SHER FERTILITY CLINICS
CENTERS FOR REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE

Background: “Joanne”, a 36-year-old lady with normal ovarian reserve, had undergone three IVF procedures in a prior relationship. The indication had been “bilateral tubal occlusion.”  The reason why all three IVF attempts had failed was unknown. Now, since her new husband, “Brett” had severe male factor infertility, IVF with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) became their … Read more

Endometriosis is one of the most widespread conditions affecting women’s fertility. Of the approximately 6 million women in the US with some degree of endometriosis, more than a million of those will have trouble conceiving as a result. Join me for a live webinar where I’ll address questions including: How/why does endometriosis affect fertility? Does … Read more

I’m happy to announce that after several rounds of major revisions, re-writes, and additions, the 4th edition of my book “In Vitro Fertilization: The ART of Making Babies” has been released.  It is a comprehensive guide to IVF, addressing causes of infertility, diagnosis and testing, and treatment options, with a special emphasis on on the … Read more

Background: Mary, 30 years of age and married to a fertile male partner, presented to me about four years ago with primary amenorrhea (i.e. she had never menstruated) and wanting to have a baby. She was born with a condition called Rokitansky syndrome, where the uterus fails to develop. Absent of regular menstruation, Mary had … Read more

My thanks to SIRM’s Executive Director of Embryology, Levent Keskintepe, PhD for writing this week’s post. Dr. Keskintepe is truly a leader in the field of embryology and has had a vital role in bringing CGH technology as we know it to the forefront in IVF.   Background Information: About a decade ago, we at SIRM … Read more

In the United States, the richest and most technically advanced nation on earth, millions of couples remain involuntarily childless. A conservative estimate places the number of U.S. couples that grapple with infertility annually at 4 million, yet less than 20 percent of those couples will undergo some form of definitive treatment. The high cost of … Read more

RL, a 31-year-old woman, presented with a 7 year history of inability to conceive, in spite of 2 prior fresh and 1 frozen IVF attempts, where a total of six good quality blastocysts had been transferred to her uterus.  Her husband PL, had normal sperm and had initiated 2 pregnancies in a prior relationship. RL … Read more

While many IVF pregnancies will progress normally and without any increased risk to mother or baby, there is little doubt that some women who conceive in this manner as well as their babies are indeed at increased risk. Why is it that women who conceive following IVF should be regarded as being “high risk” and … Read more

The following is a case study of a recent patient that came to me for treatment.  CJ, a 34 year old, and her husband RJ (age 35) presented to me with a six-year history of infertility. Based on semen analysis, RJ, who had initiated two pregnancies in a prior relationship, was found to be perfectly … Read more

 Please refer to last week’s blog post, where Karmann tells in her own words her struggles with recurrent miscarriage – nine miscarriages to be exact – and her long journey  of heartbreak, disappointment, and finally – hope.  In this post, I offer my perspective on her case from a medical standpoint.     ———————- When … Read more

In observation of National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW), I wanted to share the touching story of a couple that I first met last year – after they had already experienced 8 years of heartbreak and frustration.  Their story is representative of what so many couples go through in their infertility journey.   Rather than tell … Read more

This week, with the passing of Robert Edwards, has been a particularly sad one for the entire field of Reproductive Medicine.  Bob Edwards and Patrick Steptoe (who passed a few years ago) pioneered human IVF and together were responsible for the birth of Louise Brown, the world’s first IVF baby, some 35 years ago.  He … Read more

Background: About two years ago, I received a call from a gentleman that I will call “John”. John was a movie producer who stated that he and his partner “Brian” had been in a monogamous same-sex relationship for 7 years and each wanted to sire a child. At the initial consultation, John explained that he … Read more

Background: Maria (fictitious name), a childless 34-year-old Hispanic lady, presented with a history of having had five (5) successive spontaneous pregnancy losses at 7 weeks gestation, all due to hydatidiform moles. Four (4) of these losses were “partial molar pregnancies” and one was a “complete hydatidiform mole.” One of the four partial molar pregnancies had been … Read more

On Monday, March 25, I made a presentation at the National Interdisciplinary Breast Center Conference on the topic of fertility preservation in women facing cancer treatment. I have included hereafter an outline of my presentation. The fact that many oncologists now have fertility preservation and egg freezing on their radar is a testament to the work … Read more

Mary (fictitious name), a 54 year menopausal woman, presented at SIRM-Las Vegas for IVF using an egg donor. She had been menopausal for 7-plus years and had NOT been on any hormone replacement therapy. Mary gave a history of having undergone IVF with egg donation elsewhere approximately 1 year prior, but in spite of aggressive … Read more

As some of you reading this may be aware,  I have assumed the leadership role at SIRM St. Louis along with our new Associate Medical Director Molina Dayal, MD.  At the same time, I have continued to do IVF cycles in Las Vegas, straddling both St. Louis and Las Vegas. As testimony to the confidence I had  in what … Read more

I consulted with a 36 year old lady (whom I will refer to as “Sandra”) and her partner, about 18 months ago. She and her husband of 5 years had been having regular unprotected intercourse throughout this time and had been unable to conceive. Sandra told me that she had been diagnosed as having “unexplained … Read more

About 18 months ago I saw an Asian Indian couple who presented with a very interesting history. The female partner (whom I will refer to as DB) had regular menstrual cycles and normal ovarian reserve, was ovulating regularly and had a fertile male partner. DB, who was 34 years of age, had been diagnosed with … Read more

This is the second in a series of posts taken from questions that have been submitted to me via email, website, or discussion boards.  This question is from a patient who had a healthy baby from her first pregnancy, but then went through a period of 6 consecutive  miscarriages/chemical pregnancies.  I have included her original post, … Read more