Early pregnancy bleeding is fairly common and occurs in 20 – 30% of pregnancies. Vaginal bleeding in early pregnancy can be worrying, so it's only natural that if it happens to you, you're concerned ... read more
You have had your egg retrieval and are now waiting for your embryo transfer. Instead of having your transfer 5 days later, you are told that the embryos are “dividing slowly” and the transfer is ... read more
I recently hosted a webinar for InVia Fertility covering polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). If you haven’t had time to watch it, or if you’re wondering what it’s about, here are five quick important ... read more
One of our routine tests is to evaluate egg quality is a day-3 follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) level. A high FSH level indicates diminished quality of a woman's eggs (ovarian reserve). Patients ... read more
The treatment of male factor infertility was revolutionized in 1992 when Palermo and co-workers introduced intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). With ICSI, embryologists use a micromanipulator to ... read more
A reader recently posted this question on a previous blog: I am 44 years old healthy non-smoker yoga practitioner, AMH 1.45 and FSH 9, high prolactin (25) but all else normal/good. Cycle regular with ... read more
You've seen a fertility specialist, started IVF, and gotten through the first embryo transfer. You've spent a long time waiting for good news. And finally you get it! The results of your pregnancy ... read more
When people first start trying for a baby, they are often surprised if pregnancy doesn’t happen right away. The truth is that even a healthy young couple at peak fertility will usually need to try ... read more
Women are born with all the eggs that they will ever have. In fact, when a female fetus is only 5 months along, she has approximately seven million eggs in her ovaries. By the time that baby girl is ... read more
It is now well established that elevated basal (cycle days 2, 3 or 4) follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels can be an indicator of being infertile. This decrease in fertility due to a reduction ... read more
You've been waiting for this for so long and at last your pregnancy test after IVF is positive. Now what happens? Well, in spite of the fact that you might want to shout the good news from a rooftop, ... read more
If you're undergoing or researching IVF, you may have learned that not all embryos are able to implant, and therefore sometimes the decision is made not to transfer an embryo to the patient after an ... read more
For same-sex male couples, planning a family starts with a lot of questions—about getting an egg donor, surrogacy, and other fertility treatment options. Some of these questions can be answered by ... read more
Embryo freezing has become common practice, and we have been doing it successfully for more than thirty years. Previously, the technique used for embryo freezing utilized computerized freezers with ... read more
So you are reading your instructions or your prescription bottles and there are all these letters and symbols. What do they mean and why are they used? read more
There are often social challenges endured by LGBT families and parents. There is a lot of confusion and information to be sorted through, from friends, family members, Internet searches, and even ... read more
A common misconception is that fertility preservation is just for cancer patients. Fertility preservation is exactly what it sounds like; preserving your fertility. For women, it involves stimulating ... read more
Single people and same sex couples that would like to have children that are theirs, biologically, can use this blog as a guide to starting the single and same sex parenting process. read more
Letrozole (marketed as Femara in the U.S.) is a drug that is approved for the treatment of breast cancer after surgery. It is also used (“off label”) for ovulation induction. I have discussed its ... read more
Embryos have been successfully frozen (cryopreserved) since the early 1980’s. Worldwide literature has confirmed that there is no increase in birth defects in children born from frozen embryos. The ... read more
In order to maximize pregnancy rates in an egg donor program, it is very important that a good egg donor is selected. You may already know that it's important that the egg donor be in good health, ... read more
We often talk about follicles (affectionately called "follies") during the IVF process. But IVF patients often don’t understand the difference between follicles and eggs. If eggs aren't follicles, ... read more
A pregnancy test, in an IVF cycle, is generally scheduled approximately two weeks after an embryo transfer. This involves a blood test to measure the hormone of pregnancy - hCG (human chorionic ... read more
So, you are going through a treatment cycle and have had an intrauterine insemination or an embryo transfer. You are now in the two week waiting period for the pregnancy test results that will be a ... read more
There is an obesity epidemic in America today. More than four in ten women of reproductive age are overweight or obese. Obesity increases the risk of a number of health conditions: high blood ... read more
You may be surprised to find out that in many cases, the first step in the IVF process is to take birth control pills. Though this seems to be counter-productive to your goal of getting pregnant, ... read more
The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in the base of your neck just below the Adam’s apple. It produces several hormones, all of which play an important role in your body's metabolism-- and your ... read more
We have now posted several blogs discussing the impact of anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) and fertility. AMH levels predict number of eggs that will be retrieved during in vitro fertilization (IVF) and ... read more
Anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) level is now routinely used to evaluate ovarian reserve. AMH levels decrease with age and are a more consistent predictor of “ovarian age” than antral follicle count on ... read more
Fertility drugs are used to stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple follicles. Their use is associated with multiple ovulations and often with high estrogen levels. It would therefore be reasonable ... read more
What is adenomyosis? Adenomyosis is defined as the presence of endometrial tissue, which normally lines the uterus, which has grown into the muscular wall of the uterus. It can be diffuse or ... read more
Adenomyosis is a gynecological disease where the glands from the lining of the uterine cavity (endometrium) are present within the uterine musculature (myometrium). Historically, adenomyosis was ... read more
Let me be the first to say that before infertility smacked me in the face, I may have hurt or offended others by asking insensitive or even ignorant questions about their fertility struggles. I want ... read more
The world has now been living with COVID for over a year. Over one hundred million infections have been documented, and over two and a half million people are known to have died from COVID. During ... read more
Endometriosis happens when the lining of the uterus (womb) grows outside of the uterus. It affects about 5 million American women. Endometriosis is especially common among women in their 30s and 40s; ... read more
Endometriosis is a condition in which the lining of the uterus (endometrium) “escapes” and implants on structures outside the uterus. The endometrial tissue outside the uterus is affected by hormones ... read more
Endometriosis affects one in ten women in the United States, and can cause fertility problems. At InVia Fertility, we have treated many women who have this condition over the years. Here are the top ... read more
Endometriosis is a condition where the lining of the uterus (endometrial-like glands and stroma) is present outside the uterus. These implants are sensitive to hormonal changes and result in chronic ... read more
So you're in the IVF process, and now you’ve waited the long 10-16 days for your first pregnancy test. Your hCG level comes back positive. Congratulations! Then the panic sets in. Is my number too ... read more
I often get questions from patients with low sperm morphology (shape) during semen analysis. A typical question is “My sperm morphology is only 3% normal forms; what can I do?” or “What is the best ... read more
One of the first steps in fertility testing for any male infertility issues is a semen analysis. A semen analysis gives a good representation of the male’s quantity and quality of sperm, as shown in ... read more
Today it has become increasingly common for women to achieve their educational goals, find a partner, and establish a career path before they consider having children. It often takes years to obtain ... read more
One of the commonest questions I get is from women with low AMH (anti mullerian hormone) levels who are having trouble getting pregnant. These women are often frantic and worried that they will never ... read more
AMH or anti mullerian hormone level testing and ovarian reserve testing are frequent topics of questions from people who are having trouble getting pregnant. Since my last blog on this subject, a lot ... read more
One year after the first cases were detected, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect daily life in the United States. It is difficult to take in the full impact of the disruption, illness and loss ... read more
Infertility is a profoundly stressful experience, physically and psychologically, write Dr Alice Domar and Lauren Prince in their recent study in Sexuality, Reproduction and Menopause. The study ... read more
In a previous blog, I discussed data that showed a significantly reduced pregnancy rate in obese in vitro fertilization (IVF) patients. This was in regular IVF patients attempting to conceive with ... read more
Fertility treatment can be stressful on your emotions, your schedule and your finances. Fortunately, you have someone in your corner the entire way: your fertility nurse! Your fertility nurse is here ... read more
Anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) is now a well-established marker of ovarian reserve. AMH is released by the (granulosa) cells surrounding small (antral and pre-antral) follicles in the ovary. It ... read more
Age-related infertility is something fertility clinics are seeing increasingly, as more couples work on getting pregnant after 40. It is a fact that one cannot change one's biological age. The ... read more
