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AIH   Artificial insemination using husband's sperm   Amenorrhea   The absence or abnormal cessation of menstruation due to a number of factors including dietary, emotional, hormonal and exercise.   Amniocentesis   Taking fluid and cells from the amniotic fluid around the fetus at 16 - 20 weeks of pregnancy   Ampoule   Glass container used to hold a drug   Anovulation   The absence of ovulation (the discharge of an ovum from the ovary).   Analgesia   Pain relief (not the same as anaesthesia)   Antibodies   Usually meaning antibodies against sperm   Ascites   Accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity in ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome   Aspiration   The application of light suction to the ovarian follicle during the egg retrieval procedure to remove the eggs for use in in vitro fertilization (IVF).   A.S.R.M.   American Society for Reproductive Medicine: a professional medical organization of health care professionals interested in reproductive medicine.   Assisted hatching    A type of micromanipulation procedure designed to improve implantation, whereby the embryologist makes a chemical opening on the zona pellucida of an embryo to allow the cleaved embryo to exit prior to implantation.   Assisted Reproductive Technology    A set of techniques to help couples achieve pregnancy after other surgical and hormonal methods have failed, encompassing controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) and intrauterine insemination (IUI), in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET), gamete intrafallopian transfer GIFT and zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT) (see additional definitions).