Fertilized eggs don’t guarantee pregnancies. When embryos are transferred inside women’s uteruses, they need to get implanted on uterus walls to achieve successful pregnancies. At the best IVF centre in Delhi NCR, experts use techniques that ensure the embryo doesn’t fail to hatch and implant. One such technique is laser-assisted hatching.

What is Laser-Assisted Hatching?

Laser-assisted hatching is a special procedure available only at the best infertility clinic in Delhi. It’s used alongside IVF treatment to increase the chances of successful implantation of the embryos.

People who have experienced IVF failure are often recommended to try laser-assisted hatching. This procedure’s main goal is to overcome all possible barriers that are preventing successful pregnancy.

Here are some quick points that will help you understand laser-assisted hatching (LAH) –

In vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment involves mixing eggs with sperm inside laboratories – not inside a woman’s body.
The women’s eggs are deemed fertilized when the man’s sperm successfully penetrates them.
In IVF treatment, the fertilized eggs are observed for six days as they mature into embryos.
The most mature embryos are then placed inside the woman’s uterus. This process is called embryo transfer (ET).
The embryos will either help the woman become pregnant. Or they can be frozen for future IVF procedures.
The developing embryos are surrounded by protective cells that make up a shell called ‘zona pellucida.’
Embryos naturally break through these shells with growth. Unless the embryo breaks through the shell, it can’t implant itself onto the uterine walls.
Fertility experts may make small “cracks” in the outer shells of the embryos to assist and accelerate this breaking through the process.
This breaking through the process is called ‘hatching.’ When IVF doctors have to use other techniques to help the embryo expand and ‘hatch,’ the process is called “assisted hatching.”

The use of lasers to make small “breaks” or “cracks” in the zona pellucida is called laser-assisted hatching (LAH).

Is LAH the Most Effective Option?

LAH is a quite effective assisted hatching technique. But the best IVF centre in Delhi NCR will also offer other methods of cracking the zona pellucida, such as –

Mechanical Hatching: Embryologists use micro-needles to puncture the protective zona pellucida. But, only expert embryologists can conduct this procedure. It’s tough to control the size of the openings in the zona pellucida with mechanical hatching.
Hydrostatic Pressure: In this technique, embryologists mechanically expand the zona pellucida using hydrostatic pressure. Pressure-based expansion is more natural than laser-assisted hatching.
Chemical Hatching: A chemical called ‘Tyrode’s solution’ (an acid) is applied to the zona pellucida until it breaks. However, this process is risky as the embryos need to be quickly cleaned to prevent acid exposure.

Is Laser-Assisted Hatching Effective?

Laser-assisted hatching is the assisted hatching method that the best IVF centres in Delhi NCR recommend. It’s much safer than other assisted hatching techniques. LAH has proven to increase clinical pregnancy rates. In a recent study, LAH significantly increased the chances of pregnancy in IVF treatments by 30.12%.

In What Situations Will My Doctor Recommend Laser-Assisted Hatching?

The best IVF centre in Delhi NCR will not recommend LAH to all patients. LAH is suitable only in specific situations and for specific types of couples. LAH is typically recommended when –

Patients have experienced more than one failed IVF cycle.
Women over the age of thirty-eight
Women who score poorly on their follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels test.
The quality of the embryos is below-par and unlikely to expand without assistance.

What is the Cost of Laser-Assisted Hatching in India?

Your fertility expert will recommend LAH only after conducting a series of medical tests. The costs of LAH procedures can range between INR 15,000-30,000 depending on the services acquired by the patients.