Assisted reproduction is the set of techniques that allow you to achieve pregnancy when there are difficulties in doing so naturally.
Assisted reproduction is a concept that refers to the knowledge and techniques that allow replacing or facilitating the different natural processes that take place in the reproduction of human beings or animals.
It should be noted that reproduction is the procedure and result of reproducing (producing something again, generating a copy or, in the case of living organisms, giving birth to a new specimen with the same biological characteristics). Assisted , on the other hand, is what is carried out with some type of assistance or help.
What is assisted reproduction
Natural reproduction develops from a sexual relationship between a man and a woman . When the man ejaculates into the woman's vagina and a sperm manages to fertilize an egg, the woman becomes pregnant and, nine months later, will give birth to her child.
There are various disorders that can hinder or prevent natural reproduction. To overcome these obstacles, science has developed different techniques that are part of what we know as assisted reproduction.
Assisted reproduction makes it possible for many people to fulfill their dream of having a child.
Different techniques
Artificial insemination , for example, involves using an artificial instrument to introduce sperm into the fallopian tubes, cervix, or uterus. This method of assisted reproduction, therefore, replaces sexual intercourse.
Another popular assisted reproduction technique is in vitro fertilization , which allows fertilization to take place outside the woman's body. On the one hand, the oocytes are extracted and on the other, the sperm. Once fertilization has been achieved in an external environment, the fertilized oocyte is implanted in the uterus .
Another method of assisted reproduction is known as egg donation . In this case, the woman with problems achieving pregnancy turns to another woman who acts as an egg donor.
Resources for assisted reproduction
For any of these assisted reproduction methods to be successful and achieve the desired pregnancy, it must be taken into account that specialized clinics use endless resources, depending on the personal circumstances of their patients:
- Sperm donation . It basically consists of men acting as sperm donors completely anonymously and allowing any woman or couple to use it to have a child.
- Egg vitrification . Under this name is a technique that consists of preserving a woman's fertility . Before turning 35, the interested party must freeze her eggs and then, later, through assisted reproduction, she can become pregnant.
- To these two techniques we should add others such as MACS , which serves to select the best sperm and facilitate fertilization.