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Reproductive Technologies. BC Science Probe 9 Section 4.7 Pages 134-136. Reproductive Technologies. Reproductive technologies are changing the ways that babies are being conceived and born. Reproductive Technologies. There are many reasons why couples are infertile (unable to have babies):
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Reproductive Technologies BC Science Probe 9 Section 4.7 Pages 134-136
Reproductive Technologies • Reproductive technologies are changing the ways that babies are being conceived and born.
Reproductive Technologies • There are many reasons why couples are infertile (unable to have babies): • The man may not be able to produce enough healthy sperm. • The oviducts of the woman may be blocked. • There may not be enough of the right hormones at the right time.
Reproductive Technologies • Most of these technologies were originally developed for agriculture (in the dairy industry).
Fertility Drugs • Normally one egg is released at a time in females. • Fertility drugs increase the number of eggs released. • They work by making the body produce hormones that make more follicles ripen. • Because more eggs are released, they often cause multiple births (twins, triplets…)
Fertility Drugs • There are some side effects to be aware of: • Greater mood swings • Depression • Fatigue • Weight gain • Nausea • Vomiting • And even with fertility drugs there is no guarantee of success.
Artificial Insemination • Artificial insemination is when sperm is put into the reproductive tract of the female by some other means than sexual intercourse.
Artificial Insemination • Several million sperm are needed to make sure fertilization happens. • Males with a low sperm count may have to have their sperm collected over time and inserted into the female by a doctor.
Artificial Insemination • If the male produces no sperm at all, women/couples can get sperm from a sperm bank for artificial insemination.
Artificial Insemination • Intrauterine Insemination: • In this type of artificial insemination, sperm is collected and placed directly into the female’s uterus instead of the vagina. • This is done because many sperm cells die as they travel from the vagina to the oviducts so this increases the number of sperm available.
Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer • This may be used when the female has a blocked oviduct. • Eggs are removed from the ovary and reinserted into the oviduct on the other side of the blockage along with the male’s sperm.
In Vitro Fertilization • Fertilization takes place outside the female’s body in a Petri dish in a lab. • Eggs are removed from the mother and allowed to mature. • Sperm cells are added. • Embryos are inserted into the uterus.
In Vitro Fertilization • Usually several embryos are implanted which can result in multiple births.
In Vitro Fertilization • The embryos created from IVF can also be implanted into a female who is not the biological mother if the mother’s uterus cannot accept the embryos. • The female who carries the embryos is called the surrogate mother.
Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection • This technique can be used when normal IVF is unsuccessful. • A single sperm is injected into the cytoplasm of a healthy egg. • Sometimes this is needed due to low sperm count, sometimes it is because the sperm are structurally unable to swim to the egg and/or penetrate it.