In-vitro Fertilisation (IVF)

What is IVF?

IVF is a type of assisted reproductive technology where mature eggs are retrieved from the ovaries. To retrieve mature eggs, women have to undergo egg retrieval surgery which is a minimally invasive surgical procedure.

These eggs are combined with sperm in a laboratory setting to fertilise. The resulting embryo is then transferred back into the mother’s uterus to establish pregnancy.

Why do you need IVF?

Your doctor may recommend IVF:

  • If other assisted reproductive techniques are unsuccessful. Examples of other assisted reproductive techniques include ovulation induction or intrauterine insemination.
  • To preserve fertility (e.g. Women diagnosed with cancer may freeze their eggs before starting on cancer treatment).
  • To treat infertility due to:
    • Blocked, damaged, missing or removed fallopian tubes.
    • Decreased sperm count or low sperm motility (the ability of sperm to swim).
    • Ovulation disorders, premature ovarian failure, endometriosis.
    • Idiopathic infertility (unexplained reasons).
    • Genetic disorders.

What are the risks and complications of IVF?

As a woman undergoing IVF, you may encounter the following risks or complications:

  • Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. Fertility drugs such as human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) can cause your ovaries to swell and hurt. You may also experience abdominal bloatedness and fluid retention; in severe cases, hospitalisation may be required. These symptoms generally last for a week but may last for several weeks if you become pregnant.
  • Complications related to egg retrieval. When collecting your eggs with a needle, there is a risk of bleeding, infection or damage to your bowel, bladder or blood vessel.
  • Ectopic pregnancy. Less than 5% of women who undergo IVF may experience an ectopic pregnancy, where the fertilised egg implants outside the uterus. As the fertilised egg can't survive outside the uterus, the pregnancy cannot proceed and can be dangerous for the woman.
  • Miscarriage. If you conceive through IVF with fresh embryos, the rate of miscarriage is similar to natural conception — about 15% to 25%.
  • Multiple births. When more than one embryo is transferred to your uterus, there is an increased risk of multiple births. Multiple births are associated with a higher risk of premature delivery and low birth weight.
  • Premature delivery and low birth weight. If you conceive through IVF, you may deliver early and your baby may have a low birth weight.

Why choose Mount Elizabeth Fertility Centre?

Mount Elizabeth Fertility Centre (MEFC) is an established fertility treatment facility in Singapore and the region. It has been offering fertility services since 1988. At MEFC, we provide clear and realistic information about individual chances of fertility success and deploy modern, safe and efficient assisted reproductive technologies.

As part of our advanced fertility services, we adopt effective, evidence-based IVF techniques that improve the number of live births in each stimulated IVF cycle. These include:

Double stimulation to overcome poor ovarian response. This means going through 2 rounds of ovarian stimulation and egg (oocyte) retrieval within the same menstrual cycle.

Blastocyst culture, which allows embryos to undergo an extended culture period of 5 - 6 days to reach the blastocyst stage. This helps us to select the highest quality embryos with more potential for implantation, thus improving pregnancy rates.

Cryotec or cyrotop vitrification, a technique that allows safer and more efficient vitrification (freezing) of eggs and embryos with near 100% survival rate.

A freeze-all blastocysts strategy, which safely freezes (vitrifies) blastocysts. This allows quality blastocysts to be saved for future use. The method of vitrification also leads to better survival rates of thawed embryos and improves pregnancy rates after frozen transfer procedures

Success rates

Our comprehensive expertise in modern technologies and protocols have helped us to achieve high IVF success rates.

We are committed to partnering with you in achieving parenthood, regardless of your age or level of response to fertility medications.

Our obstetricians and gynaecologists

Our dedicated team of skilled fertility specialists, embryologists, medical technologists, nurses and counsellors are deeply committed to partnering with you to optimise your reproductive health and chance of achieving parenthood.

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^Specialists may qualify to be on the Extended Panel (EP). You may enjoy selected panel benefits depending on your policy and riders.
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