fertility Blog

It is difficult to get pregnant—despite what you may have understood growing up. In fact, fertile women in their twenties only have a 20 to 25 percent chance of pregnancy each month. At 30, the chance of pregnancy drops to about 15 percent. And by 35 the likelihood is less than 10 percent. Throughout your young adult life you likely took precautions to ensure you didn’t get pregnant before you were ready. And now that you’re ready? It seems like it’s taking forever.

When is it time to see a fertility specialist?

Too often couples struggle for months, if not years, with trying to conceive naturally before seeking help from a skilled fertility specialist. Couples who’ve been sexually active without contraception for 12 consecutive months or more without success should seek help from an experienced fertility specialist. Women who are over the age of 35 should seek medical help after 6 consecutive months of sexual activity without contraception. Fertility issues are equally common among men and women, affecting approximately one in eight U.S. couples.

What to expect at a fertility consultation

Deciding to seek help from a reproductive endocrinologist is a big step in your journey toward parenthood, and it may feel overwhelming. We want you to feel good about your decision from the start. Here is what you can expect during your initial fertility consultation:

• You will meet your fertility specialist who will help you through your entire journey.
• He or she will ask you about your medical history and your family building goals.
• Based on your discussion, your doctor will order a number of routine, minimally invasive, diagnostic tests to evaluate both you and your partner.
• Next, you will meet with your dedicated nurse who will help you coordinate and implement your doctor’s recommendations.
• You may also meet with a genetic counselor and financial counselor, depending on your individual needs.

If you and your partner have been sexually active without contraception for more than 12 consecutive months (6 months for women over the age of 35) without success, we can help. Reproductive Gynecology & Infertility offers safe, effective, leading edge fertility services in Akron, Columbus, Youngstown and Canton. Call us at 866-537-2461 to schedule an initial fertility consultation to find out how we can help you grow your family.

If you have suffered a miscarriage, or continue to struggle with recurrent pregnancy loss—you are not alone. Approximately 10-25 percent of all clinically recognized pregnancies end in miscarriage, most occurring during the first trimester. The most common reason for miscarriage in the first 12 weeks is a chromosomal abnormality, though maternal health problems, hormonal issues, infections, maternal age and maternal trauma are also risk factors.

Miscarriages are hard­—it doesn’t matter if you’ve been through one or a handful. They take a physical and mental toll on a woman’s well being. The most common physical symptoms of pregnancy loss include bleeding, cramping, passing clots of tissue and contractions. Unfortunately, these symptoms may last for weeks; which makes coping with the emotional aspects of miscarriage that much harder.

Helpful tips for coping with miscarriage

Learn how to cope with miscarriage and recurrent pregnancy loss with these tips:

• Get informed –This is particularly important for women who’ve suffered recurrent miscarriages. Talk to your doctor, or see a skilled endocrinologist to find out why this keeps happening. Though the answers may sometimes be hard to hear, they will help provide a clear plan of action for moving forward.
• Talk about it – We as a society don’t like to talk about miscarriages, but it’s important to set that aside and lean on your support network for emotional support. Your trusted friends and family want you to feel whole again.
• Stay hopeful – It’s okay to take time to be angry, sad or even lonely after a miscarriage, but don’t lose hope. If having a baby is your goal, keep looking forward and plan your next steps. Sometimes, that means getting help from a fertility specialist.

The highly skilled endocrinologists at Reproductive Gynecology & Infertility are here to guide you past this trauma and help you have a baby. If you’re looking for experienced, individualized IVF in Columbus, Akron, Canton and Youngstown, call 866-537-2461 to schedule an initial fertility consultation. We care about you and want to help you grow your family.

Many women believe stress contributes to fertility problems, however; it is typically the opposite that’s true. Often, stress triggers a pre-existing medical condition that in turn can affect fertility.

Connection between stress and infertility

While stress in itself may lead to certain behaviors that cause fertility problems (e.g., smoking, drinking, using drugs or dropping out of fertility treatments prematurely), stress has not been clinically proven to reduce a person’s chance of becoming pregnant. However, women struggling with infertility typically have elevated levels of anxiety, and depression, which can lead to more stress.

How to lower your stress while struggling with infertility

Reducing stress is always a good idea, and it may help your body during fertility treatments. Here are a few suggestions:

• Take your mind off your fertility
  Sometimes when couples are struggling with infertility, it takes up a lot of their time and energy. Take a mental break and go out on a date with your significant other, see a movie, or take a dance class.
• Keep a positive mental attitude
  Try to keep negative thoughts or thoughts of hopelessness at bay by coming up with positive alternatives like “If getting pregnant was so easy, there wouldn’t be fertility clinics.”
• Write about it
  Sometimes the simple act of getting your worries down on paper can be enough to take the pressure off your mind. It’s a terrific way to off-load concerns you feel uncomfortable sharing. Once you’re finished, the physical act of shredding the pages and/or throwing them away may also help alleviate some of the stress.

We understand how stressful and frustrating it can be when you’re having a difficult time getting pregnant. The highly skilled endocrinologists at Reproductive Gynecology & Infertility are here to guide you along your journey to parenthood.

Call us at 866-537-2461 to schedule an initial fertility consultation or to learn more about infertility treatment in Akron, Canton, Columbus and Youngstown.

When choosing a fertility clinic, IVF success rates may be one of the first statistics you review, and with good reason. In addition to other factors, IVF success rates DO matter, because they can indicate a high level of success and credibility for a clinic.

What’s more, when you consider that successful IVF and a healthy baby depend largely on your (a woman’s) age and the cause of infertility, weighing success rates is vital. But many clinics advertise high success rates, so how can you know who to trust to help you start (or add to) your dream family?

What’s behind IVF success rates and why they matter

At Reproductive Gynecology & Infertility (RGI), we proudly display our IVF success rates, and we stand behind them without fail. Our team of compassionate and highly trained infertility specialists fully understands the stress, and the emotional and financial investment involved in IVF. So, we do all we can to minimize your concerns and maximize your joy, with an IVF 100% Success Guaranteed Plan in Columbus, Akron, Canton, and Youngstown, Ohio.

Here’s what makes it possible for us to offer this exceptional program:

• We tailor treatments to each couple’s specific needs.
• We insist upon & maintain strict quality control in our IVF laboratories.
• RGI embryologists’ performance is routinely assessed to help maintain the highest standards in our laboratories.
• Our labs are equipped with the very latest technology.
• We adhere to the guidelines established by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).
• RGI is a member of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART).
• Our IVF lab is accredited by SART.
• RGI physicians are board certified in reproductive endocrinology and infertility.
• We report our IVF results to the SART registry.

With IVF and our dedicated specialists, the family you’ve always wanted is possible

At Reproductive Gynecology & Infertility, we are passionately dedicated to helping you have the child of your dreams. Through meticulous evaluation and diagnosis and the latest technology and treatments, our fellowship-trained, board-certified fertility specialists will give you every available option to become pregnant and have a healthy baby.

To learn about our individualized treatment plans or outstanding success rates, or to schedule a fertility assessment, call us at 866-537-2461. Or use our convenient online form to request an appointment.

From frustration to joy, the journey to overcome infertility and bring a child into your world is life changing. If you’ve been there, and are fortunate enough to know the elation of finally being able to conceive through in vitro fertilization (IVF), congratulations are in order! So, now that your family is complete, what will become of your remaining embryos?

It’s a question millions of lucky parents ponder each year. Once they have their dream family, they must decide what to do with the extra embryos of a successful in vitro fertilization. There are three options to consider: Freeze, thaw, or donate the embryos.

Embryo donation can help other families

Of course, this is a very personal decision and only you can make it. However, for many families, donation is a particularly rewarding option. Think of it this way: You would be providing an opportunity for life. You would be “paying it forward” by helping another family experience the wonder and delight of children.

Imagine giving a hopeful mom-to-be the chance to carry and have children. It will change her and her partner’s life, and maybe even yours. Donating your embryos is not only a selfless choice, it’s a wonderful gift for the adoptive family and the child. You can even be involved in the process of selecting a family.

But what about those all-important success rates?

Embryo donation success rates are excellent. Many couples for whom IVF has failed can still give birth through donated embryos. Statistics even show that overall, implantation success rates are higher using embryo rather than IVF.

Are you ready to help a family through embryo donation?

Come see us at Reproductive Gynecology & Infertility. We will guide you through every step of the donation process through our embryo donation program in Youngstown, Canton, Akron, and Columbus, Ohio.

Let us be your sole resource for donation. We’ll handle everything from screening to counseling, and we offer complete lab services in Akron and Columbus. When you’re ready, our team of credentialed and experienced physicians and nurses will be, too. Together, we’ll make another family’s dreams come true.

To schedule an appointment, call us today at 866-537-2461 or use our convenient online form to request an appointment.

To some people, conceiving, carrying and giving birth to a healthy child may seem routine. But for women who are facing cancer, having a baby is much more complicated. Cancer treatments can disrupt the process of conception and affect a woman’s ability to have children.

If you’ve yet to begin cancer treatment, talk with your doctor about fertility. Different treatments can have different effects, but there may be ways to save or protect your fertility before, and possibly even during treatment.

Cancer and fertility: Things to consider

Before moving forward with fertility-saving treatment, your physician must try to answer the following questions:

• Has the cancer spread?
• Is there a high risk of the cancer returning to the same areas or organs?
• Is pursuing a time-consuming method to preserve fertility going to delay treatment of a fast-growing cancer?
• What are the chances of success? (Most fertility procedures are less successful for women over age 40.)

Cancer and fertility: Options you may have

When it comes to starting or continuing to build your family, you do have choices. In fact, you and your doctor may attempt to preserve your fertility by using more than one option. These may include:

• Freezing sperm for men
• IVF to freeze embryos
• Egg freezing (stimulating the ovaries to retrieve mature eggs)
• Surrogacy
• Surgery

Helping you overcome every obstacle to fertility

At Reproductive Gynecology & Infertility, we’ve been helping couples bring children into their lives for more than 25 years. If cancer has interrupted your plans to have a baby, our experienced physicians will explore every option with you, including fertility preservation in Canton, Akron, Columbus, and Youngstown, Ohio.

Surgery is one of the most successful methods for correcting infertility due to cancer treatments or other challenges. Our surgeons expertly and gently perform a range of procedures, including minimally invasive laparoscopic and microscopic surgical techniques, which can shorten both down time and recovery time. To learn more, reach out today. Our caring, dedicated team of specialists is here to put their whole hearts and minds into making pregnancy and parenthood possible.

To schedule an appointment, call 866-537-2461 or use our convenient online form to request an appointment.

Coping with infertility can be a difficult, isolating experience. But it is important to remember you’re not alone. Approximately 1 in 6 couples in the United States struggle with some type of infertility. And, while it may be surprising to learn, nearly 30 percent of infertility cases are related to male factor issues. But the good news is there are plenty of options available to help you achieve the family of your dreams.

Diagnosing male factor infertility

Diagnosing male infertility typically includes:

• General physical exam and medical history
• Semen analysis

Common causes of male factor infertility

Here are the most common factors that can contribute to male infertility:

• Structural abnormalities
  This may include abnormalities or blockages along the reproductive tract due to a birth defect, injury or illness.
• Sperm production disorders
  Defects in sperm quality (morphology) or quantity.
• Sperm motility issues
  Poor sperm motility means the sperm can’t swim properly, which decreases their chances of fertilizing the egg.
• Ejaculatory disorders
  A condition in which it takes an extended period of sexual ejaculation for men to reach sexual climax and release semen.
• Immunologic disorders
  This disorder causes the immune system to attack sperm.

What are the treatment options for male factor infertility?

In some cases, your doctor may recommend assisted reproductive technologies (ART), such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), IVF with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) or the use of donor sperm. For couples where both male and female factor infertility are an issue, your doctor may recommend donor embryos.

If you and your partner have been trying to conceive for at least 12 consecutive months (6 months for women aged over 35), it’s time to see a specialized reproductive endocrinologist. The caring doctors at Reproductive Gynecology & Infertility can diagnose and treat male factor infertility in Columbus, Akron, Canton and Youngstown. Call 866-537-2461 to get the answers you need.