Injections. Shots. Jabs. No matter which word you use, the thought of anything requiring a syringe usually causes a shudder in most people, regardless of their age. According to the Center for Disease Control, as many as 1 in 4 adults have substantial fears around medically related needles. There’s even a scientific name for this condition: Trypanophobia. Can you really blame anyone for not being keen on shots, though? Getting your body poked with a sharp object is hardly on anyone’s list of fun activities.  But, sometimes, you’ve got to grin and bear those jabs for...

Whether you’re just starting your fertility journey or you have completed multiple IVF cycles, it’s normal to feel a little overwhelmed with all of the information to consider and the unfamiliar medical lingo being thrown at you. We’re here to help you make sense of it all.  Before we get into the side effects of Menopur, let’s explore its uses and how the medication actually works. What is Menopur? MENOPUR® (menotropins for injection) is a medication most commonly used during in vitro fertilization (IVF) to stimulate and develop your ovarian follicles, with the goal of retrieving...

Infertility is defined by many major health groups, including the World Health Organization and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as being unable to get pregnant after 12 months of regular unprotected sex. But the truth is, that definition doesn’t tell the whole story — and it doesn’t fully represent the range of people who may require medical intervention to build their families. The term only applies to a specific heteronormative demographic, while also excluding people who, for a variety of reasons, may not be served at all by this definition, yet share the experience...

It’s no secret that medical costs in the United States are nothing close to ideal. In fact, just the cost of fertility treatments can be enough to deter prospective parents from pursuing their family-planning dreams.  While more affordable pricing is probably enough for anyone to consider traveling for fertility treatments, you might find that choosing a clinic outside of the U.S. is the right choice for you regardless of the price point.  One such treatment center, Fertilidad Integral, for example, has so much to offer its patients. From their integrated wellness offerings to their expert clinical...

Sponsored by Organon. Visit FertilityJourney.com for infertility resources and information.  Jennifer "Jay" Palumbo is a writer, public speaker, infertility advocate, author of the blog "The 2 Week Wait," and a proud in vitro fertilization (IVF) mom of 2 boys. This article is based on her own fertility journey. Fertility can be impacted by many different things – your diet, your age, how healthy you are, whether or not you smoke – but what about your DNA? According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 6.7 million women in the United States are unable to...

A fertility journey can involve many steps between you and your future baby. Some are in your control, some aren’t, but all usually provide a certain amount of information. PGT-A testing is one way to gain valuable knowledge to help you move forward on your path to parenthood. It can be especially helpful for couples trying to build their families who have experienced prior losses, want to decrease the time to pregnancy, increase chances of success, or are over age 35.  The team at Genomic Prediction, who created the LifeView testing platform, has studied and continues...

Vaginal infections, like all other infections, are no fun. But the last thing anyone wants to think about when dealing with a vaginal infection is whether or not their ability to conceive has been compromised.  Bacterial Vaginosis, or BV, is a common vaginal infection that, regrettably, has been linked to infertility.  But this is due to a variety of factors: Even though BV doesn’t directly cause infertility, it can increase your risk of developing fertility issues, particularly tubal infertility. Before we delve into this topic further, however, it’s important to establish what exactly BV is. What...

You’ve done so much hard work. You’ve given yourself injections, gone to countless appointments, endured blood draws and ultrasounds, and made it through an egg retrieval. Now what?  A lot has to happen for the egg and sperm to become a blastocyst, from fertilization to the various stages of embryo development. In fact, only about one in four harvested eggs may reach the blastocyst stage, and only about one in eight eggs may actually be genetically competent to become a baby (depending on your unique circumstances). Fortunately, many experts, like Dr. Karine Chung of California Fertility...

Everyone’s fertility journey is unique and different. But if you’re going through in-vitro fertilization (IVF), there’s probably one thing that you have in common with everyone else: how much you hate those meds. IVF often entails taking lots of hormonal medications, via pill and through injection. When preparing for embryo transfer (the final step in the IVF process), the medications help your uterus prepare properly for pregnancy and ensure that an embryo has the best chance of implanting. But even the purest, clearest desire for a baby doesn’t quite take the edge off of stabbing yourself...

The path to parenthood can be filled with complexities, uncertainties, and challenges. No matter where you are on your journey you deserve to feel supported, empowered, and educated during the process. In seeking additional guidance, two roles that frequently come up are fertility coaches and fertility consultants. While their names may sound similar, these professionals have different levels of experience and offer different types of support.  In this article, we'll break down the key differences between a fertility coach and a fertility consultant to help you make an informed decision about the right support for your...