Are you eager to start your own family, but you are not having any luck with conceiving? If you have been trying for longer than six months with no success at becoming pregnant, then in vitro fertilization could be the answer for you. It was for us and now we have twins. In the past the only answer for couples that had fertility problems was adoption, but these days science can help out in many cases.

In vitro fertilization is also known as IVF and although it tends to be a costly exercise and not funded by most health insurance, it can offer couples a priceless gift that they wouldn't have had otherwise.

IVF is done in a laboratory by causing fertilization to occur between the ovum and the sperm. Then the resulting embryo is put into the woman's womb and from there it is hoped that the embryo takes and continues to grow.

In almost all cases more than one attempt at IVF is needed to result in a successful pregnancy. The success rate is high though and the science that is involved with the treatment is improving and causing success rates to increase year on year.

There are five steps to the process of IVF: developing the eggs in the ovaries, collecting the eggs to be used, collecting the sperm, fertilizing the eggs and the sperm in the laboratory and following on from that the placing of the newly formed embryos into the uterus.

In the first phase the woman is required to take medications that will increase the stimulation of egg release from the ovary and allow several eggs to be collected during ovulation. It is best that as many eggs as possible are collected in order to increase the chances of becoming fertilized and then pregnant.

Secondly, the eggs are collected from the woman with a hollow needle. This process can result in some cramping that lasts around a day, but it subsides quickly and it is not painful.

In step three, the man collects his sperm from ejaculation in a sterile receptacle and it is placed with the ova to cause conception to occur.

During step four, the sperm and eggs are placed into incubators and then the laboratory staff closely monitor the process to heighten the chances of fertilization occurring and to check that the cells are dividing in a normal way that would allow a baby to develop.

In the final step of the process, the embryos are inserted into the woman's uterus using a speculum to open up the cervix and a catheter tube to place them. This is done within a week of the eggs being collected to allow for increased chance of the embryo to grow and become a fetus.

If you are thinking of trying in vitro fertilization, you might do well to research the success rates of the clinics that offer IVF. This is made easy through the Society of Assisted Reproduction Technology (SART) website, where information and statistics are just a few simple clicks away.

In vitro fertilization can be a tough and emotional (not to mention expensive) experience, but for many people it offers one of the only chances they have at having their own children.