Modern science has not yet reached the heights that science fiction writers talked about 100 years ago. But scientists managed to make many amazing discoveries, which in the past they could not even dream of. Among them - artificial insemination of women who are not able to conceive a child in the traditional way. Let's learn about this process, its features and significance for humanity.
What is artificial insemination
This is the name given to the procedure of fertilization of a female egg by a male spermatozoon, which is carried out outside the body - in a laboratory test tube. After their fusion, the formed embryo is placed in the uterine cavity of the expectant mother, where it grows and develops for the next 9 months in the same way as if it had been traditionally conceived.
In scientific circles, this process is called in vitro fertilization - IVF for short.
Artificial insemination was first performedin the UK in 1978. This technology was developed by Cambridge researchers Robert D. Edwards and Patrick Steptoe. It was they who were the first to put this procedure into practice, as a result of which the first "test-tube baby" was born - Louise Brown.
Why is it used
Artificial insemination makes it possible for those women who, for various reasons, are not able to conceive a child naturally, but at the same time are able to endure and give birth to it.
IVF becomes the very lifesaver not only for infertility, but also in cases where the mother for some reason (various diseases, age, career, etc.) is not able to give birth to a baby herself or wants to resort to the services surrogate mother.
IVI means quite a lot to single women. In the past, having decided to have a child and raise it on their own, they had to go through a humiliating search for a candidate for the role of father. And then convince him or seduce him in order to achieve the desired pregnancy. Not to mention the legal aspect. However, the emergence of IVF largely solved this problem. And now, realizing that she is ready to become a mother, a woman can go to a specialized clinic. And if the tests show that her body can handle pregnancy and childbirth, this procedure will be carried out.
Difference from insemination
There are cases when artificial insemination of women is identified with insemination. However, these are two different procedures. And though they have a goalone is to overcome infertility, the technique to achieve it is different.
To better understand the difference, it is worth knowing what intrauterine insemination is. The essence of this reproductive technology is that for the onset of pregnancy, male sperm is introduced into the uterus or cervical canal of the expectant mother.
Thus, the very process of conception takes place, as in the usual case, inside the female body. Moreover, for the body, this procedure is almost identical to the traditional method. While in artificial insemination (IVF), the fusion of the sperm and the egg takes place outside the body - in vitro (in vitro). The result is tested for genetic diseases, etc. If it turns out that it is viable, this embryo from artificial insemination is transplanted into the uterus.
There are several types of insemination.
- ISM - intrauterine insemination with the sperm of the patient's husband.
- ISD - a similar procedure, but using donor material. It is resorted to in cases where a woman either does not have a husband at all, or his sperm is unsuitable for fertilization.
- GIFT - both the egg (taken from her earlier) and the seminal fluid are introduced into the fallopian tube of the expectant mother at the same time. There they mix, and with a favorable outcome, pregnancy occurs.
It is worth noting that insemination is a simpler, more affordable and cheaper procedure. It can be performed even at the patient's home, of course, under the supervision of a specialist. While a completeartificial insemination at home is not possible.
How IVF works
Unlike insemination, in vitro fertilization is a more complex process. Usually they resort to it only if all others (including artificial insemination) are useless.
IVF is carried out in four stages.
- Egg retrieval. To implement it, doctors study the patient's menstrual cycle and prescribe her a course of hormonal drugs that stimulate the ovaries. Usually injections of drugs are carried out for 7-20 days. After the formation of the egg, the woman takes follicular fluid under local anesthesia. The best specimens of cells are isolated from it, and, after cleaning them, they are prepared for the procedure. If the mother herself does not form full-fledged eggs, donor ones from one of the relatives, acquaintances or strangers are used.
- Sperm preparation. Such cells can be obtained both by masturbation in a special container, and surgically from the testicles. Ideally, the spermatozoa should be retrieved on the same day as the egg. If this is not possible, the sperm is frozen using a special technique. As with insemination, it is possible to use "foreign" material during artificial insemination. Almost any he althy man can become a donor. For many years, specialized sperm banks have existed all over the world, where frozen sperm is stored. His services are resorted to for carrying out as a procedureinsemination and IVF.
- In vitro conception. This stage of artificial insemination is carried out in the clinic by embryologists. After the sperm enters the egg, it is considered an embryo. It is kept under artificial conditions for another 2-6 days in specialized incubators. At this time, the number of its cells multiplies. Depending on the duration, keeping out of the body without freezing can reach two hundred pieces.
- Transfer to the uterus. After the "quarantine" period, the unborn baby is placed in the uterine cavity. This is done in a conventional gynecological chair using an elastic catheter and resembles the process of insemination. With a favorable outcome, the embryo takes root and begins to grow, as with natural conception. It is worth noting that during the artificial insemination procedure, as a rule, two to four embryos are transferred into the uterus in order to increase the chances of success. If all take root, at the request of the patient, the "extra" can be removed surgically. In the future, the process of pregnancy and childbirth itself is no different from that which occurs in women who have conceived naturally.
What are the methods of artificial insemination
Directly, the process of connecting the egg and sperm during IVF can be carried out in two ways.
- Traditional in vitro fertilization.
- ICSI. This is the name of a complex procedure in which the most promising is isolated from the seminal fluid.sperm and implant it directly into the egg itself by injection through a microscopic needle. In the future, everything happens, as in classical IVF. Artificial insemination ICSI is used in cases where there are too few suitable spermatozoa in the seminal fluid of the future dad. With its use, every third procedure leads to pregnancy.
Contraindications for IVF
Despite the fact that this method has already helped to bring into the world more than four million children (many of whom are already parents for a long time), it is not always effective and not shown to everyone.
In this regard, there are a number of contraindications. In most cases, they are associated with a risk to the he alth of the mother and potential child.
- Ovarian tumors of various kinds.
- Acute inflammatory diseases, regardless of their location.
- Malignant neoplasms, no matter which organ they affect.
- Benign uterine tumors requiring surgery to treat.
- Various uterine deformities that may prevent implantation of the embryo at the initial stage or will negatively affect its development in the future.
- Mental or somatic illness of a potential mother.
As for future dads, there are no contraindications for them.
In order to find out if there are obstacles to the IVF procedure, you should contact any centerartificial insemination. Its specialists will conduct a series of tests and analyzes and will be able to say for sure whether it is possible to implement the desired. Also, with such an examination, it will be possible to find out whether IVF is necessary or whether simpler and cheaper insemination can be dispensed with.
What are the disadvantages of IVF
Despite the fact that the importance of in vitro fertilization for many childless couples is very large, the process itself has a number of significant drawbacks.
First of all, this is its cost. It's no secret that medicine in the modern world has long turned into a business, and one of the most successful. That is why those who want to resort to IVF will have to fork out. Fortunately, in different countries, its cost varies, and not particularly affecting the quality. On average, this is from 2 to 15 thousand dollars (from 125 to 950 thousand rubles).
The cheapest countries where this procedure can be done are India, the Russian Federation, Slovenia and Ukraine. And most of all you will have to pay for the opportunity to become a mother in the USA and Great Britain.
Besides, even if you find the right amount for IVF, it is not a fact that it will be successful. After all, not all embryos take root. According to statistics, only every third woman becomes pregnant. While the number of such procedures is usually limited to four, due to medical reasons.
Among other disadvantages is a high probability of multiple pregnancy. You can remember the case of their television series"Friends", when one of the heroines gave birth to three babies after the procedure. Such a phenomenon is very common. But, having decided to give birth to a child, parents may not always be financially and morally prepared for the appearance of several heirs at once. Even worse if the procedure was performed on a single mother.
To avoid the appearance of unwanted children, one has to undergo an operation to eliminate "extra" fetuses - that is, in fact, an abortion. And under normal conditions, it does not always pass without consequences, and for the body of a pregnant woman this is a significant stress. Not to mention the moral aspect, because the expectant mother has to choose which of her children to live and who not. And even if at the time of making a decision, these are just tiny sets of cells. But they already mean a lot to their parents.
Another disadvantage of IVF is turning it into a soulless business. It's about surrogate motherhood. The very idea is very noble - to endure and give birth to someone else's child in order to help his parents, who for some reason are not able to do it on their own.
But today this procedure is increasingly resorted to by women who can give birth themselves, but do not want to spoil their figure or risk their careers. And there are more and more such cases.
The advantages of this method
Let's move on to the positive. Judging by the many positive reviews of artificial insemination, as well as the queues of applicants, this is not such a bad thing.
The main and main advantage of IVF is that it allows patients with such conditions to overcome infertility and become mothers.diseases that previously put an end to such aspirations.
In fact, for the success of the procedure, a woman needs only two things: a he althy uterus that can carry a pregnancy, and an embryo. Moreover, the latter can be created on the basis of both own genetic materials and donor ones.
In addition, the evolution of this method today has reached such a level that doctors can already determine not only the sex of the embryo, but also the presence of Down syndrome even before it is implanted into the uterine cavity. Thus, future parents actually already have the opportunity to choose the sex of the child.
IVF method today also provides an opportunity to "postpone pregnancy". That is, if a woman at the moment does not want or cannot become a mother, but plans to do so in the future, she can deposit her genetic material. And in a few years, when she is ready, to become pregnant through artificial insemination.
Modern cryofreezing technology allows you to save for many years not only sperm and eggs, but also fertilized embryos. And after defrosting, they take root no worse than freshly picked ones. And children born after such procedures are absolutely normal and he althy.
Importance of IVF for science
Having considered all the advantages and disadvantages of this phenomenon, it is worth dwelling in more detail on the significance of artificial insemination for the progress of mankind. In addition to a grand breakthrough in the field of reproductive technologies, the advent of IVF gave scientists a chance to learn how to prevent manydiseases in future children, diagnosing them when babies are a few cells in size.
In addition, the discovery that a human embryo can exist outside the mother's womb has led to the development of a technique for nursing premature babies who were doomed 50 years ago.
In addition, the fact that a child of a few cells in size can endure years of cryogenic freezing without harm to itself gives hope that in the future a technology will be developed to "preserve" the human body for many years of travel in space.
Importance of IVF in terms of morality
Having listed the main advantages and disadvantages of IVF, it is worth considering its moral aspect.
As for the attitude of various religions to the procedure, most of them welcome the new opportunities to become parents that such fertilization gives. At the same time, they criticize its individual nuances.
In particular, almost all religions believe that the use of donor sperm or eggs negatively affects the institution of the family, morally corrupting it. Indeed, in this case, one of the parents is actually raising someone else's child. In addition, the possibility of getting pregnant through IVF contributes to the fact that many women do not get married, but prefer to raise their children alone.
To be fair, these claims are clearly far-fetched. After all, many parents raise other people's children and are happy. And it's not only the kids, "inherited byinheritance" from previous marriages of the second halves, but also adopted children. And just like situations, all moralizers are not just good, but even often set as an example.
As for single mothers, for some reason, widows who gave their lives to raise a child have been an example and respected in all ages. But, in fact, they are not very different from women who decide not to marry (or do not have such an opportunity), but who gave birth to a child "for themselves".
There is one more point for which almost all modern religions criticize artificial insemination. This is related to embryos. When carrying out procedures, scientists and physicians perceive them as raw materials on which experiments can be carried out and thrown away. At the same time, most moralists believe that each of the embryos is already a person with a soul. So, the attitude towards him should be appropriate.
But at the moment there is no evidence that a set of cells 2-4 days old really has a soul and other personality attributes. On the other hand, the opposite has not been proven either. After all, the mystery of the emergence of consciousness still remains a mystery for humanity. Therefore, some shout with foam at the mouth that a child becomes a person only after birth, while others no less violently prove that from the moment of conception. And, according to the latter, the choice of one of several embryos and the destruction of lesser quality ones is tantamount to killing children. Which of them is right - time will tell.
