Most people going through IVF will have their embryos frozen, so just how long can embryos be frozen for? Put simply: 27 years at least, but probably longer. Freezing embryos is an essential part of IVF, and not only prevents the waste of excess embryos, but can help to reduce the risk of the potentially life-threatening ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, or OHSS.  Before we get into how long embryos can be frozen, let’s first talk a bit about how embryos are frozen. Embryos are frozen almost exclusively by a process called vitrification. What is vitrification? Vitrification involves...

We get it. It’s starting to feel like all of our belongings — from personal care products to home goods — are “out to kill us” these days. It can feel pretty exhausting and defeating when it seems like every single day we’re learning about something new that we have to get rid of because it’s supposedly “toxic.”  We feel that pressure ourselves at Rescripted, which is why we’ve put together a starting point for swapping out your conventional goods for more body-safe options. It’s not about being perfect but doing the next best thing for us. ...

While it’s never a bad time to educate women about uterine fibroids, July just happens to be Fibroids Awareness Month, which gives Rescripted a unique opportunity to delve into this common but still-infrequently discussed condition.  What are fibroids? Fibroids are muscular, usually benign tumors that form within the walls of the uterus, and their sizes vary from tiny as a pea to as large as a melon.  According to the FDA, fibroids will affect 20%-to-80% of women by the time they reach age 50. About a third of those women will experience heavy menstrual bleeding as...

Assisted reproductive technologies like intrauterine insemination (IUI), in vitro fertilization (IVF), donor conception (sperm, egg, or embryos), surrogacy, or any combination of building a family can feel like a tricky balance between science and hope. Prospective parents must navigate through realms of medical terminologies, technologies, and possibilities they probably have never considered before while balancing their desire (and, likely, processing emotions like shock, grief, and more) to have children.  In recent years, the genetic testing of embryos has been quickly evolving, providing insights into embryo health that empower prospective parents with knowledge, understanding, and the ability...

It took me six years and two minutes to become a mom. On November 5th, 2018, my life changed in the craziest and most wonderful way when at 5:19 pm, I gave birth to my son, Malachi, and at 5:20 pm to my daughter, Amalia. I’ve always wanted to be a mom and really did always dream of having twins. But in those two minutes, my dream came true after seeing the impossible made possible.  Becoming a mom is by far the project I’ve worked on more than any other over the last decade of my...

Egg freezing can be a financial stressor to say the least, especially since it’s usually not covered by insurance unless it’s offered through your employer or you were given a medical diagnosis, such as cancer, that renders you infertile.  Ideally, this will change in the near future as more women are turning to egg freezing to preserve their fertility while they look for the right partner, invest in their career, or simply wait to have kids.  The total cost of freezing your eggs can range anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000 when you add up all the...

Nothing makes you feel more competent than understanding how fertility tracking works. Suddenly, it no longer feels like you need a second degree just to know if you’re ovulating.  Many women (and their partners) feel more empowered and slightly more in control when they understand how menstrual cycles work in general and how theirs works specifically.  Understanding basal body temperature, or what happens to your temperature when ovulating, won’t always be a fool-proof method for tracking your fertility because of how many external factors can impact your temperature. Still, even so, it can really help.   So...

News flash: Around half of all infertility cases are due to a male factor. One-third are attributed to the female partner, one-third are attributed to the male partner, and one-third are a combination of both, or unexplained.  This math should be intuitive since sperm is half of the baby-making equation, but it still comes as a surprise to many people. In fact, a recent survey showed that 35% of men and 40% of women underestimated the prevalence of male factor infertility, and 1 in 10 respondents believed it had little or no impact on conception.  While...

It’s no secret that the world of reproductive health has been rocked recently, Most notably, when Roe vs. Wade was officially overturned, leaving countless people with uteruses vulnerable to horrific medical outcomes — and an overall lack of agency over their own reproductive health.  Just over a year after that overturning, we finally have some news that feels promising. The FDA just approved an over-the-counter birth control pill, the first non-prescription birth control oral medication to earn this approval. Opill: The first over-the-counter birth control pill to be approved by the FDA Opill, which is manufactured...

Many of us grew up with the ethos that exercise was always a good thing no matter how much of it we did. In fact, we were taught that most people don’t get enough physical activity, both directly and indirectly.  According to the CDC, only 28% of adult Americans meet their weekly exercise needs (150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and 2 days of strength training) and 25% of adult Americans don’t exercise at all — so it makes sense as to where that message comes from. But too much of a good thing can be...