As extracted from this website,
The Comfort of Powerful Progesterone Support
Progesterone deficiency can make it more difficult for women to become pregnant or to maintain pregnancy.
Crinone 8% provides safe and effective progesterone support for women who have a progesterone deficiency and who are undergoing infertility treatment.
Crinone 8% comes in the form of a vaginal gel that is easy to apply once a day. In several clinical studies, women undergoing infertility treatment consistently preferred Crinone 8% over progesterone intramuscular injections, progesterone vaginal suppositories, and progesterone capsules administered vaginally.
Also, while im at the website i clicked for more information. Read up, it's interesting.
Progesterone’s Role in Pregnancy
The hormone progesterone is often called “the pregnancy hormone” because it plays 2 important roles in pregnancy:
- Progesterone thickens and prepares the lining of the uterus, called the endometrium, for implantation of a fertilized egg
- After implantation, progesterone is important during the first trimester to maintain pregnancy. This role continues through birth
Progesterone thickens the endometrium
Throughout an average 28-day menstrual cycle, the thickness of the endometrium varies. (The menstrual cycle begins on the first day of a woman’s period. For more information on a normal menstrual cycle, click here.)
During the first 14 days of the menstrual cycle, the endometrium is relatively thin and begins to thicken before ovulation. After ovulation, the endometrium continues to thicken. If no pregnancy occurs in this cycle, the endometrium will shed during a woman’s period and become thinner. If pregnancy occurs, the endometrium will remain thick to support the pregnancy.
| Click on the chart below for a larger view. |
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The difference in the thickness of the endometrium varies depending upon the amount of progesterone in the body. The endometrium is thinnest during the first half of the menstrual cycle, when progesterone levels are low. The endometrium becomes thickest after ovulation when progesterone levels rise.
The increasing levels of progesterone after ovulation are important to prepare the uterus for implantation of a fertilized egg.
Progesterone supports pregnancy
After a fertilized egg implants in the endometrium, the ovaries continue to produce progesterone to provide a nourishing environment for the growing embryo.
During a normal pregnancy, around 8 weeks after implantation, the placenta takes over the production of progesterone from the ovaries. The placenta produces a significant level of progesterone to maintain a healthy pregnancy.
No wonder the nurse injected me with Progesterone at the buttock before the transfer. This wasnt done at NUH. At Raffles, they asked me to insert the crinone gel twice daily (morning and night). While at NUH, its only morning.
Continue.
So after the transfer, i went up for acupunture - to boost the blood stream and strengthening the uterus ir something like that..
After which, i need to heed back for a consultation with Dr Thong.
This time, my poor husband who has been waiting at the operating theatre and did not sleep at all - as he's afraid if he sleep, they would push me out without him realising :(
I was actually walking. Hee!
Dr Thong explained and showed my husband the embryo's photo. The balance three are being frozen, etc..
We asked why the is one embryo that is already split into 3 was not chosen and instead embryo that was split into two was chosen?
She explained, it doesn't matter how many split as what matter is the grade quality. The two cells are of better quality instead of the three cells which is average.The cells are going to end up splitting anyway. First, its a one-cell. As it started to develop and grows, it will split into 2, 3 and 4 like now. Once inside you, they will still split and by Day 5, it will implant itself onto your lining.
She explained, it doesn't matter how many split as what matter is the grade quality. The two cells are of better quality instead of the three cells which is average.The cells are going to end up splitting anyway. First, its a one-cell. As it started to develop and grows, it will split into 2, 3 and 4 like now. Once inside you, they will still split and by Day 5, it will implant itself onto your lining.
Thats the crucial moment.
No major movement, try not to move much from Day 5 to Day 11. Just stay on the bed. As if there's much walking, the cervix will compress and instablize the implanting.
Dr Thong also mentioned that she observed that i had water lining while scanning me and mentioned that i could have a mild OHSS and asked me to take good care and if anything, call them.
What she explained was so detailed. There was no post transfer consultation over at NUH for both times.This time round, i am more hardworking. Googling and reading up on internet on anything embryo, ivf, progesterone, etc..
Google-d and the explanation of Dr Thong is same as the facts from these website below.
The Significance of Blastocyst Transfer
http://www.ivf.com/blastocyst.html
In a typical non-blastocyst in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle, a woman's eggs are retrieved and fertilized. If all goes well, the embryos are transferred into the uterus three days later. Due to the fact that it is difficult to predict on day three which embryos are more likely to produce a pregnancy, four or more embryos are frequently transferred in hopes that at least one will result in a live birth. Until now, this has been a reasonable approach in order to achieve acceptable pregnancy rates.
However, with blastocyst transfer, only two or three embryos are transferred, practically eliminating the possibility of triplets or greater. And the same pregnancy rates are achieved as would be expected when four or more embryos are transferred on day three. Some centers report achieving even better pregnancy rates with blastocysts. Implantation rates of 48-50% and pregnancy rates of up to 66.3% have been reported in patients who responded well to gonadotropins.
What is 1 Blastocyst?
A blastocyst is a highly developed embryo that has divided many times to a point where it is nearly ready to implant on the walls of the uterus. A blastocyst has come a long way from its beginning as a single cell.
During maturation, an embryo rests inside a protective shell called a zona pellucida. You can think of this protective shell as being much like a chicken egg. But, unlike chicken eggs, human embryos do not remain inside a shell. Instead, the embryo hatches (breaks out of the shell) on the fifth or sixth day so it can attach to the uterine wall (implantation). Just prior to hatching, an embryo becomes a blastocyst.Embryos developing to the critical blastocyst stage have a much greater chance of implanting successfully and resulting in an ongoing pregnancy. That is because these embryos have passed an important test. During the first few days, the embryo relies on the mother's egg for all its nutrients. However, in order to 15 survive past day three or four, the embryo must activate its own genes. Not all embryos are successful. In fact, only about one-third of the embryos become blastocysts. Yet these embryos are more highly-developed, healthier, and stronger, and have a higher rate of implantation when compared to day three embryos. Due to the higher probability of survival, we transfer fewer back into the uterus.
Getting to Day Five For many years, infertility practitioners have known that day three transfers were too early when compared to what is physiologically normal. In naturally conceived pregnancies, a day three embryo resides in the fallopian tube, not in the uterus. The embryo does not even reach the uterus until the fifth or sixth day. Yet traditional IVF has always transferred on day three because, up until now, we have not been able to delay the transfer to day five. Previous laboratory culture media could only sustain an embryo's growth for three days. Now we have the ability to develop an embryo to the blastocyst (day five) stage.
Blastocysts tend to have a very good survival rate after cryopreservation (freezing). Menezo and his colleagues have reported that "the recovery after thawing is equivalent, if not superior to, that of thawing of earlier embryonic stages."
Because blastocysts are superior to earlier stage embryos in terms of development, they are easier to freeze, store, and thaw. Additionally, because blastocysts have higher implantation rates, it is possible for a couple to go through IVF once and have enough blastocysts for the current cycle as well as any future cycles.
After IVF Embryo Transfer, what you need to know
http://www.ivfconnections.com/forums/content.php/569-After-IVF-Embryo-Transfer-What-You-Need-to-Know
A lot of anxiety builds up after an embryo transfer. Questions and worries swirl around until the two week wait (2ww) is over. Should I be on bed rest for the first two days? Are the embryos going to fall out? What foods should I eat? What foods should I avoid? How active can I be during the two week wait? How much spotting is normal?
Let's take it one step at a time so you can see what the post-transfer period is like.
Let's take it one step at a time so you can see what the post-transfer period is like.
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| An image depicting the process of an ultrasound-guided embryo transfer. Note the ultrasound wand and the path the catheter has to take to transfer the embryos in the optimal spot. |
Won't My Embryos Fall Out if I Walk Around?
Thankfully, they won't. You will probably feel like tiptoeing around on a layer of foam for at least the first few days, and if that makes you feel better then go ahead and do it. But there's no need. Remember that in a spontaneous pregnancy, the egg is released from the fallopian tubes, the sperm travels all of the way up the vaginal tract, through the cervix, all the way through the uterus and into the fallopian tube. Fertilization typically takes place inside the fallopian tube, which is where the egg and sperm usually meet. The tiny embryo moves through the tube and into the uterus, where it can, given the right circumstances, implant in the uterine wall.
If oocytes or embryos could "fall out" of the uterus, not many people would get pregnant at all. The uterus is defined as a potential space; that is, it is completely closed with the inside walls all touching, and can expand as needed to create space for a growing baby. Think of your uterine walls like a deflated balloon made out of sponge. In its normal, resting state the balloon will be small, the spongy walls will all be touching, and there will be no air inside. If you start to inflate the balloon, it expands to accommodate the volume of air that is put inside it. But while it is deflated and the walls are touching, you could put a marble inside and it would stay where it is until you start to inflate it.
Does Spotting Mean Its Over?
No. Please breathe now - you're turning a remarkable shade of blue. Your body has been going through a lot during your IVF cycle. Hormones, injections, stress, egg retrieval (if it is a fresh cycle) - none of these should be discounted. And during the transfer your doctor probably used a speculum so he/she could visualize your cervix, then the catheter had to pass through the cervix, and then the catheter may have irritated a tiny bit of the lining. In addition, you are likely on some hormone supplements including progesterone, which can cause spotting. Any of these things could cause a little spotting, and not necessarily immediately.
There is another thing that can cause spotting, and this is a happy possibility: it's called implantation spotting. Implantation spotting happens when the embryo burrows into the uterine lining and implants, so that it can begin growing. Implantation spotting often looks different from other types of spotting; the color is a light pink or light brown and it may be "streaky" in appearance.
Thankfully, they won't. You will probably feel like tiptoeing around on a layer of foam for at least the first few days, and if that makes you feel better then go ahead and do it. But there's no need. Remember that in a spontaneous pregnancy, the egg is released from the fallopian tubes, the sperm travels all of the way up the vaginal tract, through the cervix, all the way through the uterus and into the fallopian tube. Fertilization typically takes place inside the fallopian tube, which is where the egg and sperm usually meet. The tiny embryo moves through the tube and into the uterus, where it can, given the right circumstances, implant in the uterine wall.
If oocytes or embryos could "fall out" of the uterus, not many people would get pregnant at all. The uterus is defined as a potential space; that is, it is completely closed with the inside walls all touching, and can expand as needed to create space for a growing baby. Think of your uterine walls like a deflated balloon made out of sponge. In its normal, resting state the balloon will be small, the spongy walls will all be touching, and there will be no air inside. If you start to inflate the balloon, it expands to accommodate the volume of air that is put inside it. But while it is deflated and the walls are touching, you could put a marble inside and it would stay where it is until you start to inflate it.
Does Spotting Mean Its Over?
No. Please breathe now - you're turning a remarkable shade of blue. Your body has been going through a lot during your IVF cycle. Hormones, injections, stress, egg retrieval (if it is a fresh cycle) - none of these should be discounted. And during the transfer your doctor probably used a speculum so he/she could visualize your cervix, then the catheter had to pass through the cervix, and then the catheter may have irritated a tiny bit of the lining. In addition, you are likely on some hormone supplements including progesterone, which can cause spotting. Any of these things could cause a little spotting, and not necessarily immediately.
There is another thing that can cause spotting, and this is a happy possibility: it's called implantation spotting. Implantation spotting happens when the embryo burrows into the uterine lining and implants, so that it can begin growing. Implantation spotting often looks different from other types of spotting; the color is a light pink or light brown and it may be "streaky" in appearance.
Hope this two website helps. Its so interesting to read up on God's magical gift!
