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Assisted Reproductive Therapy (A.R.T.) Center

The A.R.T. Center at Women's & Children's Hospital was founded to provide full service infertility treatments for patients throughout the Acadiana and surrounding areas. The Assisted Reproductive Technologies, especially IVF, represent a tremendous advance in the treatment of infertility.  Every couple attempting this type of therapy should understand the nuances of the treatment and be realistic about their chance of success.  Careful evaluation of the infertility problem, full pre-screening, and an individualized approach to treatment will maximize each couple's chances for success.  Our goal is to help you understand the process, its risks and benefits, and develop a treatment plan that will optimize your chances of achieving a pregnancy and delivering a baby.

Who Should Seek Help?

Eighty-five percent of all couples trying to conceive will become pregnant within one year.  Approximately one in six couples will have difficulty conceiving and may consider seeking medical help to identify the possible causes of infertility.  An infertility evaluation should be performed after one year of trying without conception if the woman is less than 35 years of age.  IF the woman if over 35, couples should seek evaluation from an infertility specialist after six months, since fertility potential decreases with age.

What Tests are Done?

A comprehensive infertility evaluation should be completed by your physician to establish a diagnosis and treatment plan.  This plan is designed to answer many important questions that will help your physician recommend the most appropriate treatment. These questions include:

  • Is the patient ovulating?
  • Are the fallopian tubes normal?
  • Is the uterus receptive to implantation?
  • Are the sperm normal?

What Treatment is Best for Me?

Once your diagnosis is established, a treatment plan will be customized to your unique situation. The recommended approach will depend on your age, diagnosis, duration of infertility, previous treatments, and personal preferences. The objective of fertility treatments is to create the best environment for conception to occur. It is not as simple as "pushing a button" to correct a particular problem. Many times a combination of fertility treatments are necessary to achieve a pregnancy. Commonly recommended treatments include stimulation of ovulation, artiRcial insemination, surgery to correct any reproductive problems, or In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).

Assisted Reproductive Technologies (A.R.T.) is a group of treatment options for couples with infertility that cannot be treated using simpler methods. These procedures have excellent success rates but require significant efforts. These techniques include In Vitro Fertilization, fertilization by Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), Blastocyst Culture, Assisted Hatching, and Embryo Cryopreservation.

What is IVF?

"In vitro" means outside of the body. IVF is a method of assisted reproduction in which the man's sperm and the woman's egg are combined outside of the body in a laboratory dish. If fertilization occurs, the resulting embryo is transferred to the woman's uterus, where it will hopefully implant in the uterine lining and mature. IVF is a reasonable treatment choice for couples with various types of infertility.

For more information regarding IVF or infertility treatment, call (337) 989-8795, Fertility and Women's Health Center of Louisiana. Or visit www.fertilityanswers.com