Medically reviewed by Dr. Violet Klenov, MD, board-certified reproductive endocrinologist. STL Fertility patient John offers advice for guys dealing with IVF At STL Fertility, every patient has unique needs and goals. We understand. Despite the fact that infertility affects men and women equally across Saint Louis and beyond, the male point of view often gets little attention. To help bring more attention to the experiences that many male patients have, we had the chance to s

Medically reviewed by Dr. Maureen Schulte, MD, board-certified reproductive endocrinologist. According to published CDC data, there were an estimated 400,000 in vitro fertilization or IVF cycles conducted in the US last year, and 4,000 cycles reported in the St. Louis area alone. With so many patients seeking fertility care across the US, IVF centers have a commitment to both success and safety for their patients and staff. While situations like the one that came out of South

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) literally translates into fertilization that happens outside the body. It is the process of removing sperm and egg from the body and developing them “in vitro” – in a dish. In a normal menstrual cycle, only one follicle develops a mature egg, the “dominant follicle”. In IVF, the woman takes injectable hormone medications to stimulate the ovary to develop multiple follicles, instead of just one. All these follicles grow oocytes or “eggs”. These fol

Extended daylight hours, warm sunshine and long weekends are hallmarks of a good summer and help to lift people’s spirits during the season. But did you know summer is also the ideal season for IVF? It turns out that it’s not just animals who have higher conception rates during the warmer months of spring and summer – a woman’s chance of ovulating and conception is also higher in the spring and summer months! Research presented to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine

Deciding which fertility treatment is right for you can be a challenging and emotional decision. Today, with advancements in assisted reproductive technologies (ART), the SIRM St. Louis fertility specialists are able to provide multiple treatment options based on your specific challenges and family planning goals. Two of the most well-known fertility treatment options are Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) and In vitro Fertilization (IVF). While there are similarities between th

IVF success rates essentially represent the pregnancy rates associated with undergoing IVF. There are several ways to calculate IVF success rates, but all IVF success rates are calculated by dividing the number of positive outcomes (i.e., number of pregnancies) by the number of procedures performed (i.e., number of embryo transfers). The important thing to remember is that the center with the highest pregnancy rates may not be the best center for every patient. This is counte

Aside from a woman’s age, the factor most heavily affecting egg/embryo quality in IVF is the method of ovarian stimulation used. There is no single stimulation protocol that is suitable for all IVF patients. At SIRM St. Louis, we believe patients should not be treated as if “one size fits all.” Each patient’s protocol for IVF stimulation must be individualized in order to have the best likelihood of success. Women with decreased ovarian reserve (DOR) can be especially difficu