For many couples, the fertility journey is a long and windy road. After countless tests, procedures, and hopeful moments countered by heartbreak, there are times when it feels never-ending. If you’re considering IVF, there’s a good chance you’ve already spent LOTS of time on the fertility journey… and want to know how much time IVF will add. In this article, we’ll give you a practical timeline for each part of the IVF process according to a reproductive endocrinologist. Dr. Jason Kofinas from Kofinas Fertility Group answers your question, “How long does IVF take from start to...

When researching in-vitro fertilization (IVF), there are plenty of primers available on the numerous steps involved, like ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval, and embryo transfers. One of the steps of the IVF protocol that fertility patients may feel less familiar with, however, is what happens after egg retrieval but before the embryo transfer.   Once the sperm fertilizes the egg, an IVF specialist called an embryologist will select the best embryo for transfer. The embryologist makes this decision via a process called embryo grading. “[This] assesses the quality and potential viability of embryos,” explains Zsolt Peter Nagy,...

People often talk about how physically and emotionally taxing IVF is — as they should. The whole process is so intense and so completely consuming. But there’s one aspect that people don’t really touch on when they talk about the experience of IVF, and that's the mental load of it all. When you undergo any fertility treatment, the sheer amount of information that gets thrown your way is incredibly overwhelming. As you embark on the process, you learn details of your reproductive system and health you were almost certainly never taught before. And you have to...

Life with endometriosis can be an ongoing battle. After years of dealing with painful flare-ups, many women experience its next cruel symptom: infertility. An estimated 30-50% of women with endometriosis have difficulty conceiving. But since it takes an average of 7-10 years to get a diagnosis, many are first told they have unexplained infertility. Whether your endometriosis is confirmed, suspected, or more of a gut feeling, IVF can help you overcome underlying issues contributing to infertility.  In this article, Dr. Charles E. Miller, an internationally renowned minimally invasive gynecologic surgeon and infertility specialist at CCRM Fertility,...

It’s been nearly 50 years since the first baby conceived via in-vitro fertilization was born. This scientific breakthrough revolutionized fertility treatments, giving way to the births of millions of IVF babies. Although IVF is a game-changer, infertility continues to impact a substantial number of people in 2024: 48.5 million couples globally. As a result, fertility services have become a rapidly growing market worldwide, with a projected rise to $90 billion by 2031 (up from $21 billion in 2021). For those struggling with infertility, however, it’s not enough that IVF services are so widely available. The staggering...

Since the Alabama Supreme Court released a decision on February 16, 2024, that assigns 'personhood' to frozen embryos, the ripple effects have been tangible, and — for the millions of people who need assisted reproductive technologies like IVF to build their families — it's personal.  Multiple clinics in Alabama have already paused IVF treatments, and as of writing, the state’s largest embryo shipping company has also halted business in the state. The decision’s downstream effect has been palpable, according to Dr. Jessica Ryniec, who specializes in reproductive endocrinology and infertility.  What could this mean for fertility patients?...

Preparing for in-vitro fertilization (IVF) can be a daunting process, even well before you step inside a doctor’s office. One of the first decisions that needs to be made is whether you’ll be undergoing a fresh embryo transfer or a frozen embryo transfer (FET). This is a choice that shouldn’t be made lightly, and certainly not without the advice of your medical provider. Your physician will help you decide which protocol is the right one for your body — and your wallet.  If you’ve decided to go the frozen embryo transfer route, however, here’s a quick primer on...

If you’re trying to conceive, and you’ve made the decision to seek out a fertility clinic, where do you even start? There’s the overall patient experience to consider, as well as the clinic’s success rates. Given the rising costs of fertility treatments like in-vitro fertilization (IVF), and the toll infertility can take on your mental health, it’s imperative patients choose a clinic where they feel not only supported but confident their treatments will result in a healthy pregnancy. Sure, prospective patients can research clinics via online reviews and patient recommendations. But this type of information only...

On a recent episode of her podcast, Let’s Be Clear With Shannen Doherty, the actress spoke about her experience undergoing IVF. Doherty, who has breast cancer, admitted that she once believed her IVF experience may have caused her cancer. “I believed that the reason why I got cancer was because I did IVF,” she said. “We needed IVF and I did a bunch of rounds of it.” Doherty added that other women she knew also were diagnosed with breast cancer after undergoing IVF. “Through a lot of other women that I knew that did IVF that...

I am in the shower, and I'm letting the tears fall. Because in the shower, my son won't see my sadness. Because in the shower, I can sob without seeing the heartbreak on my husband's face. Because in the shower, I can collect my thoughts.  The stats were on our side. The embryo was normal. I had carried one healthy, beautiful baby to term not even two years ago. There was no reason to think that another embryo transfer wouldn't work. There was no reason to believe that it would fail.  And yet, here we are,...