each egg.  Of the 11 injected eggs, 10 fertilized and assisted hatching was conducted in 3 4-cell Grade A embryos, which then got transferred into the wife's uterine cavity. This happened in October 1995.

Bringing cheer to all, she conceived and had a healthy twin pregnancy. Following a caesarean section she became the mother of two healthy babies - one son and a daughter.

Take Home Lessons

From this case study, Dr. Malpani feedback is that key take away lessons have to be kept in mind by couples facing infertility issues.

·    Always use a reliable laboratory to perform a semen analysis to avoid confusing results.

·   The doctors must treat the infertile couple as a unit.

·   Knowledge of male infertility and interpreting a semen analysis report is a must.

The story is also about the dramatic advances in ART that is now helping many infertile couples to start a family. Now there are more than 18 ways to make a baby. The list will grow if options such as TESA and PESA are added. So, there is a solution for every infertile couple to have a baby. But they have to choose an option that works for them in consultation with an expert doctor.

Posted by Dr.Malpani

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