Most people grow up wanting to eventually become parents. While many do so through traditional partnerships, more and more are separating their romantic relationships from their desire to grow their families. Becoming a single, solo, or independent parent – all terms that can be used interchangeably for this community – is a beautiful choice that should be celebrated, even if it’s different than what they initially envisioned for themselves.  Independent parent-to-be, Pamela DeLaNuez, was once asked, “Are you going to regret not having a romantic relationship, or are you going to regret not having kids?” That simple...

Congratulations, you’ve made it! You’ve done all the necessary preliminary testing, you’ve gone through stims and egg retrieval or the process of selecting a donor, you’ve worked your way through your pre-embryo transfer protocol calendar, and your transfer day has finally arrived.  After the procedure, you’re sent home with instructions from your provider, and a strong recommendation to avoid taking an at-home pregnancy test. Instead, you’re directed to wait until your next appointment – an hCG (Human chorionic gonadotropin) blood test – to find out if your embryo has settled in for the long haul.  Understandably,...

You’ve shown up for all of the appointments. You’ve endured every single at-home injection. You’ve taken your prenatal vitamins and prescribed IVF meds. Your eggs have been retrieved and fertilized, and now it’s time for the final step of the IVF process: embryo transfer.  Everything has been preparing you for this step, building up to this moment. Depending on how you and your team of doctors decide to conduct the transfer, it could happen a few days after egg retrieval, during your next menstrual cycle, or even months or years down the line.  With all of...

If you have been in the world of infertility for any amount of time, you probably feel like you need a cheat sheet to keep track of the abundance of fertility acronyms that are involved in the process: TTC, IVF, IUI, PIO, ICSI. The list is seemingly never-ending, and it can be daunting to those who are entering the already stressful world of fertility treatments. IVF, or in-vitro fertilization, is a form of assisted reproductive technology in which an egg is fertilized by sperm outside of the body. After fertilization, if a viable embryo is created,...

For the LGBTQ+ community, there are various family-building options to consider. In honor of Pride Month, we wanted to shine a light on Reciprocal IVF, a beautiful path to parenthood, also known as Co-IVF. Reciprocal IVF is a treatment option for many LGBTQ+ couples in which both partners have eggs and a uterus, such as lesbian or trans couples. What is so incredible about this family-building choice is that it allows each partner to have an intimate role in the creation and growth of the couple’s child. How does reciprocal IVF work? During reciprocal IVF, one partner...

June is National Men’s Health Month, but there is no better time than the present to start taking men’s health seriously - especially when it comes to your fertility health when trying to conceive.  We know that 1 in 8 couples find themselves having difficulty getting pregnant or sustaining a pregnancy. While much of the focus and education around fertility health centers solely on women, men’s health plays a vital role as well. After all, sperm does contribute to 50% of a baby’s DNA. You might be surprised to hear that male factor infertility is a contributing cause...