A Short But Useful Story
Every month, inside the ovaries, a little story begins.
Each egg lives inside a tiny "home", called follicle. And this little house is not just a casing. It's a small, live lab. Its walls participate in the production of hormones that regulate the cycle, mainly estrogen and, after ovulation, progesterone.
A group of follicles wakes up and begins to grow. It's like a lot of little trips together. Everything has the chance to move forward, but usually only one will make it to the end. Only one will become the dominant follicle. Only one will open his door and release his egg into ovulation.
The rest stops along the way.
They are not lost because something went wrong. They are lost because that's how nature works. follow a normal process called atresession.
So, while the woman usually sees a cycle and thinks of "an egg", in fact every month is a small choice between many follicles. One continues. Many others say goodbye to the route.
And time passes.
Year after year, this treasure is getting smaller. The eggs are decreasing. But not only their number changes. Their quality also changes.
Eggs are not created every month from scratch. They have been in the ovaries for many years. They wait there, silently, until it's their turn. And as time goes by, the probability that some of them have chromosomal abnormalities increases.
This is not a disease. It's not the body's fault. It is the normal biology of reproduction.
Therefore, around the age of 45–46 years, even if a woman continues to have her period, this does not necessarily mean that there is substantial fertility.
The period resembles the light left on in a house. It shows us that the house still exists. But it doesn't always tell us what's inside the rooms.
In the same way, the period shows that there is a cycle. But it does not prove that there is ovulation every month. And even if there is ovulation, it does not always mean that the egg has the quality it needs to lead to a healthy pregnancy.
This is something that often escapes.
A woman may have 12 periods a year, but that doesn't mean it has 12 real chances of conception.
In women with polycystic ovaries, for example, there may be cycles without ovulation. Accordingly, as age increases, some cycles can be anovulatory.
Thus, within a year of 365 days, while in theory there could be about 12 opportunities, in practice the truly fruitful moments can be much less. Sometimes under 5 or 6 a year.
And even these few opportunities don't always lead to pregnancy.
For a pregnancy to occur, many small "yes" must meet at the same time.
to ovulate.
Have a good quality egg.
There should be a sperm capable of fertilizing it.
To create a fetus with the right genetic material.
So that this embryo can be implanted in the womb.
and continue to grow.
It's like a chain of small doors. In order for the story to move forward, they must all open in the correct order.
Here is also the value of IVF.
IVF does not create new eggs. It doesn't stop time. He doesn't promise the impossible.
What it does is more essential: it helps to make better use of the eggs that exist today.
In a natural cycle, the body usually chooses an egg. The rest of the follicles that started with him are lost along the way.
in an IVF cycle, if taken for example 6 or more eggs, it's like collecting in a month more than the opportunities that nature would slowly give in the coming months.
We do not "spend" the woman's stock prematurely.
We don't take eggs that would stay for the future.
We use eggs that had already started their journey that month and which, if not supported, most would naturally be lost through atresia.
This is of particular importance as age increases.
Because time does not only affect how many eggs remain. It also affects how many of them have the quality they need. The longer the effort is delayed, the more likely the eggs of the future will have been more affected by the normal wear and tear of time.
Extracorporeal, then, is not magic.
It is a more organized way to work with nature. Not to let precious opportunities be lost in silence. Let's see what really exists today and how it can be used in the best possible way.
IVF
