Follicular and Luteal Phase Aspects of Ovarian Stimulation for In Vitro Fertilization

In this chapter the endocrine profiles during the normal menstrual cycle have been described. In addition, a short overview of the history of ovarian hyperstimulation for in vitro fertilization is given. The development of the newly designed long acting FSH preparation has been described. Furthermore, differences between GnRH agonists and GnRH antagonists are discussed as well as the currently used clinical protocols with these GnRH analogues. The impact of the final oocyte maturation performed with hCG has been described and finally the available knowledge on the early luteolysis after ovarian hyperstimulation for IVF has been discussed.