In Vitro Fertilization Outline

Brittany Elliott
COMM 140
Summer II 12

Presentation Plan: Message: In Vitro Fertilization
Audience: Coastal Students
Purpose: to inform about the in vitro fertilization procedure

Introduction:

Attention-getter strategy: Primary fertilization affects about 6.1 million people in the U.S., about 10% of men and women of reproductive age.
Thesis: There is more to IVF than meets the eye for you to conceive a child.
First Main Idea:

a. What is In Vitro Fertilization? i. IVF is simply the uniting of egg and sperm in a lab (in vitro). IVF is a form of assisted reproductive technology (ART). This means special medical techniques are used to help a woman become pregnant. IVF has been successfully used since 1978. It is most often tried when other, less expensive fertility techniques have failed. b. 5 Main Steps i. Monitor and stimulate the development of healthy egg(s) in the ovaries. ii. Collect the eggs. iii. Secure the sperm. iv. Combine the eggs and sperm together in the laboratory and provide the appropriate environment for fertilization and early embryo growth. v. Transfer embryos into the uterus.

Second Main Idea:

a. Significant Physical, Emotional, Financial, & Time Commitment i. Stress and depression are common among couples dealing with infertility. ii. Many IVF medicines must be given by injection, often several times a day, which can cause abdominal pain, mood swings, headaches, as well as other side effects. iii. There is a risk of multiple pregnancies when more than one embryo is placed into the womb. Carrying more than one baby at a time increases the risk of premature birth and low birth weight. (However, even a single baby born after IVF is at higher risk for prematurity and low birth weight.) It is unclear whether IVF increases the risk of birth defects. iv. IVF is very costly. Some, but not all, states have laws that say health insurance companies must offer some type of coverage. But, many insurance plans do not cover infertility treatment. Fees for a single IVF cycle -- including costs for medicines, surgery, anesthesia, ultrasounds, blood tests, processing the eggs and sperm, embryo storage, and embryo transfer -- can quickly add up. The exact total of a single IVF cycle varies with each individual, but may cost more than $12,000 - $17,000.

Third Main Idea: a. Statistics i. Statistics vary from one clinic to another and must be carefully interpreted. Pregnancy rates reflect the number of women who became pregnant after IVF. But not all pregnancies result in a live birth. Live birth rates reflect the number of women who give birth to a living child. ii. According to the Society of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (SART) in 2005, the approximate chance of giving birth to a live baby after IVF were: 41-43% for women under age 35 33-36% for women age 35 - 37 23-27% for women ages 38 - 40 13-18% for women over age 41

Conclusion:

a. Pros i. Help infertile couples have children of their own ii. Prevent birth defects b. Cons i. Can cause sick or malformed babies

As you can now see, there is more too In Vitro Fertilization than just giving a medication to have children. So if you were the given the proposition of IVF, would you go for it or not?