In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)


IVF Process Overview

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is a process whereby a woman’s eggs are removed from her ovaries, fertilized in a lab with her partner’s sperm, cultured to the embryo stage, and placed in her uterus to implant and develop. The fallopian tubes are bypassed, so it is a process that offers women with blocked, absent, or non-functioning tubes to have a baby using their own eggs. It was pioneered in the 1970’s by Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe in Great Britain, culminating with the birth of the world’s first IVF baby, Louise Brown, in 1978. Since then, an estimated 1 million babies have been born as a result of IVF worldwide.


Within the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process, there are many steps that require specific procedures and protocols in order for the process to result in a successful pregnancy. You can read about each of these steps in more detail below:


Ovarian Stimulation Using Fertility Medications

In order to maximize the chances of successful IVF, the woman’s ovaries are stimulated to produce multiple eggs (as opposed to a single egg in a natural ovulation cycle). This is accomplished using a protocol of injectable hormones and other drugs to optimize the number and quality of the eggs. The woman’s ovaries are monitored by ultrasound during the stimulation period, and when the eggs are determined to be mature, she is given a shot to induce ovulation. At Caperton Fertility Institute, we do not believe in a one-shoe-fits-all approach; we use highly modernized and customized protocols that result in a much higher quality of oocytes and embryos than traditional techniques.

Egg Retrieval

After the woman’s eggs have reached an adequate level of maturity, they are retrieved from her ovaries using a hollow needle inserted into the ovary via the vaginal wall. The number of eggs retrieved can vary widely depending on a number of factors, but is typically between 8 and 15. Caperton Fertility Institute focuses on the quality of each individual egg and embryo, rather than strictly on the quantity. Without impeccable egg quality, the quantity of eggs retrieved means virtually nothing and doesn’t contribute to improved success rates. Our stimulation protocols and egg/embryo culture techniques are widely supported by scientific evidence and have dramatically improved pregnancy rates and outcomes for patients compared to traditional protocols.

Fertilization/Culture of the Egg/Embryo

Following egg retrieval, the eggs are processed by the embryology lab and fertilized using the partner’s or donor’s sperm. Fertilization may be performed naturally (eggs and sperm placed together in a petri dish) or via Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI). However, Drs. Lee and Kelly Caperton, and the advanced embryology team at Caperton Fertility Institute believe that ICSI results in better fertilization and allows for comprehensive genetic screening of all embryos, which we employ to dramatically increase your chance of pregnancy.


After fertilization, the fertilized eggs are placed in an incubator and monitored for development over the course of several days. At CFI, we prefer to culture the embryos to the blastocyst stage (day 5-6) to better assess their viability. At this point, we believe that microsurgically taking a biopsy of the growing embryos and assessing their genetic makeup will dramatically increase the chance of pregnancy. We also freeze virtually all embryos prior to transfer so that the uterus can be prepared in a more natural manner for transfer. With the aforementioned advances in freezing/vitrification techniques, this has contributed to improved overall pregnancy and birth rates.

Embryo Transfer

The woman’s uterus is prepared with hormone injections for her embryo(s) to be transferred. We do this in a very physiologic, natural technique that we believe is critical for attaining successful implantation. We also focus on custom-tailoring the preparation method for the particular patient that is being cared for. Once again, every couple is not the same, and a critical attention to these differences helps Caperton Fertility Institute maximize success rates for our patients.


Dr. Caperton transfers one (and occasionally more) embryos to her uterus under ultrasound guidance, and, if all goes well, implantation occurs in the uterus and the pregnancy begins. The vast majority of our transfers at Caperton Fertility are single embryo transfers, giving us one of the safest records in the industry of producing a healthy child for intended parents.



Genetic Testing

We believe that genetic screening and freezing of embryos is becoming the standard of care for our couples needing help with assisted reproduction. Commonly referred to as Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis/Screening – PGD/PGS, we can perform sophisticated tests on embryos that allow us to evaluate their chromosomal integrity. This can tell us, with a high degree of reliability, which embryos have the best chance of creating a viable pregnancy. They can also screen for gender and for chromosomal abnormalities that cause conditions like Down syndrome. By identifying the “best” embryos, we can increase implantation and pregnancy rates while reducing the number of embryos we transfer. This also reduces the rate of multiple gestations and the associated complications.


Because of the increased success rates and the valuable information and insights that genetic testing affords, we include this as a part of every patient’s IVF treatment. We complete all of the embryo biopsies in our on-site clean room embryology laboratory by our skilled lab technicians and embryologists.