The In Vitro Fertilization system for conception of a human embryo outside the mothers body works like this-multiple ovas, or eggs are withdrawn from the mothers body and put into special laboratory culture dishes called Petri dishes; sperm from the father are then added, or in several cases sperm is inserted directly into an ovum, a method known as intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

If the fertilization succeeds, a fertilized ovum (or several fertilized ovums), later undergoing several cell divisions, is either transported to the mother or a surrogate mothers body for normal development in the uterus, or frozen for following implantation. The eggs could also be frozen and then be fertilized later on. In Vitro maturation is when the ova are taken out and then grown in a laboratory before they are fertilized.

This technique was devised for use in events of infertility when the womans fallopian tubes are injured or the mans sperm count is low. It is also used to let prospective parents with other reproductive problems (e.g., inability to generate eggs, poor sperm quality, or endometriosis) to bear a child, and can be used in association with embryo biopsy, or preimplantation genetic diagnosis, to allow parents to have a child who is released from some inheritable defects or diseases.

In embryo donation (also called embryo adoption), frozen embryos that are not used by the mother are provided for implantation to a woman or couple who are infertile but wish to have children and are capable of bearing children.

The use of In Vitro Fertilization has made the end result of more than a million babies births.

There is now indication from a study published suggesting that babies conceived by IVF have a 1 in 10 risk of birth defects, double the risk of babies born naturally. These faults involve holes in their hearts, one kidney instead of two, brain abnormalities, and cleft lips and palettes. Researchers found out that IVF children have a sixfold increase in Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, a rare hereditary disorder which causes deformity and cancer.

As all of these concerns are brought up, fertility experts have moved quickly to caution that the studies are small and not enough research has been done or that the problems could be caused by genetic problems in the woman that obstructed her from getting pregnant in the first place or the use of fertility drugs before IVF is attempted. Others suggest that because IVF babies are closely watched, the defects are detected sooner than they might be seen in babies that are born naturally.

In short, there are both pros and cons that must be weighed when considering in vitro fertilization as a possible option for finally achieving parenthood.