For new patients
When am I ovulating?
Ovulation happens when the egg is mature and ready to be fertilized. This usually happens on day fourteen of your menstrual cycle if your menstrual cycle is 28 days. Menstrual cycles are counted from the first day of one period to the first day of the next one. However, if you do not have regularly spaced menstrual cycles or your cycles are not 28 days apart, it can be more difficult to tell when you are ovulating. We sometimes use urinary ovulation kits or ultrasound monitoring coupled with testing of blood hormone levels to determine ovulation.
When is the fertile period?
The fertile period is the time when intercourse is most likely to result in a conception. This period is centered around the time of ovulation. Because the exact time of ovulation can be difficult to determine, it can be difficult to determine the fertile period. However, the fertile period is generally 3-5 days before ovulation to up to one day after.
Why might I be having trouble getting pregnant?
There are many reasons when conception may not be occurring. Achieving pregnancy requires that many different biological systems are working correctly and at the same time. Common reasons for difficulty getting pregnant include anatomic abnormalities (fallopian tubes blocked by scar tissue or endometriosis, or distortion of the uterine cavity by fibroids, scar tissue or endometrial polyps), lack of ovulation or hormone imbalances, and poor sperm quality. A complete workup is usually needed to determine the exact problem. The participation of BOTH partners is vital here, as the majority of our couples have more than one problem identified!
When should I consult a fertility specialist?
Infertility is defined as 1 year of unprotected intercourse that does not result in a conception. We usually suggest consultation sooner than one year (after 6 months of unprotected intercourse) for women over the age of 35 or at any point if your doctor recommends it.
What are the available treatments?
There are many available treatments, which must be specifically tailored to your particular problems. There is no universal infertility treatment, because the treatments only work if they are addressing your specific problems. Having the female partner take fertility drugs, for example, will not help when the problem is poor sperm quality.
Many of our couples need and/or choose to use IVF as a method of achieving pregnancy in the most expeditious fashion. We offer an outstanding embryology laboratory which uses the latest technology to provide the best possible pregnancy rates. Our IVF Program is unique, however, in that we also place a premium upon safety as well as success. A major complication of IVF is multiple pregnancies, which deters many couples from pursuing this extremely effective treatment. We have made it our mission to maintain outstanding IVF pregnancy rates, while keeping the chances of multiple births to an absolute minimum. Our incidence of high-order multiple pregnancy (triplets or more) is about 2% of IVF pregnancies, as compared to the national average of about 8%.
We are a training site and perform minimally-invasive surgery (hysteroscopy and laparoscopy), along with traditional open surgery for removal of fibroids and for microscopic tubal sterilization reversal. Our couples are also offered simpler treatments, such as artificial insemination (intrauterine insemination or IUI), in natural cycles or with oral or injectable fertility drugs. Some couples with more severe problems avail themselves of our extremely successful egg or sperm donor programs, or utilize the services of a gestational carrier if the female partner is unable to carry a pregnancy.
What does IVF mean?
IVF is an acronym that stands for in vitro fertilization. This means that the egg is fertilized by the sperm in a laboratory instead of the female reproductive tract.
What does the IVF process entail?
IVF involves the stimulation of the ovaries with to produce multiple eggs at one time. These eggs are removed from the ovaries during a minor surgical procedure then fertilized in a laboratory where they grow into embryos. The embryos are returned to the uterus 3 to 5 days later.
What are your IVF success rates?
See our success rates page >>
I’ve seen other IVF clinics success rates. How do yours compare?
Our IVF livebirth rate is better than the national average. Keep in mind that you must make sure that you are comparing apples to apples, and not apples to oranges. For example, consider the following scenario:
Clinic A advertises an IVF Success Rate of 70%. They are giving the number of patients who developed a clinical pregnancy (a pregnancy sac within the uterus on ultrasound) divided by the number of women who received an embryo transfer.
Clinic B’s Website lists their live birth pregnancy rate per initiated cycle as 50 %.
Which clinic is better?
Clinic B is better! Why?
Clinic A is advertising an IVF Success Rate of 70%. In small print at the bottom of the ad, they explain that they are giving you the number of patients who developed a clinical pregnancy (a pregnancy sac within the uterus on ultrasound) divided by the number of women who received an embryo transfer.
Clinic B is providing the number of women achieving a living child divided by the number of women who started stimulation with fertility drugs. This is the method of explaining pregnancy rates which is endorsed by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) as the preferred and most legitimate method for reporting pregnancy rates after IVF.
Clinic
Clinic A is using clinical pregnancies over # of embryo transfers 49/70 = 70%.
Clinic B is using live births over number of starts 50/100 = 50%.
If Clinic A had presented the same ratio, their �pregnancy rate� would have been 40% instead of 70%.
Because of different practice patterns, you can see that the two Clinics have different cancellation rates (the number who stop the process prior to egg retrieval), and also different rates of not having an embryo transfer. Some Clinics are quick to cancel women who do not have a perfect response, or to not transfer embryos if they seem less than perfect, because it gives them a higher pregnancy rate per embryo transfer. That is not our approach at URA.
If the same 100 couples went to each clinic, 10 more would have living children if they went to Clinic B, which seemed� to have a lower pregnancy rate.
Are fertility medications safe?
Fertility medications have many but mostly controllable side effects. The most common are multiple pregnancies (more than one baby at a time) and bloating and cramping. Other, rarer, side effects include ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and ovarian torsion. During treatment with fertility medications, all of our patients are closely monitored to watch for any of these complications.
Do I have to do the injections myself for IVF?
Yes, the patients and their partners perform most of the injections used during IVF. Patients go to a medication administration class to learn how to use the injectable fertility medications and perform the injections.
For current patients
Which specialty pharmacies do you recommend?
* Pharmacy lists and phone numbers >>
Where can I find a review of the injection procedures?
Click here >>
When can I expect a call to review my instructions for this evening?
The medical staff will call you back by 5:30 pm on the same day as your ultrasound or morning bloodwork. If you do not receive a call or voice message by this time, please call the office for instructions.
What time can I come in for my ultrasound or bloodwork?
Morning ultrasounds and bloodwork are done between 7 and 8 am in the morning, seven days a week. The visits are done on a first-come, first-serve schedule. Please make sure that you come in before 8 am to ensure that your laboratory results are ready on the same day.
What financing options do you have for my fertility treatments?
The billing department will review your particular insurance benefits. If your insurance company does not provide full coverage of your treatment plans, the billing department can give you the details of the many financing options available. To the best of our ability, we try to make sure that all couples �regardless of their circumstances- are able to afford the help they need to achieve a healthy child.
To learn more visit our website
Tags: Fertility, In Vitro, Infertility, IVF, New Jersey, Pregnancy, Sperm Count
