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Melanie Cole (Host): Infertility is a medical condition not unlike other medical conditions and it can affect so many aspects of your life. It can also create a very stressful time for an individual or a couple; however, the more you learn about it, and the more you understand how IVF works the better. My guest today is Tracy Loveless. She is the Lab Supervisor and Sr. Embryologist at Boston IVF at The Women's Hospital. Tracy, first tell us what’s an embryologist. What do they do?

Tracy Loveless (Guest): An embryologist specializes in the handling of human gametes, so sperm, eggs, embryos. What we try to do is create the environment that those gametes would be in in the human body so that we can help couples overcome whatever it is that is standing in their way of having a child on their own.

Host: So thank you for that explanation, not everybody knows what the field of embryology is really all about. So tell us what is IVF or invitro fertilization. What does that mean? Tell us a little bit about the process of creating an embryo.

Tracy: IVF is the process where we try to create the same environment in the laboratory that eggs and embryos would be in, in the female human body. So the eggs have to be removed. We do that by a surgical procedure. Follicles are evacuated with a needle and then an embryologist finds the eggs in the follicular fluid. We gather them altogether and then we will keep them in an incubator until it’s time to inseminate them later in the day.

Host: That’s so cool. So tell us a little bit about embryos themselves. Do they all grow the same?

Tracy: No they don’t and not every egg will fertilize either. We have a couple of tricks that we can do to help that process. One of them is intracellular sperm injection. We call it ICSI for short and that is where we will take an individual sperm, inject it into an individual egg, and then we watch it for fertilization and growth. Even eggs that are fertilized normally grow at different rates, some of them will continue to progress, some of them do not so that’s something that we watch in the lab to make sure that the very best embryos are the ones that are being transferred back into the woman.

Host: Is there a certain time Tracy or day to implant the embryo into the uterus? Tell us a little bit about what the woman has to go through to kind of complete this process.

Tracy: The embryo transfer itself is actually a pretty easy process. It’s very similar to what you would experience in a Pap smear. So you are in stirrups. The physician will clean off the cervix, and then the embryo will be loaded into a very tiny catheter. Then the doctor will under ultrasound watch that tiny catheter get to that exact spot that he wants it to implant in the uterus and then we will inject just a very tiny bit of fluid that simulates what the follicular fluid is in the woman’s body. The embryo will then hopefully implant in the correct space in the uterus.

Host: And then what? How does a woman know if it’s worked or not?

Tracy: Well Dr. Griffin tells everyone after a transfer, “You’re pregnant until someone tells you otherwise.” You do have to wait 9 days after the transfer before you do a pregnancy test and we usually suggest people don’t do that at home, that they come here and have their blood drawn. Our test is a lot more sensitive than what you would get from the pharmacy. So we suggest that people come here and have their blood drawn to determine if they’re pregnancy or not.

Host: So what do you do with the leftover embryos that were retrieved during IVF and do you preserve them so that they can try again if it didn’t succeed the first time?

Tracy: Absolutely so if embryos still – if they have extra embryos progress but they only wanted one transfer, which is what we suggest for most people and they have maybe 4 that developed and are still looking good and would have a very good chance of implantation, then we freeze those embryos. That way if their current cycle is not successful or if they decide to have more children, they could come back and use those embryos later. The process to use those embryos in a subsequent cycle is much easier on the women themselves because they don’t have to take the hormone medicines to increase the number of follicles that they have.

Host: Tracy when you’re out and about and people find out what you do for a living, what are some of the most common questions you get about fertility treatments?

Tracy: That’s a good question. A lot of couples want to know once they hand over their sperm to me or their eggs in the lab, how can I reassure them that what they’re getting back is their sperm or their embryo and to that I always answer there are so many double checks. So we label everything in front of the patient before we walk away with it. In the lab there are multiple checks where an extra technologist has to look over your shoulder and make sure that all of your paperwork matches, all of your tubes match, and that everything is who’s it says it is. So patients can be reassured that anything that they leave in my care, in my lab, is going back to them.

Host: Wow, that was really a great answer and such great advice as we wrap up. What’s your best advice about couples that are looking into fertility treatments, what would you tell them?

Tracy: It’s always good to have knowledge. So I would say research the treatment options that are out there, look and see what’s available. I can guarantee Dr. Griffin knows his stuff. He’s out there on the cutting edge, keeping up with the newest things that are available. Our lab is equipped with the newest equipment out there and we have a huge resource team with Boston IVF who are constantly looking into research projects, keeping up with current trends, so we’re going to have the best available treatment options for you.

Host: Thank you so much Tracy. It’s really important information and so interesting for couples that are seeking fertility treatments to hear. That wraps up this episode of the Women’s Hospital, a place for all your life. To schedule an appointment, please call 812-842-4530 if you have questions about your fertility or to schedule a consult with Boston IVF at the Women’s Hospital or you can head on over to our website at deaconess.com/bivf to request an appointment, for more information, and to get connected with one of our providers. If you found this podcast as informative as I did, please share on your social media, share with other couples that you know, and be sure to check out all the other fascinating podcasts in our library. Until next time, I’m Melanie Cole.