Your body has many moving parts that help keep it healthy, especially when trying to conceive. We could dive into so many of those aspects, but this time around, we want to focus on just one important part — protein intake.  Studies have found that increased protein intake is important to support everything from your joints to preparing your body for pregnancy. Now you may be asking, how much do I increase my protein intake when trying to conceive, or what should my baseline protein intake be? The truth is, there’s no magic number. How much...

The Rescripted Team • Aug 28, 2023

When it comes to why women don’t want sex, I could give you a laundry list of reasons. We’re tired, stressed, worried about our fertility, wondering if we’re ovulating, about to start our period, or considering the possibility of a pregnancy. This loop can often leave us feeling disconnected from our partner.  When you’ve spent years battling your body image, dismissing sexual advances from your partner, and even praying that not another person touches you today, all of this primes you to resist and resent sex, making it just another thing on your never-ending to-do list....

Courtney Boyer, M.Ed., M.S. • Aug 27, 2023

You’ve probably heard of the term “ovarian reserve,” but maybe not “antral follicle count (AFC).” Well, put simply, AFC is another way to determine your ovarian reserve, and, in combination with bloodwork, it can provide a helpful snapshot of your fertility potential.  So, how do you find out what your antral follicle count is and what it means for you? We spoke with Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Specialist Dr. Jessica Ryniec to help break it all down, so you know what all of the numbers and acronyms mean when you head to your next fertility appointment. ...

Brighid Flynn • Aug 27, 2023

So, you just did an IVF cycle and have a bunch of embryos that made it to blastocyst! Some are good quality, some are fair, and some are poor quality. You’ve decided you want to do preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A). You assumed that the good-quality embryos would come back as euploid, but you’re surprised to learn that some of the poor-quality embryos have tested normal, and some of the good-quality embryos have tested aneuploid. What’s going on?   “Never mind that!” everyone tells you. “Grades don’t matter if the embryo is euploid!” So is this...

Sean Lauber • Aug 24, 2023

Tiffany Haddish revealed that she recently had a miscarriage. And, according to the Washington Post, Haddish opened up about her fraught reproductive history when a nurse asked her if she was doing okay in the aftermath of the loss. “Well, I’m going to be honest with you,” she shared. “This would be my eighth one. I’ve got a uterus shaped like a heart. It just won’t keep anything in.” A heart-shaped uterus is known as a bicornuate uterus, and it can cause pregnancy complications. According to Cleveland Clinic, the only treatment for this is surgery. Haddish...

Zara Hanawalt • Aug 21, 2023

Recently, we’ve seen more and more women speak out about their “not so great” experiences with hormonal birth control, with many opting for alternative, non-hormonal methods instead.  Other than the copper IUD, we definitely have some work to do when it comes to lifestyle-friendly innovation within the non-hormonal birth control category.    There are other non-hormonal options like the diaphragm, cervical cap, and sponge, but they’re all more high maintenance than other methods, including condoms, which is why most people avoid them. So for the time being, we’ve seen more women opt for fertility awareness methods like...

Caroline McMorrow • Aug 21, 2023

If you scour the internet these days, you’ll come across many different “natural remedies” for hormone health and fertility. Some are newer to the market, while others, like castor oil, have been around for centuries. But what is castor oil, exactly, and what are its potential benefits when it comes to your reproductive health? Let’s dive in.    What is castor oil? Castor oil is a pale-yellow liquid extracted from the seeds of the castor plant, scientifically known as Ricinus communis. It contains a unique compound called ricinoleic acid, which is believed to be responsible for many...

Kristyn Hodgdon • Aug 21, 2023

Our claim to fame at Rescripted is that our Sex Ed system in America is completely broken, which is showing up in so many women’s lives as they reach their 20s and 30s and realize they know nothing about their own bodies.  “The menstrual cycle has four phases…? I thought the menstrual cycle was just your bleeding period!”  “How do I know when I’m ovulating?”  “Where’s my cervix? I mean, I know it exists but I have no clue where it is.”  “How do I know if I’m fertile? Is there a blood test for that?” ...

Caroline McMorrow • Aug 20, 2023

Whether you’re navigating infertility or deeper into your family planning journey, here’s what you need to know: In America, people have struggled with their mental health more and more due to the pandemic. COVID-19 prompted everyone, from government officials to families, to ask questions like — how is everyone navigating the stress? What tools are available to support someone who is struggling with mental health?  Women trying to conceive or who are already mothers have been navigating mental health realities that predate the pandemic and have only become more evident since then.  Here are some noteworthy...

Vivian Nunez • Aug 17, 2023

You’ve probably heard the old adage that you can’t be “a little bit pregnant.” The idea is that being pregnant — or not pregnant — is a binary thing, with “yes” or “no” being the only answer to that question. At-home pregnancy tests support that idea: You either see a second pink line or you don’t…or, in the case of digital tests, you either see the word “pregnant” or “not pregnant.” But what many people don’t realize is that the hormone that turns those pregnancy tests positive can be measured quantitatively with a blood pregnancy test,...

Zara Hanawalt • Aug 16, 2023