This success gave women and men hope that they too could achieve what was once thought unattainable: the creation of a family, the ability to have a child own. In vitro fertilization is the combination of sperm and egg that occurs outside the body, this combination occurs inside a petri dish in a laboratory setting. IVF begins once fertility drugs begin to be administered, these drugs are administered to stimulate the ovaries to produce eggs. Gonadotropin and other fertility drugs will cause the ovaries to produce more eggs for extraction, this is because not all eggs will be viable and this process ensures that some will fertilize. The ovaries are monitored using ultrasound and hormone levels are checked using a blood sample. Once the follicles are ready, the eggs are retrieved by transvaginal ultrasound aspiration. The mature eggs are then fertilized or frozen depending on the patient's choice. The fertilized eggs are then observed for a few days by the second or third day and cell division should have taken place and by the fifth day the embryo is a blastocyst. The next step is embryo transfer where a certain number of embryos are placed into the uterus where they will hopefully implant and proceed successfully.