This week, a reader contacted me regarding fragmentation in her embryos. She was told by her RE that things were looking “good” but then he also mentioned that some of the embryos on day 3 were showing some signs of fragmentation. Her question was how concerning was this observation that her embryos had some fragmentation? [...]

If we put the progress in IVF methods that have occurred since Louise Brown’s birth in 1978 in a time capsule to be opened 100 years from now in 2112,  what are some of the milestones in it? What would people think of it when they found it? First a preview of the pre-IVF time [...]

Hi Readers, I am starting a new series, called Questions from You (Q from U), in which I answer some of the common patient questions I get from my contact email. Recently, I seem to be getting more questions about embryo biopsy for PGD. In the beginning, PGD biopsy meant biopsy of one (or at [...]

Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) of IVF embryos has moved into the mainstream of reproductive medicine. Genetic testing of IVF embryos for known genetic diseases allows the clinician to identify, before implantation, those embryos that carry the genetic mutation for disease. Using this information, patients can choose to have transferred only embryos without the disease gene. [...]

Unexplained infertility is a frustrating diagnosis. The usual diagnostic work up has no “AHA!!”  moment and clear treatment plan. In spite of no obvious problems, there’s still no pregnancy month after month. Scientist Dr Megan Lloyd and her team announced the discovery of an antibody against the glycoprotein zona pellucida 3 (ZP3) which induces sterility [...]

One of my readers had some questions about egg vacuoles in IVF so I thought I’d touch on this topic today.  Vacuoles look like roundish areas in the egg. They can be large or small, many or few. Sometimes they can be mistaken for pronuclei but unlike pronuclei, vacuoles are clear inside, and don’t have [...]

Recently one of my readers had a question that I think many patients who go through IVF may have. She wanted to understand what blastocyst grading means in terms of embryo quality and then, obviously the implications for her  chances of pregnancy. Her question was: ” I just had two expanded blastocysts transferred on day [...]

We’ve all heard the expression, “You are what you eat”, meaning that good dietary habits will positively influence how you look and feel overall. But did you expect that the food you eat might have an effect on your sperm? Two new studies presented at this week’s American Society for the Study of Reproduction (ASRM)’s [...]

One of the routine questions that patients get asked when they submit a semen sample for analysis is “Have you taken any medications in the last 60 days?” The 60 days is relevant because it takes around 60-70 days for a sperm cell to be produced and so exposures that occurred two months earlier may [...]

Most couples struggling with infertility are presented with the results of a semen analysis report at some point in their journey. The male partner produces a sample, usually by masturbation, either at home or at the clinic and the semen sample is analyzed under the microscope. Most people are familiar with sperm count, semen volume [...]