Patient's question:
My wife and I have no children after getting married. We are currently undergoing in vitro fertilization at the hospital. How many days does embryo culture take?Doctor's answer:
Our naturally conceived embryos complete fertilization and early cleavage in the fallopian tubes on days 1-3, then begin to migrate to the uterus. By day 5 of embryonic development, the formed blastocyst will find a suitable position in the uterus to settle in. In contrast, embryos in in vitro fertilization (IVF) are formed when sperm and eggs combine outside the body, then undergo in vitro culture in a simulated maternal growth environment. After 3 days of culture and development, normal embryos will form an 8-cell cleavage-stage embryo. Continued culture for 2-4 days will result in a blastocyst with approximately 120 cells.