Ovulation and the Menstrual Cycle: During their reproductive years, women have regular monthly menstrual periods because they ovulate regularly each month. Eggs mature inside of fluid-filled spheres called “follicles.” At the beginning of each menstrual cycle when a woman is having her period, a hormone produced in the pituitary gland, which is located in the brain, stimulates a group of follicles ...

Getting Pregnant When You Have Endometriosis: Most women who have endometriosis can conceive normally. But if you're having problems getting pregnant, endometriosis may be the cause. To find out, your doctor may suggest a laparoscopy. In this procedure, a surgeon inserts a small camera through a tube into your abdomen to check for abnormal endometrial tissue. The surgeon might want to confirm the ...

When to see a Doctor: You probably don't need to see a doctor about infertility unless you have been trying regularly to get pregnant for at least one year. Women should talk with a doctor earlier, however, if they: Are age 35 or older and have been trying to conceive for six months or longer Are over age 40 Have irregular or absent periods Have very painful periods Have known fertility problems ...

Frozen Embryo Transfer vs. Fresh Embryo Transfer A fresh embryo transfer occurs in the same cycle as the IVF cycle. The eggs are retrieved and fertilized in the lab. The embryos are allowed to develop and are then transferred back into the woman’s uterus around 5-6 days after the retrieval. A frozen embryo transfer is a little bit different. In this type of cycle, a woman undergoes IVF, her eggs a ...

Surgery – After a thorough history, physical examination, and ultrasound are performed, your doctor may recommend surgery to correct and abnormality. In reproductive medicine, the most common surgical procedures are laparoscopy, hysteroscopy, and abdominal myomectomy (removal of uterine fibroids). Laparoscopy is an operation performed in the abdomen or pelvis through small incisions, generally no ...

In vitro fertilization: (IVF) is a complex series of procedures used to help with fertility or prevent genetic problems and assist with the conception of a child. During IVF, mature eggs are collected (retrieved) from ovaries and fertilized by sperm in a lab. Then the fertilized egg (embryo) or eggs (embryos) are transferred to a uterus. One full cycle of IVF takes about three weeks. Sometimes th ...

FERTILITY PRESERVATION Some couples choose to delay parenting, so they can focus on their careers and gain financial security before starting a family. Also when they go through the IVF cycle they got their left over embryos preserved for next cycle. Fertility preservation is the preservation of the eggs and/or sperm or ensures for later use. The process also enables the preservation of eggs or sp ...

Assisted reproductive technologies — There are several variations of these high-tech methods in which sperm and egg are combined to maximize the chances of achieving a successful pregnancy. All of the variations involve two steps — beginning with the woman taking fertility drugs to stimulate the ovaries to produce several eggs (superovulation); followed by the use of procedures to retrieve them, w ...