After many years of wondering if I would ever have a child, my husband Daniel and I decided to embark upon a long journey and pursue gestational surrogacy. Although I could not carry a child myself, I produced healthy viable eggs that could be fertilized with my husband’s sperm and placed in a gestational carrier […]
Why Do I Need an HSG or SIS Test?
If you’re having trouble conceiving, your doctor might suggest you take some tests to evaluate your fallopian tubes and uterus. The fallopian tubes are critical for pregnancy to occur since this is where fertilization takes place. The test used to evaluate the fallopian tubes is called a hysterosalpingogram (HSG), which is an x-ray test. A […]
Why Men Should Get A Semen Analysis
The semen analysis is the gold standard for the male evaluation. This test can tell if sperm are present, how many and if they are moving. The semen analysis is important even if the male partner has previously fathered children. It can change during the reproductive years, but unlike eggs, sperm do not have a […]
Understanding Your Ovulation and Ovarian Reserve
When you start thinking about trying to conceive, one of the first things you need to learn about is “ovulation”. Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Tamara Tobias explains everything you need to know about ovulation and ovarian reserve: The menstrual cycle consists of a pre-ovulation (follicular) phase and post-ovulation (luteal) phase. Follicular refers to when a […]
What To Expect When You Visit A Fertility Doctor
Initial consultation Your initial visit will most likely include a consultation with your provider to review your medical history, prior evaluation, and treatments you may have already done. A review of your partner’s history (if applicable) will also be assessed. This initial appointment may take 1-2 hours, so allow enough time in your schedule so […]
Making Miracle Babies: My Own Story
That’s me with Kira and Jack, neither of whom would be here if I had listened to science and statistics. Confident Kira made her way through an ovary that had once been covered with 200 endometrial adhesions, and willful Jack traveled effortlessly two and a half years later through a fallopian tube that was determined […]
4 Ways Acupuncture Can Fight Infertility
In 2001 I opened the doors to my acupuncture practice and almost miraculously, I quickly began filling my schedule book with willing patients! It wasn’t that I was any better than my colleagues, or because I had an awesome marketing strategy in place that kept my phone ringing all the time. Rather, my schedule was […]
5 Ways To Help Cope With Male Infertility
Traditionally when we think of infertility we think of a woman’s journey, her body and what’s happening to interfere with mothering. We also know that infertility can occur because of an isolated male factor, which most often includes low sperm counts and poor quality of sperm. But men all too often are struggling in silence […]
Suffering In Silence: Why Your Partner Also Needs Support
So much emphasis is placed on how to help women get through the physical, emotional, and psychological aspects of infertility treatments and testing that you would think that their husbands (or partners) have no particular needs for support through these stressful procedures. True, it’s not their bodies that are undergoing these pokes and prods, invasive […]
How To Keep Your Cool When Your Hormones Are On Fire
Not many fertility docs will warn you about the emotional ups and downs of taking fertility drugs so it can come as a rude awakening when you have no idea why you’re feeling so impatient, irritable or downright depressed. Everyone reacts differently, of course, but if you’re one of those unlucky ones it can be […]
