A research team supervised by Universite Laval scientist Marc-Andre Sirard has identified genetic markers that allow the selection of eggs with the best chance of leading to successful pregnancy after in vitro fertilization (IVF).

This finding could both increase the success rate of single embryo transfer and diminish the risk of multiple pregnancies.

The details of the method developed by the researchers, for which an international patent application has been filed, are explained on the website of the scientific journal Human Reproduction.

Eggs recovered in the course of the IVF process are surrounded by follicular cells removed before the actual fertilization procedure begins. While in the ovaries, these cells and the eggs are in very close interaction, explains Sirard.

A first experiment we conducted on bovine follicular cells led us to believe these cells might possess specific markers that would be able to give us information about the quality of an egg.

With the help of 40 women recruited in a fertility clinic, researchers compared follicular cells surrounding eggs ultimately led to successful pregnancies - i.e. good eggs - to cells surrounding ovules which did not result in pregnancy.

This comparison led to the identification of five genes expressed more abundantly in follicular cells surrounding good eggs.

Currently, the way to assess which embryos are to be transferred into a woman's uterus is based on visible criteria such as appearance and division rate.

At least 30% of embryos that look normal through visual examination nonetheless show chromosome abnormalities, explains Professor Sirard, illustrating the limits of this type of assessment.

The method developed by Sirard's team makes it possible to objectively select ovules which have the best chance of success without altering the integrity of the embryos.

This new genomic tool could also solve an ethical problem confronting both fertility clinic doctors and the people who consult them: In order to increase the chances of pregnancy, many embryos are implanted simultaneously into the woman in the hope that at least one will survive.

This procedure along with improved IVF techniques has led to an increase in multiple pregnancies.

Even if doctors now tend to transfer fewer embryos, multiple pregnancies still occur in 30% of couples who resort to IVF in North America and 23% in European couples.

By selecting the embryo with the best potential, it would be possible to limit the number of embryos transferred, and thus the number of multiple pregnancies, while maintaining good success rates, concludes Marc-André Sirard.

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Source: Jean-François Huppé, Université Laval
MedicalNewsToday.com

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Grade A Baby Eggs: An Infertility Memoir
by Victoria Hopewell

-- Victoria Hopewell was a forty-something divorced clinical psychologist when she met and married a longtime bachelor whose ninety-year-old parents were anxiously waiting for a grandchild.

The problem was, even though Victoria had two young daughters from a previous marriage, her intense desire to create a baby with her new husband was thwarted by her own body.

Her eggs were aging faster than her healthy hormones and youthful appearance would suppose.

Desperate to bear a child, willing to undergo every procedure from Lupron shots through egg harvesting and in vitro fertilization (IVF), she is blocked at every corner of medical protocol from achieving her dream of a successful pregnancy.

Finally, she journeys toward acceptance of using a donor egg, much to the dismay of her growing daughters.

But no eggs are available, and she is placed on a lengthy hospital wait-list. Victoria and her husband then embark on a surrealistic egg hunt to find their own donor.

Follow her insider's account of the hidden world of egg donation-where women's eggs are bought and sold over the internet and a beautiful model with high SATs and a prior successful donation commands the highest prices.

Paperback: 214 pages
Click to order/for more info: Grade A Baby Eggs

Start reading Grade A Baby Eggs on your Kindle in under a minute!

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Photo by www.cnn.com

In this article from CNN, one woman offers helpful advice for couples who are trying to get pregnant.

Pamela Madsens says it took teams of doctors, drugs, and fertility treatments before she could conceive each of her two sons, but she has a few easy tips she believes may help other infertile couples.

Her advice includes pointers on how to speed up a referral to a fertility clinic, how to pick the right doctor, and tips on getting the support you need from your spouse.

Story Highlights
• Expert: 40 percent of infertility is due to something wrong with the man
• Meeting a cycle buddy at a clinic or online can be helpful
• Women under 35 should try for a year before proceeding with fertility treatments
• Women over 35 should wait no longer than six months before getting help

Read more: How to have a baby when it's not so simple

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Ready: Why Women Are Embracing The New Later Motherhood
by Elizabeth Gregory

-- Over the past three decades, skyrocketing numbers of women have chosen to start their families in their late thirties and early forties.

In 2005, ten times as many women had their first child between the ages of 35 and 39 as in 1975, and thirteen times as many had their first between 40 and 44.

Women now have the option to define for themselves when they're ready for a family, rather than sticking to a schedule set by social convention.

As a society, however, we have yet to come to terms with the phenomenon of later motherhood, and women who decide it makes sense for them to delay pregnancy often find themselves confronted with alarmist warnings about the dangers of waiting too long.

In Ready, Elizabeth Gregory tracks the burgeoning trend of new later motherhood and demonstrates for many women today, waiting for family works best.

She provides compelling evidence of the benefits of having children later -- by birth or by adoption.

Paperback: 336 pages
Click to order/for more info: Ready

Start reading Ready on your Kindle in under a minute!

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In a groundbreaking study, Yale School of Medicine researchers and colleagues at the University of Oxford have identified the chromosomal make-up of a human egg.

This discovery may soon allow them to avoid using abnormal -- or aneuploid -- eggs during infertility treatments, and instead to pick eggs healthy enough for a successful in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle.

The results are published in the May issue of the journal Human Reproduction.

Only a few oocytes (eggs) per IVF treatment cycle are able to produce a pregnancy because many eggs have the wrong number of chromosomes.

If the egg is missing a chromosome or has an extra chromosome, this is referred to as aneuploidy. This problem increases as women age.

Oocytes are surrounded by cells, called cumulus cells, which regulate and assist the process of egg maturation.

In this study, Yale Fertility Center director Dr. Pasquale Patrizio, and Dagan Wells of the University of Oxford studied genes expressed in the cumulus cells.

They were able to identify a set of genes less active in cells, which is associated with abnormal eggs.

They characterized two genes -- SPSB2 and TP5313 -- and found the expression of these genes was consistently underrepresented in cumulus cells surrounding abnormal eggs, while these same genes were normally expressed in eggs with the correct number of chromosomes.

The identification of these genes in cumulus cells can serve as a novel, non-invasive marker to identify abnormal oocytes and thus ultimately improve IVF success rates, said Patrizio, professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at Yale.

We can use cumulus cells surrounding the eggs to gain insight into the health of an egg. These cells are now able to inform us about the chromosomal makeup of an egg. This can help us know if it is the 'right egg' to be fertilized and produce a baby.

This finding opens up the possibility of a safe, effective, and inexpensive way of identifying healthy eggs, potentially lowering the risks of miscarriage and Down syndrome, said Wells.

By conducting these tests before eggs are fertilized, ethical concerns about an analysis of human embryos are avoided.

Other authors on the study include Elpida Fragouli, Amy E. Lager, and Umit A. Kayisli.

Wells is supported by the National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford; the work was also supported by a grant from Gema Diagnostics, Inc.

Story Source: The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Yale University. The original article was written by Karen N. Peart.

Journal Reference: Alteration of gene expression in human cumulus cells as a potential indicator of oocyte aneuploidy

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
The Insider's Guide to Egg Donation: A Compassionate and Comprehensive Guide for All Parents-to-Be
by Wendie Wilson-Miller and Erika Napoletano

-- In their search for alternative means for building a family, those who face infertility turn to the nearly 500 reproductive specialty clinics across the United States.

While egg donors enter into the picture for a variety of reasons, every reason has the same desired result: a family to call one’s own.

Same-sex and single-by-choice parents are more prevalent than ever in the fertility industry, and there is no definitive, up-to-date guide to help families of all types approach egg donation, especially these niche groups. Resources are fragmented, true regardless of the family structure.

The Insider's Guide to Egg Donation is the first how-to-handbook helping families of all types navigate the less talked about but widely practiced egg donor landscape with a warm and friendly tone, giving those in search of a different kind of stork the answers and information they need as they begin to research family-building options.

Paperback: 280 pages
Click to order/for more info: The Insider's Guide to Egg Donation

Start reading The Insider's Guide to Egg Donation on your Kindle in under a minute!

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Here's a list of clinics in the UK which will treat women 45 or over.
Can't guarantee how accurate this info is, as it's several years old.

Birmingham Women's Hospital
The Fertility Centre is located on the second floor of our Women's hospital.
- providing a full range of services from diagnosis of infertility, to IVF and ICSI treatment, treatment with donated eggs or sperm, surrogacy, fertility preservation for a range of medical issues and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis.

BMI Priory Hospital
-- Donor insemination (DI), Embryo cryopreservation (freezing) and frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET), Intrauterine Insemination (IUI), Invitro fertilisation & embryo transfer (IVF), IVF and Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), Ovum and embryo donations, Surgical Sperm Recovery (e.g. Microsurgical Epididymal Sperm Aspiration MESA), Time lapse embryo monitoring system (Primo VisionTM)

Diana, Princess of Wales Centre for Reproductive Medicine
St Georges Hospital NHS Trust, 3rd Floor
Lanesborough Wing, Cranmer Terrace
London, SW17 0RE
50 years max, relationship 1 year minimum

Essex Fertility Centre
Holly House Hospital
High Road, Buckhurst Hill
Tel: 020 8505 3315
Clinical Director: Mr Michael Ah-Moye (1977)
One cycle of IVF: £ 2100
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 650
50 years max

Hartlepool General Hospital
Holdforth Road
Hartlepool, TS24 9SH
Tel: 01429 522 866
Clinical Director: Mr M Menabawey (1968)
One cycle of IVF: £ 2300
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 270
50 years for private patients if FSH level is less than 15 u/L

London Female and Male Fertility Centre
Highgate Private Hospital
17-19 View Road
London, N6 4DJ
Tel: 020 8347 5081
Clinical Director: Mr A Abdel Gadir (1972)One cycle of IVF: £ 1840
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 675
50 years max, minimum 6 months relationship, number of previous cycles and maternal weight may be considered in consultation

London Women's Clinic
113-115 Harley Street
London, W1N 1DG
Tel: 020 7487 5050
Clinical Director: Ms Jinan Bekir (1968)
One cycle of IVF: £ 2100
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 490
46 years max, 50 years for donated eggs

Maidstone Fertility Centre
Kent Medical Imaging
60 Churchill Square, King's Hill
West Malling, ME19 4DU
Tel: 01732 529 643
Clinical Director: Professor Ian Craft
One cycle of IVF: £ 1800
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 650 (1 insemination -2 insemination = £700)
55 years max, smokers encouraged to stop

Manchester Fertility Services
Manchester BUPA Hospital
Russell House, Russell Road
Whalley Range, M16 8AJ
Tel: 0161 862 9567
Clinical Director: Dr Brian A Lieberman (1965)
One cycle of IVF: £ 1990
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 420

Midland Fertility Services
3rd Floor, Centre House
Court Parade
Aldridge, WS9 8LT
Tel: 01922 455911
50 years - but dependent upon individual circumstances

St Jude's Clinic for Fertility and Gynaecology
The White House
194 Penn Road
Wolverhampton, WV3 0EQ
Tel: 01902 620 831
Clinical Director: Mr Jude Adeghe (1980)
One cycle of IVF: £ 1600
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 500
50 years max

The Cromwell IVF and Fertility Centre
Cromwell Hospital
Cromwell Road
London, SW5 0TU
Tel: 020 7460 5713
Clinical Director: Mr Eric Simons (1961)One cycle of IVF: £ 2850 (under review)
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 660
58 years max if using donor eggs

The Peninsular Centre for Reproductive Medicine
Exeter Fertility Clinic, Heavitree Hospital
Gladstone Road
Exeter, EX1 2ED
Tel: 01392 405 051
Clinical Director: Mr Jonathan H West (1978)
One cycle of IVF: £ 1868
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 370
50 years max, M 60 years max, minimum 1 year relationship, BMI within normal range

Washington Hospital Cromwell IVF and Fertility Unit
The BUPA Washington Hospital
Picktree Lane, Rickleton
Washington, NE38 9JZ
Tel: 0191 417 6463
One cycle of IVF: £ 2250
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 535
58 years max, stable heterosexual relationship required, egg donors must cease smoking 3 months before treatment, weight loss advised if BMI greater than 30

Winterbourne Fertility Centre
The Winterbourne Hospital
Herringston Road
Dorchester, DT1 2DR
Tel: 01305 263 252
Clinical Director: Mr Michael Dooley (1980)One cycle of IVF: £ 2490
One cycle of IUI W/Donor: £ 575
50 years max

Source: Can you please help me

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
The Infertility Cleanse: Detox, Diet and Dharma for Fertility
by Tami Quinn and Beth Heller

-- Women who are trying to conceive will find a holistic approach in this hands-on manual.

Step-by-step guidelines help implement a three-part program — of yoga, hypoallergenic and anti-inflammatory nutrition, and stress-reduction techniques — to cleanse the body, mind, and spirit in preparation for pregnancy.

In addition, this program draws on cleansing methods from traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda and has been specifically designed for women who are trying naturally or with assisted-reproduction plans.

Also based on new clinical research that suggests that gut health, chronic inflammation, and environmental toxins may be root causes of infertility, this important book offers all women a natural, holistic approach to readying the womb for a child.

Paperback: 192 pages
Click to order/for more info: The Infertility Cleanse

Start reading The Infertility Cleanse on your Kindle in under a minute!

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Photo credit: Mom and gram, by Marya/Emdot

What is FSH?

Here is an oversimplified and unscientific definition of FSH: FSH stands for the follicle-stimulating hormone.

It is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland which, in the female, stimulates the ovaries to develop a follicle – the housing surrounding the egg prior to ovulation – each month.

It can be thought of metaphorically as the gas pedal which causes the ovaries to ovulate each month.

As women age, it becomes more difficult for the ovaries to ovulate, so the level of FSH rises (in order to push down the gas pedal further) over time.

When a woman enters menopause, her ovaries are depleted and the gas pedal stays depressed permanently; that is to say, the FSH level remains high.

If you've ever been told you have High FSH, Bad Eggs, or Diminished/Poor Ovarian Reserve, then you will want to read this: High FSH and Infertility

Includes an overview of meds used in ART, high FSH-friendly REs and research articles on high FSH.

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Perfect Hormone Balance for Fertility: The Ultimate Guide to Getting Pregnant
by Robert A. Greene M.D. and Laurie Tarkan

-- You have more than one hundred hormones circulating in your body – reproductive hormones, pregnancy hormones, sex hormones, metabolic hormones, and stress hormones – relaying messages from tissue to tissue, organ to organ, brain to body, and body to brain.

An equilibrium, a perfect balance in both partners, often determines your ability to conceive and support a pregnancy.

When your body is imbalanced, conception becomes very difficult. Luckily, hormonal imbalances can be corrected.

Drawing on the latest research in this field – which links underlying hormonal issues with infertility in men and women – Dr. Robert Greene, fertility specialist, OB/GYN, and reproductive endocrinologist, has created the Perfect Balance Fertility Program to help patients attain the optimal hormonal health necessary for conception.

Paperback: 352 pages
Click to order/for more info: Perfect Hormone Balance for Fertility

Start reading Perfect Hormone Balance for Fertility on your Kindle in under a minute!

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Picture by Life - Secret of life, by Sdgha Jhu

Found on the Babies After 50 mailing list:

I just want to suggest, once again, to those wanting to conceive using their own eggs /sperm, look into Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (here is one of many info links: OxyMed.com).

Here is the basis for my surmise:

HBOT [Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy] increases microcirculation (neoangiogenesis), and it also increases circulating stem cells.

There has been evidence of ovarian stem cells in mice, seen in the production of new follicles.

My guess is, it might take 90-120 days following HBOT for higher quality eggs to ripen and be ovulated.

Sperm quality also improves within weeks after HBOT.

I would suggest, acupuncture and herbs (and why not colon and liver cleansing) for improved hormonal balance. Optimizing nutrition/reducing seems seem obvious.

Then, some brave soul, try the HBOT!

It's lead to more than one miracle cure in brain and even spinal cord regeneration; why not the ovaries?

Plus, it's safe and virtually harmless; much easier on the body than IVF. ~Prudence

Source: Babies After 50 discussion list

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Taking Charge of Your Fertility, 10th Anniversary Edition:
The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health
by Toni Weschler

-- For any woman unhappy with her current method of birth control; demoralized by her quest to have a baby; or experiencing confusing symptoms in her cycle, this book provides answers to all these questions, plus amazing insights into a woman's body.

Weschler thoroughly explains the empowering Fertility Awareness Method, which in only a couple minutes a day allows a woman to:
• Enjoy highly effective, scientifically proven birth control without chemicals or devices
• Maximize her chances of conception or expedite fertility treatment by identifying impediments to conception
• Increase the likelihood of choosing the gender of her baby
• Gain control of her sexual and gynecological health

Paperback: 512 pages
Click to order/for more info: Taking Charge of Your Fertility

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The main IVF hint is to pamper yourself! An IVF cycle is a very stressful thing and anything that helps you through it without harming a potential baby is okay!

• Decide ahead of time where and how you want to get news each day for how much medication to take, etc. This is especially important on the big days of finding out about fertilization and pregnancy test. Those days can be tough if things don't go well! You might want your partner or a good friend around!

• Rest is very important, even before transfer. All those developing eggs are taking up a lot of space and energy.

• Try to get to know the people who are treating you so you aren't just another patient.

• It may help to make a friend or two who is at the clinic for IVF, too.

• Bring a book, magazine, or hand-held game with you to appointments. You might be there for a while.

• Make sure they do a mock transfer prior to the actual embryo transfer. This is not fun, but it is necessary they know the depth of your uterus so they know where to put the embryos.

• Do whatever it is you need to do to make this manageable for you. (Naps, backrubs, favorite foods, etc. Be very good to yourself during this time.)

• Small amounts of alcohol will probably not adversely affect you or your eggs, but caffeine has been shown to affect fertility, even in small amounts, so try to avoid it.

• Buy a good, up-to-date fertility book and try to find out as much as you can about the IVF process beforehand. There are always new advances, so try to keep up with the changes in techniques.

• Always ask your RE [Reproductive Endocrinologist] a lot of questions about your progress, what the numbers mean, etc. That is what they are there for! Also, you should be able to get copies of anything in your file (like your follicle growth and E2 [Estrogen] test results and fertilization report). The more knowledgeable you are, the more likely they are to openly share information and take time to explain.

• It can be very comforting to find someone, either in cyberspace or in person, who is in a similar situation (factor, cycle) you can share stories and progress with.

• Try to keep a very flexible schedule the week before the pregnancy test. Some people start their periods early and are stuck somewhere where they cannot just be alone and grieve.

• Start taking a prenatal vitamin prior to your cycle. At the minimum, you should take 400mcg of folic acid daily for three months before conception to reduce neural tube defects such as spina bifida. The FDA suggests 800 mcg during pregnancy, so it is best to look for a prenatal with that amount.

• Some clinics believe a diet that is high in protein and low in salt and potassium can help you avoid hyperstimulation. Gatorade is a poor choice of fluid to drink to prevent/control hyperstimulation because it contains large quantities of salt. Water or Pedialyte is best, in quantities recommended by your RE. At a certain stage of OHSS, too much fluid can be detrimental.

• Remember that some people get very uncomfortable and even have a lot of pain as the ovaries are stimulated. This may get worse as the follicles ripen. Loose clothing may help.

• Don't worry about your weight unless you are tracking it for hyperstimulation purposes. Unless you hyperstimulate, most of the weight gained during an IVF cycle usually disappears once your period starts and if you are lucky enough to get pregnant your weight won't matter anyway!

• If you are not taking birth control pills the cycle previous to your IVF [in vitro fertilization], be sure to use birth control (no matter how ridiculous it may seem). Usually, you will start Lupron before you would know if you conceived or not and Lupron is very dangerous to a developing baby.

• The extra fluid your developing follicles are taking up and being NPO [nothing by mouth] before retrieval can sometimes cause constipation. Increasing your consumption of fiber and fluids as you approach egg retrieval may help alleviate this.

• Don't talk to your partner too much about his role. This may cause him extra anxiety during an already stressful time and the extra stress can aggravate the performance anxiety men suffer on the day of retrieval.

• If this is your first IVF [in vitro fertilization], be conservative about the number of blastocysts or embryos you transfer, especially if they are of very good quality. You may find fertilization was your big hurdle, and now that is complete you are on your way!

• If you have had more than one failed IVF, consider changing clinics, especially if your doctor doesn't have a change in protocol planned.

• Remember all cycles are not alike. Using the exact same protocol on another attempt even at the same clinic can lead to different results.

• Some clinics use medications to prevent embryo rejection (low dose corticosteroids, etc.) which may help your chances of success. Check with your clinic to see if they think it would make a difference for you.

• Always repeat the directions for medication to the nurse and get your E2 [estrogen] level. If something seems wrong or unclear, ask for clarification.

• Prior to the stimulation part of your cycle, make sure you and your partner discuss how many embryos or blastocysts you plan to transfer. (While remembering your plan may have to change because of circumstances of the IVF!) If you think you will have extra embryos beyond what you want to transfer to avoid high order multiple risks, decide whether you will freeze them or discard them. Decide whether you would consider selective reduction. These are not things to discuss under pressure right before transfer!

Read more: General IVF Hints

© Copyright 1996, 2000, 2001 Rachel Browne. Use and copying of this information are permitted, provided: 1) no fees or compensation are charged for use, copies, or access to this information and 2) this copyright notice is included intact.

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
It Starts with the Egg:
How the Science of Egg Quality Can Help You Get Pregnant Naturally, Prevent Miscarriage, and Improve Your Odds in IVF
by Rebecca Fett

-- Whether you are trying to conceive naturally or through IVF, the quality of your eggs will have a powerful impact on how long it takes you to get pregnant and whether you face an increased risk of miscarriage.

Poor egg quality is emerging as the single most important cause of age-related infertility, recurrent miscarriage, and failed IVF cycles. It is also a major contributor to infertility in PCOS.

Based on a comprehensive investigation of a vast array of scientific research, It Starts with the Egg reveals a groundbreaking new approach for improving egg quality and fertility.

With a concrete strategy including minimizing exposure to toxins such as BPA and phthalates, choosing the right vitamins and supplements to safeguard developing eggs, and harnessing nutritional advice shown to boost IVF success rates, this book offers practical solutions to will help you get pregnant faster and deliver a healthy baby.

Paperback: 304 pages
Click to order/for more info: It Starts with the Egg

Start reading It Starts with the Egg on your Kindle in under a minute!

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Photo credit: Hand-n-Hand, by Ed Hill

With a growing number of women seeking pregnancy at older ages, especially after age 40, timely evaluation and diagnosis of in-fertility are becoming ever more important.

However, timely in-fertility diagnosis remains elusive for many patients, according to Norbert Gleicher, MD, a prominent fertility specialist and expert on ovarian aging.

It's not that every woman needs fertility treatment to get pregnant once she hits age 40, says Dr. Gleicher, Medical Director of the Center for Human Reproduction (CHR), a New York-based fertility center.

However, as the fertility center of last resort for older women, explains Dr. Gleicher, CHR sees a large number of women over 40; Many, unfortunately, have wasted precious time pursuing endless tests and treatments that make little sense.

As women get older, their ovarian reserve (a measure of ovaries' ability to produce good-quality eggs) declines. Because this process of ovarian aging speeds up significantly after age 40, timely diagnosis of in-fertility becomes crucial. Every fertility treatment loses efficacy rapidly with declining ovarian reserve.

Dr. Gleicher continues: There isn't a day when we don't hear our patients say doctor, I wish I'd known about your center years ago, when I was doing such and such... The earlier we can start treatment, the better, of course, our chances of helping our patients!

According to Dr. Gleicher, there are a number of tips women who are trying to get pregnant after 40 can follow in order to receive timely in-fertility diagnosis and effective treatment:

• Recognize the urgency of aggressive fertility treatment when you are above 40.
• Insist on rapid diagnosis and a structured treatment plan.
• Insist on specific treatment goals that meet your expectations: for example, do not agree to treatment with clomiphene citrate and intrauterine insemination (IUI) if the expected pregnancy chance sounds ridiculously low.
• Do not agree to endless testing to wait for the right results; Time is not on your side, and results will only get worse!
• It never hurts to get a second opinion.

About Center for Human Reproduction
Center for Human Reproduction, or CHR, is a leading fertility center in the United States with a worldwide reputation as a fertility center of last resort, specializing in treatment of in-fertility in women with diminished ovarian reserve, including younger women with premature ovarian aging (POA) and older women with physiological ovarian aging. Dr. Gleicher is available for additional comments.

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Overcoming Male Infertility
by Leslie R. Schover and Anthony J. Thomas Jr.

-- Hope and strategies for couples dealing with male infertility.

If you or your partner is suffering from male infertility, you're not alone.

Millions of couples are struggling with this problem.

About 40% of these couples have exclusively male infertility problems, while another 20% have both male and female infertility problems.

Now, two leading experts, a urologist specializing in male infertility and a psychologist, team up to write the most complete guide available on male infertility.

From the latest, state-of-the-art treatments to advice on how to handle the emotional aspects of male infertility, you'll find out where to get the help you need.

Overcoming Male Infertility also covers the psychological issues that are unique to men and gives advice to women on helping their man through the trauma of infertility treatment -- including how to get him to see a doctor in the first place.

Paperback: 304 pages
Click to order/for more info: Overcoming Male Infertility

Start reading Overcoming Male Infertility on your Kindle in under a minute!

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

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Mini-IVF (also known as micro or minimal stimulation IVF) is similar to conventional IVF in the procedures used during treatment.

As with IVF, you have monitoring throughout the cycle, an egg retrieval, fertilization in the lab of the egg and sperm, and embryo transfer.

What's different is how much medication is used to stimulate the ovaries to produce eggs.

While typical IVF aims to produce several eggs for retrieval, mini-IVF uses weaker medications or lower doses of medications to produce only a few eggs.

It may also be done without any ovarian stimulating drugs.

Because lower amounts of fertility drugs are used, the cost per cycle is lower, and the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is reduced.

Read more: What Is Mini or Micro IVF?

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
Zita West's Guide to Getting Pregnant
by Zita West

-- A pioneer in the field of fertility, Zita West's programme is invaluable for couples trying to conceive.

Harley Street's most popular fertility expert and favorite consultant to celebrity clients guide the reader through a process of vital physical and mental preparation.

The book is for every couple trying to conceive and has fascinating advice taken from Zita's 20 years of experience as a midwife and 7 years as an acupuncturist.

It provides a structured, easy-to-follow step-by-step programme, complete with case studies and enormously detailed questionnaire.

The guide includes details on:
• when and how often to have sex
• what can prevent fertilization and conception
• everything you need to know about sperm and ovulation
• nutrition, supplements, and herbs
• complementary therapies such as acupressure, lymphatic massage, and hypnotherapy
• how to overcome stress and other emotional blocks to pregnancy
• PCOS, endometriosis and other health issues
• tests and procedures if there is a problem
• and much much more.

Paperback: 400 pages
Click to order/for more info: Zita West's Guide to Getting Pregnant

Start reading Zita West's Guide to Getting Pregnant on your Kindle in under a minute!

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

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Photo credit: Health.Heraldtribune.com

More U.S. women are having twins these days. The reason? Older moms and fertility treatments.

One in every 30 babies born in the U.S. is a twin — an astounding increase over the last three decades, according to a government report issued Wednesday. In 1980, only 1 in every 53 babies was a twin.

When people say it seems like you see more twins nowadays, they are right, said Joyce Martin, an epidemiologist who co-authored the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.

About 7 percent of all births for women 40 and older were twins, compared to 5 percent of women in their late 30s and 2 percent of women age 24 or younger.

Read more: Older mothers, fertility treatments driving a big increase in twin births

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
The Fertility Code
by Dermot O'Connor
-- The Fertility Code program delivers a powerful and practical step-by-step approach for those who wish to give themselves the best chance of starting a family.

As many as 500,000 couples in the UK and Ireland actively seek help with fertility, such as IVF treatment each year. While some are legitimate candidates, many have been proven to just need proper lifestyle and fertility advice and assistance in order to conceive.

The Fertility Code is designed for these people, and for those who need more serious intervention, to optimize their fertility. There are a variety of factors that can contribute to preventing a couple from having a baby.

This is why it is important that a fertility plan should address as many of these potential issues as possible. Through many years' experience of helping thousands of couples to become parents, Dermot O'Connor knows that such a plan must be easy to understand, easy to implement and genuinely effective.

The Fertility Code combines the best of both Eastern and Western medicine to provide a comprehensive guide to conceiving successfully and carrying a baby to full term.
It details the optimum plan to enhance fertility, and delivers a proven strategy, incorporating the key elements consistently utilized by the couples Dermot has helped:

• Fertility Awareness Strategies
• The psychology of fertility
• Optimum nutrition for conception and pregnancy
• The importance of detoxification

Paperback: 224 pages
Click to order/for more info: The Fertility Code

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On November 1, 2008, BioXcell officially changed its name to INVO Bioscience.

INVO Bioscience better represents their dynamic approach to providing unique fertility treatment options for patients, and our commitment to the highest levels of clinical excellence, novel treatment strategies and patient-centered care.

Their lead product, the INVOcell, is a patented medical device used in infertility treatment and is considered an Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART).

The INVOcell is the first Intravaginal Culture (IVC) system in the world used for the natural in vivo incubation of eggs and sperm during fertilization and early embryo development, as an alternative to traditional In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Intrauterine Insemination (IUI).

INVOcell allows conception and embryo development to take place inside the mother's body, making having a baby simpler and less expensive, while promoting more involvement by the woman

The INVOcell, and the INVO procedure are less expensive and easier to perform than conventional in vitro fertilization.

INVOcell has received the CE Mark Declaration of Conformity from the European CE Marking, and is equivalent to approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S.

INVOcell offers a new fertility treatment that can be performed successfully in the office of an infertility specialist.

More info: About INVO Bioscience

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TODAY'S BOOK SUGGESTION:
It Starts with the Egg:
How the Science of Egg Quality Can Help You Get Pregnant Naturally, Prevent Miscarriage, and Improve Your Odds in IVF
by Rebecca Fett

-- Whether you are trying to conceive naturally or through IVF, the quality of your eggs will have a powerful impact on how long it takes you to get pregnant and whether you face an increased risk of miscarriage.

Poor egg quality is emerging as the single most important cause of age-related infertility, recurrent miscarriage, and failed IVF cycles. It is also a major contributor to infertility in PCOS.

Based on a comprehensive investigation of a vast array of scientific research, It Starts with the Egg reveals a groundbreaking new approach for improving egg quality and fertility.

With a concrete strategy including minimizing exposure to toxins such as BPA and phthalates, choosing the right vitamins and supplements to safeguard developing eggs, and harnessing nutritional advice shown to boost IVF success rates, this book offers practical solutions to will help you get pregnant faster and deliver a healthy baby.

Paperback: 304 pages
Click to order/for more info: It Starts with the Egg

Start reading It Starts with the Egg on your Kindle in under a minute!

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