I gasp when she says it, barely looking up from her plate.  “I think we’re doing another IVF cycle,” she says, and my stomach drops. How can she seriously consider another one after all they’ve been through? I stop eating and look at her, and she looks back down. “Really? Do you have something new to try?” I ask with fake enthusiasm.  It’s deja vu all over again. How do you support a friend who's addicted to the one thing that keeps breaking her heart?  An IVF development is a Siren song to my friend. It...

Hi, my name is Bryant, and I’m addicted to my infertility journey.  I think every Type-A, overachieving millennial can relate to the sentiment "If you work hard enough, you can achieve or do anything you set your mind to!” Whether you heard it from your parents (like me), teachers, coaches, or the sweet grandparent figures down the street, somebody has probably told you that at some point in your life.  And throughout my life, I've proved that theory right. If I wanted something badly enough, all I had to do was work my butt off to...

Gynecology — the branch of medicine that focuses on the female reproductive system — has been considered a modern medical specialty since the 19th century. Its closest male counterpart, andrology, on the other hand, was only established as a medical specialty during the second half of the 20th century.  While andrology remains a niche medical specialty, it’s still worth learning more about the physicians who practice andrology, what they do, and how they can potentially help, especially with male fertility issues. After all, even though it may feel like women bear the brunt of infertility, the facts don’t lie: male...

You may be asking yourself, "Why would anyone choose to go through IUI or IVF if they are fertile and can conceive on their own without medical intervention?" But the truth is, although in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intrauterine insemination (IUI) are commonly used to help individuals and couples who are unable to conceive "naturally," you don't have to be infertile to benefit from them. In fact, there are many reasons why couples who can get pregnant unassisted may need IUI or IVF to help them grow their families. Now let's take a look at some of...

In addition to starring in Daisy Jones and the Six, Riley Keough quietly welcomed her first child in 2022. The news of Keough’s daughter’s birth surprised most people, as Keough and her husband have been private about their path to parenthood. But in a recent interview Keough shared details including her daughter’s name, the fact that she welcomed her via surrogacy, and the factors that led her to make this decision. “I think it’s a very cool, selfless, and incredible act that these women do to help other people. I can carry children, but it felt...

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...

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....

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. ...

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...

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...