When a woman cannot get pregnant naturally, regardless of the issues in any of the partners, the Assisted Reproductive Technology, ART, in short, helps a great deal in bringing the dreams of many childless couples true. Many people think IVF is the only ART known. But, you would be astonished to find that the medical world has many techniques that can be customized to the needs of every patient, and bring about the positive results.

Here are a few of the main Assisted Reproductive Techniques:

IVF- this is the often heard and most popular technique. The egg and sperm are combined to fertilize in a laboratory. After the embryo is formed it is transferred to the uterus. This takes 3 to 5 days.

ICSI- using a microscopic needle, the sperm of the partner is injected in the egg when the sperm count and mobility is less. Then the rest of the process is as same in the IVF.

GIFT- the egg and sperm are not fused in the lab but are injected inside the fallopian tube laparoscopically. This means that the fertilization happens inside the body naturally. The embryo implantation happens naturally.

ZIFT- the process is as same as the GIFT and the difference is that the embryo is formed into the lab, placed inside the fallopian tubes using a surgical procedure. Both GIFT and ZIFT are not commonly followed these days as these does not offer better success rates than IVF

Using Donor Eggs: When a woman does not have her own eggs or the eggs are not of good quality, eggs from donors are fused with the sperm of partner and the embryo is implanted in the uterus.

Surrogacy:
This involves a third person, and another woman carries the child for affected. Surrogacy is a boon for a woman who has problems of the uterus like absent uterus, malformed uterus, poor uterine lining or repeated miscarriages.