I can't think of two ways to conceive a child could be more different. I'm not mentioning it now. sex positionsThis increases your chances of giving birth to a boy or girl. No, this is not a debate about missionary vs. doggy, cowgirl vs. kneeling lotus, or half moon vs. full moon at the time of the rapture. Rather, if you want to get pregnant again after a vasectomy, it's a question of whether you should try it in the bedroom or in the laboratory. The person who spoke was Woody Allen. Annie Hall The sex was “the most fun I've ever had without laughing.” So what should a man do? Reverse the vasectomy or proceed with sperm collection and use. In vitro fertilization (IVF) And intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)?
Life is in the details
Let us take a closer look at the choices before us. all Vasectomy reversal It is a 2-3 hour microsurgical procedure on the male partner, has few complications and involves abstaining from sex for 3 weeks after the procedure (perhaps the most difficult part). When performed by an expert reproductive surgeon, in 75% to 100% of cases, sperm returns to the ejaculate and attempts to conceive begin almost immediately, with attempts occurring monthly from the comfort of home.
IVF-ICSI requires intensive hormone injections over several weeks for the female partner to retrieve as many eggs as possible, rather than just one (usually the number). The procedure is then performed on both partners. In females, entire clusters of resulting eggs are removed from the ovaries by needle aspiration, while in males, procedure Sperm in the testicles or epididymis after a vasectomy is removed through a needle or incision. Once secured, eggs and sperm meet in a Petri dish, but not randomly as God or Darwin intended. Instead, a trained embryologist selects the sperm and injects one sperm directly into each egg. The fertilized eggs are then observed in the laboratory for up to a week and their quality is regularly assessed as they develop into embryos. Uniquely, they can take biopsies and evaluate the genetic content of each embryo to determine sex, chromosomal changes, and even specific genetic diseases if desired. The (usually single) embryo is then transferred back to the female partner in a second, smaller procedure a few weeks later. That's it. There is no “Was it as good for you as it was for me?” Joke or anything.
How to start your life?
Here are some thoughts to consider when deciding which baby route to choose:
- Where does pregnancy occur? Bedroom and study, choose as you wish.
- How much do we want to know about the fetus? Your guess is as good as mine and whole genome sequencing.
- How many children do we want? Monthly attempts at home versus multiple IVF cycles.
- How much can we afford? A reversal costs about half as much as an IVF cycle. Insurance that covers IVF can offset this difference.
- Which has a higher pregnancy rate? It's hard to answer, but in an environment with a good surgeon and a healthy partner with good IVF skills, it's probably Stephen.
- When will we get pregnant? This is another question that is difficult to answer because there are many factors involved. Overall, IVF is probably a few months faster.
- Is there a risk of twins or triplets? The odds are 2% for sexual intercourse and 20-30% for IVF.
- Risk of birth defects? IVF is 25% higher than sex. Malformations of the eyes, heart, and genitals are the most commonly observed defects.
Clearly, the decision to undergo IVF or a vasectomy is a complex decision that brings up all kinds of deeply held concepts and emotions about love and life. Performance and natural selection are now being challenged by science and genetics. Now luck and fate compete with knowledge and determinism. And now pure chance faces the power of statistics and probability. As Sidney Poitier puts it, it is enough to challenge the centuries-old view that “so much of life seems to me to be determined by sheer randomness.”