IVF has become a popular last resort when it comes to helping couples have children, as there is plenty of information on IVF. The key is sorting through it all so you can make an informed decision.

To determine what IVF treatment is, understand the process of what happens during treatment. The first day of your treatment occurs on the first day of your menstrual cycle and you begin by doing a number of tests, including baseline blood work and ultrasound, before starting fertility medication, which will be given one to four times a day. For a week to ten days.

You will be monitored frequently while taking fertility drugs and when the follicles are large enough, 16-18 mm, you will see every day and you will be given human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), a hormone that is released during pregnancy.

Two days after the HCG shot is given you will go to the hospital and the egg will be recovered. Everything provided is done right at this stage in your IVF treatment, there will be numerous viable eggs, which will fertilize on the same day. To accomplish this, each egg is placed in a culture dish with about 10,000 sperm from your partner and fertilized.

Three to five days after retrieval, two to five healthy fetuses are transferred to your uterus through a catheter. After this, you take progesterone supplements and wait two weeks to see if you will get pregnant. When it comes to the big question of what is IVF treatment, that's it.

If you are pregnant you will continue, probably with continued progesterone supplementation as well as being monitored by your doctor. If the procedure does not result in pregnancy, then you can resume on your next cycle and you will succeed after that.

If you have ever wondered what IVF treatment is you now know that it is a long and involved process and you need to think carefully before committing. Of course, the desire to have a baby is reason enough for most people, but it is important to get information about IVF and discuss the procedure with your doctor before committing.