Assisted Hatching

Assisted Hatching is an In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) based technique. It differs from standard IVF only at the transfer of the fertilised egg stage. For this reason please read the page entitled "In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF)".

Why Use Assisted Hatching?

For implantation of an embryo to occur inside the womb the embryo must first breakout from a gel like shell which surrounds the embryo. This shell is called the zona pellucida. The process of breaking out from the zona pellucida is called hatching.

Some embryos have harder shells than others. This is especially so in women over 40 years of age. For these women where implantation is otherwise not possible a process called assisted hatching may be useful. This is when a hole is made into the zona pellucida or when this shell is artificially made thinner. This is done using acid, laser or mechanical methods and increases the chances of successful hatching thereby enabling implantation to take place.

Some specialists believe this method to increase the chances of a successful pregnancy but others feel that there is no scientific basis for such a conclusion. Further research is therefore pending to fully evaluate the role of assisted hatching.