Eva Suchecki

Lyford Cay International School

IBMYP5

Educating infertile couples about the option of In Vitro

Fertilization

(3,536 words)

By:

Eva Suchecki

Supervisor: Mrs. DeJong

 Eva Suchecki

Table of Contents

Introduction

Goals

Areas of Interaction

4-5

Process

5-8

Conclusion

Bibliography

Appendix A – Project Timeline

Appendix B – Interviews

9 - 12

Appendix C – Survey Questions

13 - 14

Appendix D – Keynote Presentation (written component)

13 - 15
 Eva Suchecki

Introduction
The idea of having children became unconceivable for my
mother after three long years of trying to get pregnant, so
she and my father considered attempting the In Vitro
Fertilization process. Alone, my mother went to see
specialists in Marseille (The second biggest city of France)
because this was where the practice of IVF was done at the
time. The doctors said that the impossibility to have children
was obvious and common since my mother had one less
fallopian tube due to several reasons and my father had a
certain problem. After this appointment, she went back to
Nice and started every three-month to go through artificial
insemination and take fertility drugs, this went on for about
ten years and succeeded in 1991 when pregnancy occurred.
The gynecologist announced to my mother that she was
waiting for twins; one boy, but the other baby’s sex was
unknown. It is only two weeks later that the specialists who
 Eva Suchecki

were scrupulously following the pregnancy, found out that

another baby was there, my mom was now pregnant of
triplets. Seven month and a half later, the triplets were born
but the third baby did not survive. After 4 days my mother
woke up and saw the two
newborn children, it was a boy and a girl aged of only couple
of days, they were both premature and weak because of the
lack of space in the uterus. Both of the babies did not have
nails, eyebrows, eyelashes and both of them had a needle in
the head, in the nose (to help them breath and to feed them
because they remained too weak to drink the milk) and on
their hand. The twins, my brother Brice and me, were so
small, frail and fragile that my parents did not dare to
change our diaper or even take us in their arms by fear to
break one of our miniscule bones. My mother was highly
disappointed when she realized that Brice and me would be
unable to be fed by her due to the obvious vulnerability, and
she had to meet the doctor to get information about diverse
problems and disabilities that we had. The pediatrician told
her that I had asthma, a lot of allergies the pulmonary
system not fully developped and a bad eye tumor, which
might dramatically end my life and my brother had a foot
dysfunction with stomach problems and asthma as well.
However After a month and a half, my brother and me left
the hospital in our parents arm, we still had problems but not
major. He and I grew up healthy and normal; my mother
always took care of her twins.
 Eva Suchecki

Goals
I chose to do my personal project on In Vitro Fertilization,
which is a process, which consists of fertilization outside of
the mother’s uterus. This procedure permits infertile couples
to have one or more babies, it is in fact a big progress in the
history of science since the human eggs are fertilized
outside of the woman’s body and then retrieved into the
uterus after the fertilization. I think that In Vitro Fertilization
is a fascinating and very absorbing topic that appeals to me
because my mother went through this process to procreate
my twin brother and me. In fact, many of my friends were
born owing to the In Vitro Fertilization process and the
number of infertile couples going through the IVF process is
 Eva Suchecki

increasing every year as time passes because it is a progress

that is continuously improving.

I have recently added a new goal to my purpose in this

project; I want to teach students of the Lyford Cay
International School about the option of In Vitro Fertilization.
I have made this decision because teens and adults in the
Bahamas are not aware or have a poor knowledge of In Vitro
Fertilization and test-tube babies. Bahamian citizens are very
religious, therefore most of them do not agree with this
method for having children. However I attend to educate
students about it and change their opinion about it, because
the next generation need to evolve and even if there are
many countries in the world where religion is opposed to In
Vitro Fertilization, I can still make a change by explain young
people that it is a miraculous progress of science that
permits infertile couples to have children with medical help.

Throughout the operation of my personal project, I want to

learn about In Vitro Fertilization and its history as well as its
problems and progresses. Nevertheless, I also want to teach
grade 11 and 12 about IVF and it’s improvement that have
been made years after years since its creation and infertile
couples about the whole In Vitro Fertilization process and the
side effects caused by in addition of the problems occurred
that the woman has to go through during the takes of
medications, drugs and other liquids. In this personal project
I will carry my mother and my own experiment but also other
 Eva Suchecki

infertile couples In Vitro Fertilization’s experiences, I will

prepare a survey and visit museums in France as well as
interview doctors specialized in this procedure for having a
baby. My product will consist of a keynote and a piece of art.

Areas of Interaction
My project uses areas of interaction of:
– Approaches to learning are to be able to educate others
about the In Vitro Fertilization procedure through a
keynote presentation.
– My Homo Faber is the creation of a keynote presentation
and a piece of art.
– Health and social is included in the areas of interaction
because my project is about alternative methods of
conceiving a child.
 Eva Suchecki

– community and service is involved too because I intend to

be trying to assist people who are considering In Vitro
Fertilization.

Process

Developing the goals and areas of interaction

I have thought about In Vitro Fertilization and I think that it is
a quiet harsh process to go through, but then it is also a
miraculous discovery that was made year ago. To me,
progress has to be made because a lot of mediction and
drugs have to be taken while the In Vitro Fertilization
process and it damages the client’s body. Nevertheless there
 Eva Suchecki

has been advance and big advantages years after years,

now IVF can be practiced on women and men but it is more
difficult for men to handle it of course. Also there are a lot of
side effects caused by the In Vitro Fertiliztion provedure,
doctors and scientists need to improve on this, so people
would be less scared to go on hrough this extraordinary
process.

Progression of research
I am doing good on my personal project, I have found a lot of
information about In Vitro Fertilization which includes side
effects, progress, medical mistakes and consequences of
taking fertility drugs, I also found out about Babies born this
way, the first test tube baby “Louise Brown”, the history of In
Vitro Fertilization and other founds that are just included in
some names that I just cited. It has been quiet difficult to
find information on it at first because I did not know how to
say IVF in English. In fact I did not understand many medical
words that they use in the texts about In Vitro Fertilization, I
looked for each one of them on the dictionary and I now
understand them.

I have done my diagram of the areas of interaction that have

something to do with my project. So there are Community &
Service and Health & Social. My Homo Faber is that I am
going to create a keynote presentation and a piece of art,
the approaches to learning would be to be able to educate
others about the In Vitro Fertilization process, Health and
 Eva Suchecki

social is included in the areas of interaction because my

project is about alternative methods of conceiving a child as
well as community and service is involved too because I am
trying to assist people who are considering In Vitro
Fertilization.

Progress of the art piece

I am going to create a drawing, which will be advertising In
Vitro Fertilization, my goal for drawing this piece of art, is to
encourage people to attempt the In Vitro Fertilization
procedure. I drew a plan of the art piece that I am going to
do. It consists of drawing with a grey pencil crayon, a
pregnant woman with a young child standing next to her and
a doctor with a needle in his hand and gloves covering it,
there will also be a sign saying “Everybody wants a baby, we
can help!” This piece of art is going to be a colored page to
advertise the In Vitro Fertilization Process in order to present
my project (Refer to Appendix C for the complete details). I
want it to be colorful and large with happy faces on the sides
of it, the drawing has to be easy to see and read so the
letters and font have to be understandable and clear. It will
be pretty for children to like it, but also interesting for adults
to be interested in it because I want it to be like a
commercial that will encourage infertile couples to have
eggs retrieval.

When I began drawing the draft of my future piece of art

created in order to advertize In Vitro Fertilization destined
 Eva Suchecki

for infertile couples. I first started to search on the net for

pictures of pregnant women smiling, but I changed my mind
because it was not appealing to me.
I decided to save a picture of a naked pregnant woman
photographed from her profile; I choose this picture because
the woman is holding her heavy belly and has a little smile
on her face, her belly is enormous and nicely formed, though
she is naked I will use this one and add a pants and a
sweater on her body because the picture is very beautiful. I
then wrote ‘She is infertile’ to show that she was but she still
got pregnant due to In Vitro Fertilization, nevertheless I
changed the sentence afterwards because I thought the
sentence was not powerful enough, to me it was too direct to
the point and not appealing.

I have changed the little slogan that will appear on the

drawing because it does not please me any more, I think it
would sound better If I say ‘Infertility is no longer a problem’
because it sounds more professional and serious. I also
colored my drawing, the woman and the writing are colorful
and the doctor is more sober because I want the attention
holded on the pregnant future mother and the slogan written
next to her, on the bottom of the doctor’s head. The font
that I choose for the sentence is small but big enough, nicely
curved so it the reader has no struggle to understand or else
the poster would not be worth it if there was no writing,
people would not get that I am referring to In Vitro
Fertilization and the use of progress in science.
 Eva Suchecki

I changed the title to ‘Infertility is not a problem anymore’

because I think it sounds better and more encouraging since
it tells infertile couples that they can have one less problem
in mind since this is not one anymore. Afterwards I drew a
doctor that has a protection on his mouth, to show that he is
concerned about bacteria and knows what he is doing, but
also is smiling and welcoming.

I continued my piece of art on In Vitro Fertilization and I

think that it is getting better, I put more details on the
shapes and forms, also the shadows of the woman’s belly
and the expression of the doctor’s face. I changed the font of
the phrase next to the drawing because it did not look
serious, instead I put a clearer bigger writing that looks more
professional. I started drawing the face of a baby next to the
pregant woman and I will also write two sentences under this
baby, but I did not decide what to write as of yet.

Progress of keynote presentation and survey

My presentation will:
1. Give a brief definition of In Vitro Fertilization
2. Include the history of the process and first test-tube
babies
3. Tell about the causes of infertility and explanations of
the reasons why couples attempt IVF
4. Explain what the procedure is and talk about the
medical improvements and science progress
 Eva Suchecki

5. Explain the eventual advantages and disadvantages

6. Talk about the religious objections and manifestations

7. Inform about the amount of people going through the
process and tell about some statistics
8. Give details about the side effects and the dangers
9. Resume the story of Louise Brown –First test-tube baby

I have sarted the draft of my final power point, it will

basically be about In Vitro Fertilization and why is it used,
the advantages, disadvantages, if it works and other things
explaining the whole In Vitro Fertilization procedure. I did it
on a watercolor background because it is blue and white,
and it is in he hospital type of colors, Also because it is
simple and clear. The writing will be big but not too much or
else I do not have enough space to write all the important
details, It is a nice quiet thin and clean font. For now I only
wrote the titles of each part, each one is a question but it is
not fefinitive, I might change it or add parts later on.

I have made the survey that will be given to the grades 11

and 12 before the I start the inormative keynote
presentation about In Vitro Fertilization. This survey
temporarely contains nine questions and an explanation of
how to answer it (refer to appendix C to see the final one).
The questions are mostly about what the student think about
In Vitro Fertilization and also their knowledge of it. This
questions will be asked to teachers and thirteen students,
Alexis, Alissa, Amba, Anwar, Danisha, Ella, Eronjha, Franz ,
 Eva Suchecki

Jano, LaShonda, Oquendo, Shannon and Pascal. I am also

going to prepare a survey that I will give to everyone again
after the keynote presentation.

I have made some questions for my survey. There will be

five multi-choice questions and five to six free answers
questions. The mutli-choice questions are not very difficult
but still not so easy, so I could see if my keynote
presentation helped them to nourish their knowledge about
In Vitro Fertilization.

I have started answering the questions asked on the Keynote

presentation that I am preparing for the grade 11 and 12. I
think that I chose the right background for it because it is
blue and white, so the hospital colors like I already pointed
out in one of my previous entries, I currently have 15 slides
but I might as well add or delete some if needed, Each slide
talks about something different related to the In Vitro
Fertilization topic but certain slides might need other
adjustable pages to complete the informations (refer to
appendix D for the written component).
 Eva Suchecki

I created a keynote slideshow presentation using

Presenting the Keynote Presentation:

I have done my presentation on the Friday 30th of January
2009. I presented my keynote to a class of tenth graders.
I first gave them the survey to fill out, according to their own
personal knowledge on the topic of In Vitro Fertilization (see
Appendix D for survey questions and success rate).
Then I presented my keynote while my tutor and Mr. Cooley
were looking and my brother taking pictures.
After the presentation I gave everybody my second survey
containing the same multi-choice answers plus additional
questions to see if they learned anything from the keynote.
The students learned what I teach them and asked me
interesting and good questions. I was surprised to see that
such a topic would interest teens of my age. The students
also asked me to talk about my own history knowing that I
was born from a test-tube too. From looking at the survey
 Eva Suchecki

results and the questions asked, I think that my presentation

was successful and changed the point of view of most of the
student.

Pictures of my presentation:
 Eva Suchecki

I have presented my keynote

Presentation to a class of
Tenth graders at my
School (LCIS)

Conclusion
I have the satisfaction to have personally achieved my goal –
educating others about the option of In Vitro Fertilization –;
 Eva Suchecki

nevertheless the project did not go exactly as I wished, but I

still did a good job on my personal project. I used all the
Areas of Interaction while the making of my project.
Approaches to Learning was used through my organization, I
learned to organize my time and work independently, I
learned information and educated myself about the chosen
topic by taking a lot of notes and outlines as well as weekly
journal entries, used a lot of different resources from the
internet, books and people by researching and interviewing
persons, I also presented my keynote presentation to the
grade tenth, which permitted me to teach others and share
my personal knowledge. Community and Service was used
through social awareness, I am now conscious about what
people go through while attempting IVF as well as the
amount of couples wanting children and the history of an
enormous science progress, I am now more responsible
because I know that I can work by myself and schedule my
time without any need of supervision, I took a lot of initiative
throughout my project and I went in France in a hospital to
interview a gynecologist-obstetrician as well as getting
information from pharmacists about fertility drugs, I showed
creativity and productivity by creating a piece of art destined
to advertize IVF and designing a keynote presentation.
Health, Social education and environmental awareness was
used through examining life in society, how important
children are for humans and also communication since I
have interviewed a doctor and a member of my family, my
mother, have also learned about causes and effects of this
 Eva Suchecki

procedure as well as alternatives, my project influenced the

environment by changing people’s life unnaturally because
of the progress of science the problem that IVF causes and
the improvements that have been made.
Comparing the surveys and looking the amount of wrong and
right answers are in the first and the second survey, In most
of the free answers questions are answered by: yes, no, I
don’t know, I guess In the first survey. However in the
second survey most of them are answered by full detailed
responses. I noticed that most girls want babies and would
attempt IVF if needed, when most guys don’t want children
and wouldn’t bother to try IVF if needed. I also noticed that
european students know more about this procedure than
bahamians and americans, the reason is simply that IVF is
more known in Europe and more practiced, this procedure is
not well known in the Bahamas because of the religious
beliefs that blocks out people from talking about it and
educating people on this subject. From doing the keynote
presentation I have learned that the way of presenting the
project is very important for the teaching of one or several
person. While showing the keynote I was talking and
explaining what was written or the selected pictures to it
would be more detailed and understandable. In affect, I think
that I should have talked louder and a little more because I
had some struggle doing that since the obvious shyness of
mine. Nevertheless I know I have done a nice job teaching
the grade ten students because the feed back from the
survey was very good, most of the answers of the survey
 Eva Suchecki

following the presentation, were right and the free answers

were quiet thoughtful. If I had to do this project again I would
manage my time a little more and try to assist an egg
retrieval, I wanted to but the gynecologist-obstetrician told
me that I was supposed to as previously. Nevertheless I
would have done the same presentation because I think it
was completed and detailed enough, I did not want to write
too much informations because the students would not have
learned everything. Instead I prefer to talk out loud to
explain what is on the keynote and also give some more
details about what is written. If I could do the process again I
would have definitely update my bibliography daily instead
of putting it in MLA format at the end of my researches and I
would also have talked a little more about my own
experience in my keynote presentation. However, I think
that overall my personal project ended well and I am proud
of all the work that I have done throughout the last months.
 Eva Suchecki

Bibliography
“Side Effects of Ovarian Stimulation by Fertility Drugs”. Risk
and complications of IVF treatment. 2004. 7 October 2008
<http://www.ivf-
infertility.com/ivf/standard/complications/ovarian_st
imulation/side_effects.php/>

TJ Kim. “History”. IVF. 10 October, 2008

<http://www.brown.edu/Courses/BI0032/IVF/history.html>

BabyCenter Medical Advisory Board. “Inferlity Causes &

Treatments -Fertility drugs for women”. Babycenter®.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
<http://www.babycenter.com/0_fertility-drugs-for-
women_4091.bc>

Rosenberg Jennifer. “First Test-Tube Baby –Louise Brown”.

About.com: Century History. 17 October 2007
<http://history1900s.about.com/od/medicaladvancesissues/a
/testtubebaby.htm>

“In Vitro Fertilization (IVF-ET)”. Infertility Glossary. 26

October 2007. Georgia Reproductive Specialists
<http://www.ivf.com/ivffaq.html>

Einvid. “In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) –Kurena’s Treatment

Story”. June 12, 2007. November 3, 2008. Georgia
Reproductive Specialists (grsivf)
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFMBc1wnVsA>

Dranmlpani. “When Nature fails – how IVF helps”, July 09,

2006. November 20, 2008.
<www.youtube.com/watch?v=a#DF36C>

Lola Rovati. 30 años despues del primer bebé prebeta. July

25, 2008. Bebés y màs. November 16, 2008
<http://www.bebesymas.com/2008/07/25-30-anos-despues-
del-primer-bebe-probeta>
 Eva Suchecki

-Keynote IVF pictures

<www.grandestsante.com/.webloc>
<www.deconneur.com/img/9/p#B34DD>

“Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia”. Transvaginal oocyte

retrieval. October 15, 2007. December 4, 2008. Egg
Retrieval
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_retrieval>
 Eva Suchecki

Appendix A - Project Timeline

 Eva Suchecki

Appendix B – Research outline

1. History
-In Vitro Fertilization’s history dates back to the 18th Century.
The first egg retrieval was actually tested on rabbits, this
was way back before doctors even thought about
applications to human fertility.
- The doctors Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards developed
it in Great Britain. The first test-tube baby Louise Brown was
born on July 25, 1978.
- The Second IVF attempt, which worked, occurred in India
and was done by the doctor Subbash Mukhopadhyay on
October 3, 1978.
- In 1978 the first American test tube baby, Elizabeth Carr
was born.
- The first IVF in France was on February 24, 1982 in ‘Hauts-
de-Seine’ by Jacques Testart and René Frydman who so were
the first people to meet the Amandine.
- On January 29, 1989 in Nouméa, New Caledonia, the first
Noumean test-tube babies (two twin girls, Laurianne and
Emmanuelle) were born.

2. Statistics
- About 300 000 In Vitro Fertilization are attempted every
year in Europe with only 30% successful pregnancy.
- The In Vitro Fertilization average success rate is from 0% to
50% but it depends on the country where it is being
practiced.
- Every year in the United States of America, approximately
62 million women attempt to have children, when 10%
previously had an infertility-related appointment with a
gynecologist-obstetrician.
- 7% of American married couples reveal having problems of
fertility (the woman, the man or both partners).
- A woman who is in age to reproduce has the same
pregnancy success percentage of changes as a woman in
age to reproduce who smoke.
-A woman who smokes or who is obese has 30% less
chances to have a baby succeeding In Vitro Fertilization.

3. Operatory process

Ovarian stimulation
 Eva Suchecki

The first step to the In Vitro Fertilization procedure, is to take

fertility drugs, this will stimulate the ovaries. The drugs that
are mostly given to the patients are:
- Fertinex
- Clomiphene,
- Heparin Sodium
- Gonadotrophins
- Humegon
- Bromocriptine

Nevertheless there are several side effects when taking

these drugs, some of them would be:
- Headaches
– Ovarian hyperstimulation
– Vaginal dryness
– Syndrome
– Mood changes
– Multiple pregnancy
– Adnexal torsion
– Ovarian cancer
– Hot flushes

Egg retrieval
It is oocyte retrieval. Doctors use a needle to perforate the
wall of the vagina while the patient is under sedation to
recuperate eggs from ovarian follicle.

Fertilization
-The sperm of the male is technically prepared to ameliorate
the spermatic quality and then it is put in contact with the
ovocytes of the woman, in sterile boxes, which form little
wholes.
-If there is fertilization, the child will develop itself by cellular
division. A couple of days (generally two to three day) after
fertilization, the doctor will inseminate one or several more
embryos in the uterus of the woman. Nevertheless they can
obtain blastocystes after five to six days.
-The ovaries of the woman are being stimulated with the
help of drugs and other liquids, so it could make them lay a
couple of egg. Women going through this process, commonly
have to bear several injections a day, multiple blood tests
and ultrasounds. Also hormone injections permit the control
 Eva Suchecki

of the maturation process of the ovocytes. 36 hours before

the ovocytary punctuation the woman will be injected a
liquid in order to accelerate the development of the eggs.
Generally the ponction is done when the woman is under
light general anesthesia or local for a hospitalization of less
than 24 hours. The sperm is taken on the day of the ovocyte
ponction unless they have been frozen, and is then cleaned
of the seminal plasma and prepared so the best and most
normal sperm is collected. About 100 000 sperms are given
to each taken ovocyte, the ovulation has now been done
about twelve hours ago.
-The specialists classify the embryos by the cells quality,
which means their number of cell, their regularity, the size of
the cells and also their fragmentation. The embryos that are
principally used are the ones, which chronology of the cell
division is respected, so the cells are regular and without
fragmentation because they give the best chances of
pregnancy though the embryos are commonly quiet
irregular.

Transfer
Immediate
Most of the time, right after the first divisions the embryos
are being transferred. This has to happen so soon because if
it does not get transferred right after the first divisions, the
used culture for In Vitro Fertilization is not good enough to
insure their growth.

Late
In some cases the transfer may be late or the culture longer
of about five to six weeks after fertilization occurs. The
embryos are maintained in culture until the last main stage.
There are some advantages of the transfer like it permits a
check of the beginning of the embryo’s growth but only after
the third day of development because it is a critical stage of
the embryo’s growth.

Differed
-The woman can ask to keep her husband’s sperm by the
method of freezing it to save it for the next time it is needed,
but it has to be enough sperm conserved. The day before the
other attempt, the sperm has to be unfroze and selected.
 Eva Suchecki

The percentage of successful sperm transfer after it has

been frozen is a bit inferior to the use of non-froze sperm.
Nevertheless this method is very useful and interesting
because it permits the woman to have more sperm transfer
and then increases the chances of pregnancy in one
ponction.
- Doctors and specialists try they best to keep women from
having multiple births by inserting only two embryos in the
uterus on each attempt. In case of a failure the sperm can be
frozen and kept for the next insemination or if the parents
wish to have another children later on.

Implantation
After the embryo transfer, at least half a day is needed to
have the certitude of an eventual developing pregnancy. The
simple reason for the remain is that the first signs of
contraception will appear in the blood after about twelve
hours, the hormone is secreted by the embryos.

Implantation is the most important part of the whole entire

process; unfortunately the success chances are very limited.
Nevertheless some new methods have been tested to
improve succeed. Those approaches are:
– The mechanical modification
of the pellucid zone
surrounding the embryo
single or multiple
implantations.
– The acupuncture
– The use of gonadotrophins

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection

The Intracytoplasmic sperm injection is a system that helps
in case the sperm is unable to fertilize the egg by itself. This
method is done by the doctors in vitro (outside the body, in a
tube) and it consist in instantaneously inject sperm in the
egg. The process that comes next is the same exact thing as
the In Vitro Fertilization procedure.

4. Ethnic aspects
 Eva Suchecki

-When medical help is needed to get pregnant, the

techniques can only be used applying to one of the two
formulas, which respectively are: 1. To use donated cells
(Artificial insemination with a donor’s sperm)
2.
To use the two partner’s cells (Artificial insemination with the
partner’s sperm)

-Though it is a good way to medically help, a lot of problems

are caused by In Vitro Fertilization, and there are the fact
that humans are actually manipulating life right from its
beginning, the frozen embryos can be kept for several years
and if a multiple birth occurs, the twins or triplets might have
a couple of years of difference. Another problem would be so
the risk of multiple birth and prematurity or the embryo
reduction, which is the same when abortion occurs but also
the fact that a mature or old woman can be able to give birth
to one or more babies, mistakes can be made when the
frozen sperm is taken (Doctors might take the sperm of
another man or the eggs of another woman), embryos traffic
can occur, couples do not know what to do of the left frozen
sperm and often forget about it. There can also be
disadvantageous sperm or egg if a donor gives it, because
this person might have hereditary diseases or brain
problems and more.

5. Religious objections
It is an obvious reason why most Catholic Churches are
against any medical assistance for having children. It is
formally forbidden for a couple to have children by In Vitro
Fertilization (Fertilization that happens out of the woman’s
body).

The Catholic Church would most likely hope that the couple
prefers to consider adopting, help other families or even
misfortune and disabled children.

According to churches, the methods of In Vitro Fertilization

are not appropriate because, the doctors will select only
several embryos, while others are being killed. A lot of
people who have different beliefs or none are against In Vitro
 Eva Suchecki

Fertilization because the destruction of embryos is

considered not acceptable.

6. Details on artificial insemination

Opposed to what most people think, Artificial Insemination is
not an In Vitro Fertilization technique. It is in fact very
different because the fertilization happens in the mother’s
body as well as the natural way of having a baby. About half
a day after the ovulation has been triggered by the fertility
drugs the woman’s gynecologist; insert a catheter containing
sperm (A medical instrument, a long thin tube that goes in
any cavity of the body and is used to put a liquid or an
infusion in it) into her uterine cavity to transfer it to the
uterus. It can be done with the partner’s sperm or the donor
sperm.

Couples that have a problem for having a baby use the

artificial insemination, but mostly when the man has
difficulties to transfer sperm into the female body unlike the
In Vitro Fertilization, which is mostly used when the woman
is infertile, cannot produce eggs or has trouble with her
fallopian tubes.

7. Complications
The complications that are caused by In Vitro Fertilization
are the failure of treatment, which most of the time occurs,
also the risk of multiple pregnancy, which is less usual now,
the risks associated with egg collection and the possibility of
ectopic pregnancy.

8. Sexual reproductive systems and organs of the human

body

The female reproductive system

– Vagina (It is a tube-like organ
that is between the outside of
the body and the uterus, it is
where the sperm starts its
way to the ovaries.)
– Cervix (It is a little part
located between the uterus
 Eva Suchecki

and the vagina, when the

woman is about to give birth
it dilates to roughly 4 inches
in diameter.)
– Uterus (It is a large hollow
organ with a muscular wall
and a lining. While a woman is
pregnant, it will enlarge at the
same time as the baby is
growing.)
– Fallopian tubes (There are two
of them, they each are very
thin and flexible. It is located
on the extremities of the
uterus and leads to the
ovaries. During the ovulation,
the egg formed by the ovaries
is released and goes through
those tubes to the uterus.)
– Ovaries (There are the ending
points of the fallopian tubes,
on the right and left lower
abdomen. Both ovaries
produce an egg as well as
hormones like estrogen and
progesterone, every
menstruation cycles.

Menstrual cycle
Every month, women in a reproductive age go through the
menstrual cycle, usually it last about twenty-eight days.
During the first five days the egg that has not been fertilized
is disintegrated and the lining of the uterus breaks, this is
the reason why during estimate a week menstrual bleeding
occurs.
Then from day 5 to day 13 follicle-stimulate hormone is
being produced by the pituitary gland, the estrogen begin to
be secreted again so the lining of uterus will start thickening
again.
After that from day 10 to day 18 hormones are released the
follicle burst, letting out the egg. On the 14th day, normally
 Eva Suchecki

ovulation occurs and this is when the egg leaves the ovaries,
and go through the fallopian tubes into the uterus. From that
time a woman can become pregnant if intercourse occurs.
Finally from day 15 to day 28 the egg has been released, the
amount of progesterone increases and causes the lining to
get thicker and is prepared to support the development of
any fertilized embryo.

The male reproductive system

– Seminal vesicle (It is located
in the center of the bladder, a
thick fluid that nourishes the
sperm is secreted.)
– Bladder (It is the place where
the urine is kept in a muscular
sac, it will be released helped
by the urethra.)
– Prostate gland (It is located
under the bladder and it
produces a little bit of fluid in
semen, It is rather small and
has the form of a bean.)
– Vas deferens (It connects the
seminal vesicle to the
epididymis, a thin muscular
and flexible tube that
transforms sperm.)
– Epididymis (It is placed at the
end of the vas deferens and
tightly stacked to the testicle,
it is where the sperm is being
transported during
intercourse.)
– Urethra (It is a flexi tube
connecting the bladder to the
outside of the organ, it carries
semen and urine out.)
– Scrotum (It is most of the
time called the scrotal sac, it
is located under the penis and
has for job to hold the
testicles.)
 Eva Suchecki

– Penis (It is divided in two

parts, the shaft and the glans.
Is is the part that transfers
sperm into the female
reproductive tract.)
– Testicle (There are two, one
located on the left and one
located on the right, it is
fragile and very sensitive,
their job is to produce sperm
and testosterone.)

Appendix C – Interviews

Personal Project Interview (original)

Doctor François-Xavier Delorme
(A gynecologist’s experience)

1. Pourquoi avez-vous choisit cette vocation?

– Eh bien, j’aime les femmes (rire), j’aime beaucoups les
gens alors au depart je voulais être docteur generaliste,
tout simplement parceque il y a le contact avec les
gens. Il y a toujours les liens sympa et l’amitié entre les
patients et le docteur, souvent ont connait la famille,
les enfants, les frères et soeurs.

2. Cela fait combien de temps que vous êtes gynecologue-

obstetricien?
 Eva Suchecki

– Cela fait maintenant vingt-deux ans que j’ai

commençais ce métier. Tout ceci sans compter les
études bien-sûr.

3. Qu’est ce que vous faites exactement?

– Gynecologie medical: Je suis les femmes et leurs
donnent des pillules de contraception qui leurs
conviennent, ainsi que soigner les champignons, le
grattement et les verifications pour le cancer du col de
l’uterus.
– Le côté obstetric: C’est la suivie de la grossesse de mes
patients, mais aussi de m’occuper de leurs
accouchements.
– La dernière phase de mon travail est la chirurgie
gynecologiste. Cela consiste à verifier les femmes à
peu près une fois par an ou plus si besoin, pour voir si il
y a un quelquonque cancer, une fibrose, un ou des
quists ou bien aussi le cancer du seins qui est très
courant. C’est bien sur aussi là, que mon travail
consiste au traitement de stérilité, l’insemination
artificielle et la fécondation in-vitro.

4. Quelles sont les études demandées?

– Il y a plusieurs années d’étude à faire mais c’est selon
chaque étudiants. Les etudes que j’ai personellement
faites sont six années à l’université, un ou des concours
d’internats, un stage dans un hopital pendant cinq ans
(contenant les occupations de gynecologie, maternité
et la chirurgie gyneco-digestive). Aussi, être chef de
Clinique pendant deux années et après adjoint chef de
service.
– Ensuite la plupart des medecins préfèrent réster a
l’hopital et tiennent ce poste. Cependant certains,
comme moi achèterons plutôt un cabinet en ville pour
avoir un salaire plus haut et avoir ces propres clients.
– J’ai la certitude que si un medecin gynecologue-
obstetrique commen moi, veut réussir dans son métier
et gagner un salaire honorable il doit avoir son proper
cabinet et suivre ses propres clients. En outre le
 Eva Suchecki

medecin n’évolura pas et ne montera pas de niveau

dans sa vie.

5. Et depuis combine de temps tenez-vous ce cabinet? Ou

est-il situé?
– Je tiens ce cabinet depuis à peu près treize ans. Au
début de ma carrière, mon cabinet était situé en bas de
la rue, sur la promenade des anglais. Plus tard, il y a
maintenant quelques années, j’ai acheter un cabinet
placer au centre de la rue principal de Nice (Avenue
Jean-Medecin).

6. Quand avez-vous commencer à travailler en tant que

gynecologue?
– J’ai commencer à travailler en tant que docteur
gynecologue-obstetricien dans mon propre cabinet en
1986, mais j’ai commençais à pratiquer des In Vitro
Fertilization en 1983. J’ai commençais Durant mon
stage en tant qu’ adjoint chef du service.

7. Comment ce passé une journée typique normal?

– Je vais vous faire un tableau, ce qui vous permettra de
rendre les informations plus comprehensible:

Heure Activitées/ dernière minute ou prevus

8 am Clinique passage (verification de la santé,
operation sur cliente, verification de la procedure
après une quelqonque operation ainsi que
surveillance.)
9 am Consultation au cabinet ( Elles commencent en
debut de matinee et finissent à la fin de la journée.)
En cas d’accouchement premature, je peux être
appelé pendant la journée ainsi que la nuit et
Durant les week-ends. A tout moment Je dois être
disponible.
 Eva Suchecki

17 pm C’est la fin de la journée pour tout normal

gynecologue, Alors les consultations se terminent,
mais en effet je dois rester disponible.

8. Est-ce que le materiel est fiable?

– Tout est fiable et de bonne qualité ici. Cet hopital est
prestigieux; la salle d’accouchement à vue sur la mer
est est très apprecier les clients pour ce côté plaisant,
la sécurité est vraiment bien et les sache-femmes sont
assez compétentes.

9. Qu’est-ce que vous préférez dans votre travail?

– Ce qui me plait le plus ce sont bien-sur les
accouchements parceque je fais des parents et familles
heureuses lors de la naissance. Je trouve que c’est une
chose magnifique (amazing) que la naissance d’un
nouveau née.

10. Quels sont les progrès qui ont été fait?

- Ces dernieres années il n’y a pas eu trop de progress mais
entre 1983 et 1985 Il y a eu de gros progress avec les
medicaments.
- Depuis dix ans le nombre de pourcentage est rester le
meme.

11. Qu’est ce que vous prefferez dans votre travail

Ces dernières années il n’y a pas eu trop de progrès mais
entre 1982 et 1985 il y a eu de gros progrès avec les
medicaments mais depuis dix ans le nombre de
pourcentage reste le même.

12. Est-ce qu’il y a beaucoups de grossesse success?

Eh bien depuis que la fertilization in-vitro existe, le taux de
réussite à toujours été 25% ou dans les environs mais le
nombre n’a jamais dépasser les 30% jusqu’a maintenant.
 Eva Suchecki

Appendix C - Survey Questions

This is a copy of the survey that will be handed out to the
grade 11 and 12 before and after my Keynote presentation. I
have carefully made the instructions and the questions
myself. I will be reading all the questions out loud before
handing out the paper to the students and teachers who will
be there, and then I will read the instructions as someone is
handing the papers to everybody. I will wait until everybody
handed back in the paper, to start presenting my work.

At the end of the Keynote presentation I will hand out to the

same persons the same survey without the second question
and repeat the same actions as I first did.
 Eva Suchecki

I will then compare the answers that everybody got, and the
progress that have been made. I will put the result in a data
and then make it in a diagram to clearly show the difference
that I have made in their knowledge about the procedure of
In Vitro Fertilization.

Instructions:
-This survey was made to inform myself about how In Vitro
Fertilization is considered and the knowledge that they have
about it. If you do know what In Vitro Fertilization is, you
may answer all the questions given, nevertheless if you do
not know what this process is, you may answer the second
question and hand back in the paper.
-You will be given another survey at the end of the keynote
presentation, I hope that this will help you to learn more
about this procedure.

Questions:
1. What is In Vitro Fertilization?
A – Medical help for having a baby -right
B – Medical help for loosing weight
C – The infertility of one
D – None of the above
2. Does this process exist since a long time?
A – It’s recent
B – Since 10 years
C – 50 years -right
D – 60 years or over
3. Do you think that a person who was born with the help of
this process will be able to have children?
A – No
B – Yes -right
C – Yes but their child will be infertile
D – None of the above
4. Where was the first test-tube baby born?
A – India
B – America
C – Germany
D – Britain -right
5. Are there a lot of people attempting In Vitro Fertilization?
A – Yes
B – No
 Eva Suchecki

C – It depends where -right

D – I don’t know
6. What do you think about it?
7. Do you know anyone who went through the In Vitro
Fertilization procedure or a person who was born with the
help of it?
8. Does this process exist since a long time?
9. Do you think that IVF is a good progress in the medical
area?
10. Would you consider the In Vitro Fertilization procedure if
you were to be infertile? (Why?)s
11. Do you think that it is dangerous? (Why?)
Thank you for your time 

Data table of the survey results:

Appendix D - Keynote presentation (written

opponent)

NEW SLIDE: In Vitro Fertilization. Educating infertile couples

about the option of IVF. By Eva Suchecki

NEW SLIDE: What is In Vitro Fertilization? In Vitro Fertilization

is the action of taking a woman’s eggs out of her uterus into
a test-tube, insert her partner’s or a donor’s sperm into it
and when fertilization occurs in the test-tube (In Vitro, out of
the human body) it is called the IVF procedure. It is medical
assistance for having children.
 Eva Suchecki

NEW SLIDE:

NEW SLIDE: History of IVF. In the 18th Century, Doctor Chang

tested the first egg retrieval on rabbits in 1959. The first
test-tube human baby, Louise Brown was born on July 25,
1978 in Great Britain. The doctor Subbash Mukhopadyay did
the second IVF attempt, which worked, in India on October 3,
1978. The first American test-tube baby, Elizabeth Carr, was
born in 1978.

NEW SLIDE:

NEW SLIDE: Why do certain couples need In Vitro

Fertilization? In Vitro Fertilization is needed when a couple is
not capable to conceive a baby, the problem can come from
the woman, the man or both. When a couple tries to have
children in vain, it is best to consider medical support.

NEW SLIDE: What is the procedure? Ovarian stimulation

(taking fertility drugs, to stimulate the ovaries. The most
common given drugs are Fertinex, Clomiphene,Heparin
Sodium, Gonadotrophins, Humegon, Bromocriptine). Egg
retrieval (Doctors use a needle to perforate the wall of the
vagina while the patient is under sedation to recuperate
eggs from ovarian follicle). Fertilization (Putting the male’s
sperm and the female’s eggs into a test-tube and put it in
contact). Transfer -Immediate, late or differed. Implantation
(The mechanical modification of the pellucid zone
surrounding the embryo single or multiple implantations, the
acupuncture, the use of gonadotrophins). Intracytoplasmic
sperm injection (It is a system that helps in case the sperm
is unable to fertilize the egg by itself. This method is done by
the doctors in vitro and it consist in instantaneously inject
sperm in the egg.).

NEW SLIDE: Medical Improvements. When In Vitro

Fertilization began to be done on humans, doctors did not
know how to prevent women from having more that one
child at a time, but in the present doctors can be retrieving
two eggs at a time so the woman will have a maximum of
two babies for one pregnancy. Back in the 90’s most women
 Eva Suchecki

going through the IVF procedure gave birth to triplets or

even quadruplets.

NEW SLIDE: Advantages of In Vitro Fertilization. It permits

women to have children by a sperm donor. It permits
infertile couples to have children. It is not painful. It is not
dangerous. There have been improvements.

NEW SLIDE: Disadvantages of In Vitro Fertilization. It is a

long procedure. It is expensive. It has several side effects
caused by fertility drugs and other medications given. It is
against most religion’s habits.

NEW SLIDE: Religious Objections. According to churches,

this method is not appropriate because, the doctors will
select only several embryos, while others are being killed.
Catholic churches propose infertile couples to consider
adopting, help other families and disabled children instead of
attempting In Vitro Fertilization.

NEW SLIDE: Are there a lot of people going through this

process? Yes, about 300 000 In Vitro Fertilization are
attempted every year. 10% of the women of United States of
America’s population attempt In Vitro Fertilization every
year.

NEW SLIDE: Does In Vitro Fertilization really works? Only

30% out of 300 000 attempted In Vitro Fertilization result in
a successful pregnancy every year in Europe, which means
about 90 000. The average success rate is from 0% to 50%
but it depends on the country where it is being practiced. A
woman who smokes or who is obese has 30% less chances
to have a baby succeeding In Vitro Fertilization.

NEW SLIDE: Is In Vitro Fertilization dangerous? In Vitro

Fertilization is very safe but the fertility drugs and medicine
that have to be taken before and during the procedure
(every three month) do have side effects. Those are not
serious effects but it can give headaches, mood changes,
vagina dryness, multiple pregnancy and hot flushes.
 Eva Suchecki

NEW SLIDE: Louise Brown First test-tube baby. She has

recently given birth to twins. Previously naturally conceived,
those babies are healthy and normal. Louise Brown has
given hope to many couples all over the world, since she is
obviously fertile. Before she naturally got pregnant, most
people thought that their child or children (test-tube babies)
would be infertile due to the In Vitro Fertilization.