Age and Fertility: What's the Connection?
Age is often brought up in conversations around female fertility. The number “35” will get thrown around, and while it is a crucial age, it’s also important to understand why 35 has become the benchmark for discussions around fertility (and infertility). According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, there is a sharp decline in fertility throughout a woman's 30s. “For healthy couples in their 20s and early 30s, around 1 in 4 women will get pregnant in any single menstrual cycle,” explains the ACOG. “By age 40, around 1 in 10 will get...
Can Bacterial Vaginosis Stop You From Getting Pregnant?
Bacterial Vaginosis, or "BV", is a common vaginal infection caused by an overgrowth of bacteria. While it is usually not a serious condition, it can lead to a range of uncomfortable symptoms including itching, burning, and discharge. BV can also have an impact on fertility. Recent research has shown that BV can disrupt the delicate balance of bacteria in the reproductive tract, leading to a range of complications that can make it more difficult to become pregnant. But don't panic just yet — in this article, we'll explore the link between Bacterial Vaginosis and fertility...
Independent Surrogacy vs. Using an Agency: What You Need To Know
If you're considering surrogacy as a way to grow your family, then you know you have a lot of big decisions ahead. One of the toughest decisions you'll face is whether to work with a surrogacy agency or embark on an independent journey. Both options — using an agency or exploring an independent journey — have their pros and cons; ultimately, the choice comes down to what's best for you and your situation. Knowing the differences between using a surrogacy agency and pursuing surrogacy on your own will help you make a choice that best...
What’s the Difference Between IUI and IVF?
If you’re at all familiar with the world of fertility treatments, chances are good that you’ve heard of IUI and IVF. While they are both treatment options to help increase a patient’s chance of getting pregnant, they are quite different in the procedures involved to costs and success rates. So, what are the differences between IUI and IVF? To help us break it all down, we spoke with reproductive endocrinologist and geneticist Dr. Jonah Bardos, medical director and founding physician at CCRM Fertility in Miami. Keep reading to learn more about IUI and IVF and which option...
Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome: The IVF and Egg Freezing Complication Few People Are Discussing
If you’re considering undergoing IVF or egg freezing, you’re likely nervous about so many aspects of the process. The financial toll, the time commitment, the injections, the hormonal shifts, the emotional upheaval…and that’s not an even exhaustive list. But there’s one complication people may incur when undergoing fertility treatments, and it’s something not many people discuss. The good news? Thanks to advances in the field of reproductive endocrinology, this complication in question is rare. We’re talking about ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), which, according to Mayo Clinic, is an exaggerated response to excess hormones. “It is...
Selective Reduction: What It Is and Why I Chose It
Infertility brings anyone struggling to become a parent into a single club. We’re all different, with different stories and circumstances, but somehow, also all the same. I am certainly no different. I wanted to be a parent for as long as I can remember. We struggled for years through multiple rounds of timed intercourse, IUIs, and IVF, until I had run out of options. None of the 14 embryos my husband and I created made it to blastocyst. None made it past day three, indicating the problem in development was with my eggs. It was...
Why So Many People Are Traveling for Affordable IVF Treatment
If you’ve been through fertility treatments, you know that the sheer amount of information that’s thrown your way is enough to make your head spin. There are also countless questions that must be answered and decisions that must be made and pieces of research that must be explored. For many people, the mental gymnastics of infertility is already wildly overwhelming before they’ve even set foot into a fertility clinic. Actually finding the right fertility clinic can be a massive challenge, for one thing. Newsweek recently released a list of the top fertility clinics in the...
What Supplements Should I Take When Trying To Conceive?
As you probably know by now, the journey to conception is a whole-body event. While your ovaries and fallopian tubes are responsible for a lot of the work, so much more goes into getting pregnant. It’s imperative that your entire body is functioning at its highest potential. In order to do this, you may need to change your supplements at different stages while TTC, and then again throughout your pregnancy. “30% of people don’t eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, and the way that we lead our lives in the 21st century doesn’t...
Two Women on Surviving the Emotions of Secondary Infertility
Infertility isn’t limited to a person’s first pregnancy. About 14% of individuals struggle with getting pregnant or bringing a pregnancy to full term after already having had one pregnancy or birth, according to the CDC. For couples who have a more difficult time trying to get pregnant the second time around, secondary infertility carries some equally difficult — but different — emotions to primary infertility (infertility associated with a first-time pregnancy). The Emotional Toll of Secondary Infertility Feelings like guilt and loneliness can make the struggle to have another baby its own sort of challenge. Often,...
How To Cope With Infertility Trauma
Going through any fertility struggle is traumatic. The process affects mental health in many ways, impacting a person’s sense of identity and self-worth. Many of my clients come into therapy seeking emotional support without realizing that infertility also leads to a form of trauma. While most people associate trauma with soldiers returning from war, infertility’s ups and downs also trigger similar responses. Infertility can involve surviving repeated traumatic experiences such as infertility diagnosis, recurrent pregnancy loss, reproductive injury, and fertility treatment. A person’s trauma can be exacerbated by repeatedly being let down every month with negative...