In vitro fertilisation is the scientific name given to the process with is used to conceive a child outside the body.
Babies born as a result of IVF are often referred to as "test tube babies". "In vitro" is Latin for "in glass". A woman's egg and her partner's sperm are placed together in a dish in the hope that fertilisation will occur.
Conception outside the uterus is often the only means of achieving a pregnancy for women whose fallopian tubes are blocked. Normally, an egg (oocyte) is produced by one of the two ovaries once a month. It passes down the fallopian tube where it will be fertilised by sperm from the woman's partner if sexual intercourse has recently taken place.
The fertilisation of an egg by a sperm is termed "conception" and the fertilised egg is called a zygote or pre-implantation embryo. This embryo passes along the fallopian tube and into the women's uterus where it will usually implant within a few days.
If a woman is infertile (unable to become pregnant) because of diseased or damaged fallopian tubes, her egg cannot be fertilised in the usual way. IVF technology and advances have also opened the door to the treatment of couples with other types of female infertility and also male infertility factors. It is estimated that 1/3 of this infertility is a female problem, 1/3 a male factor problem and 1/3 where there are both male and female problems.