Inside The Embryo

This health video takes a look inside the embryo to understand it better.

Bruce and Eileen Bellemore couldn't believe it when they found out Eileen was pregnant. It only took one cycle of IVF. Bruce Bellemore: I said, 'How many are we talking about?' Eileen said, 'Three.' That's when the blood rushed out of my head and I had to sit down. So that was great. That was fantastic. Doctor David Keefe says, on average, women in their thirties, like Eileen, have a 30 to 50% chance of becoming pregnant with IVF. Dr. David Keefe: The big challenge is in the egg factoring fertility, in fixing the eggs if that can be done and at least diagnosing egg problems when they emerge. Jennifer Matthews: Doctor Keefe uses a new type of microscope to determine the best egg. It's called a polscope. It uses polarized light to see the spindle inside the egg. Dr. David Keefe: It then allows only the light that is twisted by the spindle to come through, so the spindle lights up as if it's a sign in Times Square. Jennifer Matthews: The spindles are the threads that tether the chromosomes. In some eggs, the chromosomes can tangle and separate causing future complications. Here's what an egg looks like through a regular microscope. Now here it is through the polscope. Dr. David Keefe: It's the first time we can see inside the egg to image the most important structure inside the egg. Jennifer Matthews: As for the Bellemores, it seems as if the doctors did select the very best eggs. Eileen Bellemore: We are lucky. We really do feel very blessed. Jennifer Matthews: And if actions speak louder than words, Brendan speaks for all of them when he says life is pretty good. This is Jennifer Matthews reporting.