In vitro fertilization (IVF) is an assisted reproductive technology (ART) where an egg and a sperm are fertilized outside a womans body in a laboratory. It is a process that is used to overcome infertility and support surrogacy. IVF was first successfully performed in 1978, when IVF gave birth to Louis Brown. Lesley Brown, his mother, had been facing infertility issues for nine years when she took help from Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards at Dr Kershaw’s Cottage Hospital in Royton, Oldham, England.

The five steps of in-vitro fertilization are as follows:

• Stimulation / Superovulation
• Retrieval of Egg and Sperm Preparation
• Egg Fertilisation
• Embryo Development
• Embryo Transfer

Normally, a woman produces one egg per month. But for IVF procedures, doctors give drugs to women to produce several eggs in a month. These eggs are examined from time to time to pick the healthiest one in the next step. The female egg and male sperm are incubated together for fertilization. The sperm generally enters the egg and insemination is carried out, but in cases where sperm motility is low, the sperm is directly injected into the egg. The fertilized egg divides to form an embryo. The embryo divides by cleavage to form a blastocyst (after 5-6 days of incubation). The embryo is transferred to the uterus after 5-6 days of active division. The number of embryos that are transferred depends on the age of the woman and the quality of the embryos.

IVF is the most commonly used assisted reproductive technology (ART). Other ART methods include gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT), zygote intra-fallopian transfer (ZIFT), and embryo transfer (ET). These methods aim to increase pregnancy probability to its full term. The cost of treatment and time consumption are counted as two disadvantages of ART.