If you struggle with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), you have probably tried everything imaginable to help manage your symptoms. But what if an effective treatment for PCOS was already widely available, without any major side effects? It turns out that a decades-old diabetes medication has quietly emerged as a promising treatment for women with PCOS and other "off-label" conditions.  So, what is metformin, exactly, and is it truly a miracle treatment option for PCOS? Let’s discuss.  What is metformin? Metformin is no new kid on the block: it has been used as a first-line treatment for...

If you’ve experienced any form of pregnancy loss, the first thing to do is to give yourself grace. It’s crucial during this devastating time to embrace as many resources as you need, for both your physical and mental healing. You’re allowed to grieve, rest, and nourish your body, for as much time as it takes to feel better. Accept support from loved ones, and know that you’re not alone (about 10% to 20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage).  But when you’re ready to try to conceive once more, it can be challenging to know when...

Trying to understand recurrent pregnancy loss is often taxing. There are a lot of questions but very few answers. You are overwhelmed with curiosity about what may happen next while also navigating the grief of the loss you’ve just experienced. It’s a lot. The load can get heavy pretty quickly if you’re one of the women who have navigated two or more miscarriages in a row.  “It is always important for couples to recognize the level of grief and anxiety that occurs with each pregnancy loss,”  explains Dr. Sandy Goodman, a board-certified OB/GYN and fertility specialist at...

If you’re like me (read: a millennial who grew up primarily in the ‘90s), you can probably relate to the confusing, overwhelming, and flat-out embarrassing experience of puberty. It was all just so hush-hush and isolating, to the point that it all felt really shameful. I would have benefitted so much from a more open culture around the realities of puberty, from the changes in the way my body began to look, to the incredibly scary experience of starting periods. There was definitely a culture of shame and stigma firmly in place when I was growing...

These days, no matter where you are in your fertility journey, trying to conceive can be stressful. Even if you’re going for it the old-fashioned way (read: sexual intercourse; no medical assistance), it feels like baby-making requires more planning than buying a home: You need to track your menstrual cycle, make sure you have sex on specific days, etc. Put it this way: You’re likely exhausted before you’ve even gotten to the jumping-into-bed part! While it’s true that women are at their most fertile only on certain days, numerous myths about the TTC process have snuck...

I’ve spent the past decade covering reproductive health, and here’s what I’ve noticed during that time: Celebrities have been a real force in the normalization and de-stigmatization of fertility issues.  Every time a star opens up about a miscarriage or tells their fertility story, it moves the mission of removing the shame from these issues forward. And that’s powerful. It’s also complicated. Because while speaking out about reproductive issues and sharing personal stories does so much for the greater good — especially when a person with a big platform does it — no one needs 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,...

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...

It’s Ramadan right now, which means many Muslims across the world are observing the holy month by fasting every day from sunrise to sunset. Because Ramadan falls according to the lunar calendar,  the month comes at different times during the calendar year, so the actual duration of that daily fast will vary from month to month (depending on the timing of sunrise and sunset). This year, people who observe the religious custom will fast for about 12 hours a day. Religious customs aside, we’ve talked a lot about the health implications of fasting — albeit in...

If you’re considering adopting a child and feeling overwhelmed about deciding which type of adoption is right for you, I get it; I’ve been there. I spent countless hours Googling, trying to figure it all out. There were many times when I felt incredibly frustrated with the process. If you’re feeling the same way, read on.  Breaking down the four different types of adoption To help you narrow it down, let's first focus on the four different types of adoption and then transition into the questions you should ask yourself when considering adopting.  Embryo donation There...