Making sense of your IVF ovarian stimulation treatment protocols

Diagram of the time Menstrual Cycle a - follicle b - maturing follicle c - ovulation d - corpus luteum e - degenerate corpus luteum H O - ovarian histology T - body temperature O L - luteinizing hormone O P - progesterone hormone O E - estradiol hormone O F-S - follicle-stimulating hormone F - follicular phase O - ovulation L - luteal phase M - menstruation E - endometrial histology 

Let's start with the basics ! Why do we need to stimulate your ovaries for IVF in the first place ?

Your ovaries are the reservoir for your eggs. Eggs are the cells which carry half of the information (genetic blue print) necessary for creating a baby. Such precious egg cells are stored, nourished and protected within specialized structures in ovaries called follicles.  A female foetus at around 18-22 weeks of gestation contains about 2,000,000 follicles in its ovaries and each follicle contains one egg. The follicles which are carrying the eggs are lost continuously (depleted) during the life time of a female and at around menopause only less than 1000 follicles will remain. A woman releases approximately 400 eggs during her lifetime (one egg each month from the time of attaining puberty until reaching menopause). A female ovary carries several immature follicles (and hence several eggs!) but not all the follicles will become mature enough to release a functional egg cell. This means that more than 99.9999 % of the follicles (and hence the eggs) are simply lost. 

Read more at http://www.drmalpani.com/ivf-ovarian-stimulation-treatment-protocols.htm