A tubal ligation, also known as having your tubes tied, is the process of cutting or blocking the fallopian tubes to prevent pregnancy and is meant to be a permanent form of birth control. Later in life, many women change their minds about expanding their family, and a tubal reversal can allow you to conceive again.

Intrauterine insemination (IUI) involves placing healthy sperm directly into the uterus during ovulation, close to a mature egg. IUI reduces the distance that sperm have to travel to reach the egg, improving their chances of fertilizing. IUI can sometimes be accomplished without the need for ovulation-inducing medications, and the non-invasive procedure is typically the first method we suggest to treat unexplained infertility and mild male infertility. It is also the standard procedure for artificial insemination if you require donor sperm to conceive a child.

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a complex process involving numerous procedures that allow us to fertilize your mature eggs outside of your body, and then cultivate the embryos (fertilized eggs) before transferring them back into the uterus. IVF offers an impressive list of benefits, including the confirmation of normal fertilization and embryo development. During an IVF procedure, we can utilize your eggs and your partner’s sperm, or donor eggs or sperm, if necessary. IVF is often recommended after various other infertility treatments have failed. Additionally, it is possible to test the embryos for genetic abnormalities through embryo biopsy and preimplantation genetic testing through PGT-A (formerly PGS) and PGT-M (formerly PGD). We now also offer Nature’s IVF™, also known as INVOcell™, an alternative procedure that offers the right candidates similar success rates at a lower cost.

Fertilizing a mature egg during an IVF treatment is often achieved by combining sperm with eggs and allowing them to incubate overnight. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is an alternate method used during the fertilization phase of an IVF procedure. If the male partner’s semen analysis suggests a low sperm count or other sperm-related infertility factors, then ICSI can often facilitate fertilization by directly injecting a single healthy sperm into each mature egg.

As a woman ages, the membranes that surround her embryos, known as the zona pellucida, may become thicker. For an embryo to grow and mature into a fetus, it first must implant itself into the lining of the uterus. Before implantation can occur, the embryo must break free, or “hatch,” from the zona pellucida. Laser-assisted hatching involves the use of a microlaser to create a weak spot in the zona before it is transferred into the uterus, making it easier for the embryo to emerge.

Since IVF requires an excessive amount of mature eggs to be produced during ovulation, you may consider freezing the embryos that mature into blastocysts but are not selected for transfer. If you choose to conceive a child in the future, a frozen embryo transfer (FET) offers the benefits of embryos that are younger than the eggs you currently produce. FET can also allow patients to skip the first few steps of the IVF process, namely retrieving eggs and sperm, and fertilizing the eggs in a laboratory.

For hopeful parents frustrated by unsuccessful attempts to conceive, we offer counseling on lifestyle changes to boost fertility. We can help you understand how hormones, age, timing, weight, stress, and underlying medical conditions all interact to affect the ability to conceive. Once one of our experienced specialists has reviewed your medical history, they can recommend lifestyle tips such as stress management and healthy eating and exercise.

There are many causes of infertility in both men and women. Men can experience abnormal sperm production or function from genetic problems, health complications such as diabetes, HIV, or other problems like undescended testicles. Certain environmental factors such as cigarette smoking, alcohol, and other drugs can have an effect on both male and female infertility. Women can experience ovulation disorders, thyroid disorders, ovarian cysts, and other conditions that affect egg production.

Donor sperm treatment can be an effective method of helping women and couples who have had difficulty conceiving. Using donor sperm as part of an IUI or IVF cycle can help couples overcome male infertility issues, as well as providing single women and same-sex couples an opportunity to have children of their own. Patients will have the option to use sperm from someone they know, such as a friend or a family member, or they may choose to use sperm from an anonymous donor as part of their fertility treatment.

While infertility is often placed primarily on females, men are also capable of experiencing different symptoms of infertility. Problems with sperm production, ejaculation disturbances, immunologic disorders, certain infections, congenital disorders, and other complications account for almost 30 percent of all infertility. This can have a devastating emotional effect on men as they typically associate their power and masculinity with their ability to successfully create offspring.

Clomid® is a medication that is designed to increase your chance of conceiving. It works by inducing ovulation and stimulating follicle growth within the ovaries. Clomid can be combined with IUI, IVF, or hormone injections to increase the effectiveness of the procedure.