There are so many painful aspects of infertility, but Dr. Mark Rispler frequently works with couples experiencing trouble getting pregnant again.

Secondary infertility, a diagnosis that affects 30 percent of infertile couples, tends to sneak up on people. Innovative Infertility Center treats the disease, with targeted infertility treatment and advanced options for both male and female causes.

In addition to the physical hurdles to overcome, we know that the psychological strain of secondary infertility is especially taxing.

Counterpoints to Secondary Infertility Comments

What do you say to friends and family members that assume if you can get pregnant once, the second time is guaranteed? Dr. Rispler and the clinical care team, in talking with couples dealing with secondary infertility, compiled these suggested responses to comments from the well-meaning, but uninformed, people in your life:

“At least you have one child already.”

I have the right to feel sad. I am grateful for the amazing gift that I have, but that doesn’t detract from my desire to get pregnant again. In fact, knowing the miracle of pregnancy and motherhood only strengthens my resolve to keep trying.

“Just relax and you’ll get pregnant. Keep on trying.”

Even physicians can downplay the seriousness of secondary infertility. Don’t wait too long to partner with a fertility specialist, especially if some time has passed since the last pregnancy and birth. A good rule is to seek fertility treatment after one year of actively trying, without results, to get pregnant.

“When are you going to give {Name} a brother or sister?”

We will add to our family when it is medically possible to do so.

It’s important to acknowledge the feelings you have—guilt, frustration, anger and hurt. People dealing with secondary infertility often also feel isolated. Even the infertility community doesn’t seem to understand. Take action by consulting with a fertility specialist like Dr. Rispler, or finding a support group consisting of couples with secondary infertility.

Fertility clinics and reproductive endocrinologists, like Dr. Mark Rispler at Innovative Fertility Center, take the opportunity to educate others on infertility: signs to watch for, when to seek treatment, and the critical need for insurance reform to cover the high cost of IVF and fertility treatment.

Talking about Infertility: Infertility Awareness Week 2013

Joining the conversation about infertility awareness could involve sending an email to your state representative, or inviting your mother-in-law to lunch. You may initiate a dialogue about your own experience, or encourage your friends to set a realistic timeline for trying getting pregnant.

Dr. Rispler and the team at Innovative Fertility Center support the National Infertility Association (RESOLVE), and the call to action of this year’s Infertility Awareness Week: Join the Movement.

You Can Join the Movement:

• Get Social! Use Facebook and Twitter to educate and motivate. For example, encourage friends and family living near Washington, D.C. or Houston, Texas, to participate in a Walk of Hope to raise awareness for infertility. The Houston walk is May 18 and the DC event is June 22.

• Share Some Stats: Infertility affects 1 in 8 couples; you should see a fertility specialist after 12 months of trying to get pregnant (6 months if the female is over 35); the disease affects couples physically, emotionally and financially.

• Advocate for Reform. Infertility Advocacy Day is May 8 in Washington, DC. Contact your representative and give voice to your concerns about infertility coverage. Ask for support for The Family Act, which would provide a tax credit for infertility treatment costs.

For more ideas on getting involved and connecting with others that share your struggle, visit RESOLVE.

http://www.resolve.org/national-infertility-awareness-week/in-your-area.html. Dr. Rispler and Innovative Fertility Center support your cause, and love to hear from former patients–current parents–that continue to raise awareness. Contact us to share your story!

With fibroids, you will likely need fertility treatment to address:

1. A fibroid tumor found inside the uterine cavity
2. A fibroid tumor larger than 6 centimeters in the wall of the uterus

Fibroids, also called myomas or leiomyomas, are often symptomless, benign tumors that grow in and around the uterus, and can change the size and shape of the uterus or the cervix. A fibroid’s location could prevent sperm from maneuvering throughout the cervix and uterine cavity; block fallopian tubes; or affect blood flow to the uterus.

How common are fibroids?

About 20 percent of women will have a fibroid tumor in their reproductive years; 5-10 percent of women experiencing infertility will have fibroids present. If you are African American, your chances increase to 50-80 percent. Fibroid tumors are likely caused by a combination of factors: genetics, environmental elements and hormonal responses.

Many women fear that what they don’t know can hurt their chances for conception. Dr. Rispler reassures women that most fibroid tumors do not cause infertility. If you are over 35 and ready to get pregnant, or suspect that you might have fibroid tumors, contact us for a fertility workup.

At Innovative Fertility Center, we view gender selection as a means to provide parents-to-be with newfound freedom to plan for and balance their families.

Gender Selection for Family Balancing

Gender selection sounds space-age, but it’s really simple. A fertility specialist can add an extra step to the artificial insemination process (IUI). Or, a scientist or embryologist can look inside a single cell of a developing embryo to find out 1) the sex 2) genetic disease markers prior to in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

Dr. Rispler offers family balancing at his Manhattan Beach fertility clinic as part of comprehensive infertility treatment services.

Old School Family Balancing

You may decide to try to get pregnant using timed intercourse to try for a girl. A review of high school biology tells us that the man determines the sex of a baby, adding his Y-chromosome to an egg to tip the scale in favor of blue. A woman’s eggs have two X-chromosomes, while a man’s sperm carries an X- and a Y-chromosome.

• If a man’s sperm carries a Y chromosome and fertilizes the egg, the baby will be a boy.
• If a man’s sperm carries an X chromosome and fertilizes the egg, the baby will be a girl.

The low-tech method for family balancing relied on evidence that Y-chromosome carrying sperm swim faster, but died sooner than girl X-sperm. If a couple has sex 2-3 days prior to ovulation, then abstains, some speculate that only the X-bearing sperm will survive.

Deciding on Family Balancing

The technology exists to greatly increase the odds of having a baby, either a boy or girl, to balance your family. Dr. Rispler sees couples with medical reasons for wanting a baby of a certain sex. Some inheritable genetic diseases are linked to boys or girls. He also sees parents with a strong desire to complete their family with a child of the opposite sex.

Dr. Rispler can explain your family building options in a fertility consultation. Contact Innovative Fertility Center for an appointment.

10 Puzzling Facts about Endometriosis

1. Some women with endometriosis have no symptoms.
2. For women with symptoms, the degree of pelvic pain does not correspond with the severity (or stage I-IV) of endometriosis.
3. There is no cure or absolute cause.
4. Some lifestyle changes can help women manage the symptoms.
5. One agreed upon cause, retrograde menstruation, occurs in 96% of women, but only causes endometriosis in a small percentage of cases.
6. Surgery can help diagnose it, but not necessarily cure it.
7. Endometriosis can grow into the bladder and other areas outside the pelvic cavity, even causing rectal bleeding.
8. No one is certain why some women with endometriosis have pain, and others do not.
9. Patches of endometrial tissue can be clear, white, brown, red, black or blue.
10. Some endometriosis cysts fill with thick brown fluid, and are called chocolate cysts.

Learn more about endometriosis, where it forms, why it likely occurs, and what fertility doctors recommend. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine provides this educational video on endometriosis.

Dr. Rispler will diagnose endometriosis by initiating a conversation about your family and medical history, and conducting a vaginal exam and sonogram. Minimally invasive fertility surgery can confirm the diagnosis.

Dr. Rispler may recommend super ovulation with intrauterine insemination (IUI), or in-vitro fertilization (IVF) when endometriosis causes infertility.

Contact Innovative Fertility Center for more facts about endometriosis, and to make a plan for getting pregnant.

Innovative Fertility Center provides an in-house donor egg program, but refers patients to outside donor sperm agencies prior to a intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in-vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle. Lab protocols are in place to protect and reassure you as you pursue advanced reproductive fertility treatment.

What You Can Expect in Donor Sperm Screening

• HIV/AIDS testing
• Infectious disease testing for Chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphillus, hepatitis
• Genetic testing
• CMV total antibodies
• Incubation period, then retesting once sperm is thawed
• Access to educational background, ethnicity, personality traits, and, oftentimes, photographs

Your fertility specialist can fully explain the standards you should expect as you incorporate donor sperm into a cycle of IUI or IVF. For thousands of couples, donor sperm was the missing piece that helped complete the journey toward parenthood.

Contact Dr. Rispler with Innovative Fertility Center for a new patient consultation and fertility testing that can lead to a family.

Studies show that poor nutrition can lead to problems with ovulation in women and sperm quality in men. Innovative Fertility Center takes proactive steps to educate patients on the importance of proper nutrition while trying to get pregnant.

5 fertility-boosting dietary habits

1. Take your folic acid. Start thinking about prenatal health while you are trying to conceive, and you might increase your chances for getting pregnant. New studies link folic acid supplements with improved fertility rates in both men and women.

2. Know your BMI. Underweight or overweight women may not ovulate regularly or at all. Body weight can also cause male infertility. While you are trying to get pregnant, ask your fertility specialist to discuss the ideal body mass index.

3. Women: Eat protein and minimize carbs. A recent study linked a high-protein diet low in carbohydrates to higher pregnancy rates.

4. Men: Avoid full-fat dairy and carbs. The same study concluded that sperm counts increased when men cut down on higher-fat dairy and carbohydrates.

5. See a fertility clinic with onsite nutritional counseling.

Innovative Fertility Center helps men and women create and follow a plan to adopt healthful habits, including incorporating a fertility nutritional plan that will help increase the chances for getting pregnant. Learn more about fertility and nutrition on the clinic website, or contact us here.
BlogCatalog

Dr. Mark Rispler will recommend preconception testing.

Preconception Testing: Pass the Test, Don’t Pass on the Disease

If you carry a recessive gene for an inheritable disease, you have a one in four chance of passing that disease along to your baby, says Dr. Rispler with Innovative Fertility Center. Many carriers of genetic disease never develop the disease, experience symptoms or become aware of their status.

Ask a Fertility Specialist about Preconception Testing

A double recessive genetic disorder, such as cystic fibrosis (CF), impacts the next generation when both parents carry the gene. One in 25 carry the gene for cystic fibrosis, so preconception testing for CF is often recommended, especially for Caucasians or European couples.

Does everybody need preconception testing prior to getting pregnant or pursuing fertility treatment? No. However, it’s important to know your family history and pursue preconception testing when certain red flags appear. Contact Innovative Fertility Center with questions about preconception testing. Dr. Rispler offers preconception testing, and preventive fertility treatment should you test positive as a recessive gene carrier.

Studies show that poor nutrition can lead to problems with ovulation in women and sperm quality in men. Innovative Fertility Center takes proactive steps to educate patients on the importance of proper nutrition while trying to get pregnant.

5 fertility-boosting dietary habits 

• 1. Take your folic acid. Start thinking about prenatal health while you are trying to conceive, and you might increase your chances for getting pregnant. New studies link folic acid supplements with improved fertility rates in both men and women.
  2. Know your BMI. Underweight or overweight women may not ovulate regularly or at all. Body weight can also cause male infertility. While you are trying to get pregnant, ask your fertility specialist to discuss the ideal body mass index.
  3. Women: Eat protein and minimize carbs. A recent study linked a high-protein diet low in carbohydrates to higher pregnancy rates.
  4. Men: Avoid full-fat dairy and carbs. The same study concluded that sperm counts increased when men cut down on higher-fat dairy and carbohydrates.
  5. See a fertility clinic with onsite nutritional counseling.

Innovative Fertility Center helps men and women create and follow a plan to adopt healthful habits, including incorporating a fertility nutritional plan that will help increase the chances for getting pregnant. Learn more about fertility and nutrition on the clinic website, or contact us here.

Most people know that IVF leads to successful pregnancies in couples facing serious fertility issues. Dr. Rispler explains that PGS and PGD refer to relatively new breakthroughs in testing embryos prior to the point where the fertilized egg is returned to the uterus. Sometimes called embryo biopsy, PGS and PGD help determine the presence of genetic disease or chromosomal abnormalities.

Innovative Fertility Center Explains the Difference between PGS and PGD

Innovative Fertility Center dedicates a portion of its website to explaining the applications for PGS and PDG, and the protocols in place to maximize the effectiveness of genetic testing. We provide a succinct version here:

Why PGS? You may opt for PGS if you are a woman of advanced maternal age, or have experienced recurrent miscarriage or failed IVF cycles.

Why PGD? If you have a family history for genetic disease such as cystic fibrosis, or fall into specific ethnic categories, PGD can rule out inheritable disease to protect your next generation.

The desire to get pregnant and have a healthy baby motivates many couples to partner with Innovative Fertility Center. Dr. Rispler provides comprehensive fertility testing and proactive techniques to protect your baby from devastating genetic disorders. Contact the office of Innovative Fertility Center for more information about PGS and PGD.