So, your OB/GYN or fertility doctor has recommended a hysteroscopy — now what? More importantly, what exactly is a hysteroscopy?  A hysteroscopy is a versatile procedure used in gynecologic practice. It can determine a variety of diagnoses, as well as serve as treatment. Specifically, operative hysteroscopy can treat instances of intrauterine pathology like endometrial polyps or fibroids.  What happens during a hysteroscopy? The procedure itself consists of looking directly inside the uterus with a tool called a hysteroscope — a thin, lighted telescope-like tube your provider inserts through the vagina and cervix. During the process, explains...

The journey to building a family can be an emotionally and financially taxing one. Fertility treatments and procedures, while offering hope to many, can also pose a significant financial burden. Recognizing this, many employers are now providing fertility coverage as part of their employee benefits packages. This not only helps alleviate some of the financial stress for independent parents, but it also fosters a more diverse and inclusive workplace regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or single or partnered status. Sounds like a win-win, right? Well, not all companies have caught on yet. If that describes where...

Confession: Up until I was 23 years old, I thought your “menstrual cycle” was your period. I had no idea my body was on a whole different biological rhythm that repeated itself every ~28 days and resulted in physical and mental shifts week over week.  But the craziest part is, so many women have found themselves in a similar boat. Most women don’t get to know their bodies on this level until they’re trying to have a baby. And even then, some women go through the process of having one or multiple children not knowing that...

Growing up and into my early twenties, when I pictured my future family, I always imagined that I would have at least two children. I myself am the oldest of four daughters. I daydreamed about the sibling life my kids would someday have, best friends through it all just as I was best friends with my sisters. I, like many people who want children, only ever envisioned a family with siblings. In my mid-twenties, my husband and I started trying to get pregnant. Nothing wild yet - I just went off my birth control pill. We...

It’s been more than a year since Roe v. Wade was overturned, with 20 states in the U.S. now either restricting or banning abortion outright. With women’s reproductive rights still slowly being chipped away in this country, misinformation and scare tactics pertaining to abortion continue to run rampant, especially when it comes to how this procedure affects fertility.  What’s important to remember when discussing abortion, is that both forms – medication and surgical – are not only safe, but surgical abortions are actually one of the safest medical procedures available when performed by a qualified provider. By comparison,...

Sasha Pieterse, an actress best known for her starring role in 'Pretty Little Liars', has been candid about her experience with PCOS. When the actress was just 17, she navigated some noticeable side effects of the condition — and she did so while very much existing in the public eye. Her story illustrates so many things about the experience of living with PCOS, especially when it comes to all the unknowns associated with the condition. Like so many people who live with PCOS, Pieterse struggled with the symptoms of the disease before securing a diagnosis. After...

Getting pregnant with our son was easy, so we thought number two would be a piece of cake. But this time, we weren’t as lucky. Secondary infertility leaves many couples with unanswered questions and no reason why it’s not working for them now.  What is secondary infertility? Couples experience secondary infertility when they cannot get pregnant or carry a baby to term after being pregnant or have no issues with their previous pregnancy.  “Secondary infertility is quite common,” says OB/GYN Dr. Staci Tanouye. It affects 8-12% of couples across the globe, which is about 4 million...

Let’s not beat around the bush: Period cramps are the worst. Just hearing the word “cramps” conjures up images of heating pads, over-the-counter pain medication, and lethargic afternoons on the couch. Unfortunately, these kinds of cramps are extremely common: About 80% of women will experience period pain at some point during their lifetime.  But menstruation isn’t always the cause of abdominal cramps. In fact, cramping can occur during the early stages of pregnancy, specifically during implantation. This is when a fertilized egg, also known as a blastocyst, nestles deep into the lining of the uterus. While...

Women and men are not biologically the same.  At this point, it’s probably clear to many of us that women are not small men. We are biologically different, meaning we have different needs and focal points when it comes to our health.  This is not to say one sex is better than the other, just different.  Why?  Women operate off of two biological rhythms: their circadian rhythm (24-hour cycle) and infradian rhythm (~28-day menstrual cycle). Meanwhile, men operate off their circadian rhythm only.  This means women’s hormones fluctuate week after week as they enter different stages...

After decades of facing down pregnancy speculation, plus criticism from the public for not having children, Jennifer Aniston revealed a painful part of her history last year. “I was trying to get pregnant. It was a challenging road for me, the baby-making road,” the A-lister told Allure in 2022. “All the years and years and years of speculation... It was really hard.” This candid admission was the first of its kind, but in 2016, Aniston penned a HuffPost essay on the public’s fascination with her reproductive life. “For the record, I am not pregnant,” she wrote....