Follicular-Phase Blood Tests The best available technique for assessing the quality of a woman’s eggs is measuring what’s known as the ovarian reserve – that is, the number of immature eggs left in a woman’s ovaries. (Females are born with all the eggs they’ll ever have at birth. Over time, this number depletes at its own rate in each female.) We accomplish this by measuring the hormones FSH (Fol ...

Problems Conceiving Getting pregnant may seem simple, but the act of conceiving a child can often be very difficult. It involves many bodily functions and systems being in good condition in both the male and the female, all of which must happen in the right sequence and at the right time. Consider that the average woman of reproductive age only has a 20 percent chance of getting pregnant in any m ...

Role of Laparoscopy Laparoscopy is a minimal access surgical technique where vision is achieved with the help of a telescope. Laparoscopy is the gold standard for diagnosis of endometriosis and has the benefit of treating the disease at the same time. How endometriosis can cause fertility-related issues There are four reasons for decreased fertility Ovulatory infertility: Altered growth of fol ...

MALE INFERTILITY: Infertility has traditionally been thought of as a woman's problem. But as it turns out, we men don't get off that easily. About one out of every three cases of infertility is due to the man alone, and we're somehow involved in infertility about half the time. A diagnosis of male infertility can be one of the hardest challenges a man can face. For some, it can be devastating. Af ...

Testing and Treatment: The first few days of your monthly cycle is the best time to schedule your first visit to a fertility doctor, so you can start trying to get pregnant right away. Bring along all your medical records, or ask your previous doctor to send them directly to the reproductive endocrinologist. Also, you should make a list of any questions that you'd like to discuss during this initi ...

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 ...

GENETIC TESTING: Depending on the type of test, a sample of your blood, skin, amniotic fluid or other tissue will be collected and sent to a lab for analysis. Blood sample. A member of your health care team takes the sample by inserting a needle into a vein in your arm. For newborn screening tests, a blood sample is taken by pricking your baby's heel. Cheek swab. For some tests, a swab sample fro ...

Genetic issues affecting conception Genetic problems generally relate to chromosomal abnormalities and single gene issues. These often cause embryo implantation failure and pregnancy loss, as well as possibly resulting in birth defects when a child is born with a chromosomal or single gene defect. Chromosomal disorders can relate to one or more of an embryo’s chromosome pairs containing either on ...