We have two separate success stories today that we thought were of particular interest. The first is of a patient who, after experiencing both conventional IVF and minimal stimulation IVF is sold on the latter, and has preserved her fertility in case she wants to have another baby here at New Hope. The second story can be informative for anyone who is considering using a donor egg.

In the first success, MM, who recently conceived from a frozen blastocyst transfer using our customized Mini-IVF protocol to get pregnant. Although this is her second child, it is her first one at New Hope. She conceived her first child only after 4 cycles of conventional IVF at another clinic (Continuum) and decided that she wanted to try another way to do it — a way that might not be so difficult on her body. After having her second baby here she said that she is now a firm believer in Mini-IVF and she still has two embryos frozen through vitrification in case she desires baby number three.

Our second story is with patient KM, who conceived from a frozen donor-oocyte blastocyst transfer and a natural IVF cycle. This baby will be her second from New Hope. Unlike donor transfer protocols in other centers, at New Hope, we don’t require recipients to cycle with the donor, we don’t need recipients to take injections to create a menopausal state, and we don’t require recipients to take high dose hormones to create lining and environment within the uterus. Everything that would need to happen for a successful pregnancy is done by the body naturally and, because our freezing technique (vitrification) is so safe and reliable we can count on thawing the blastocyst at the naturally optimal time for the body.

Congratulations on both accounts — we are so happy for both of these patients!

While we are happy whenever any of our patients have success stories, there are some that are particularly outstanding — and those are the stories we try to post here on our blog, facebook, or twitter. One such recent story was with a patient, AL, who was recently graduated to an OB/GYN. AL came to us when she was 33 years old and was frustrated because she had a history of 7 failed IVF cycles in Morocco. She moved to New York City specifically to get the best IVF treatment at our clinic and she was not disappointed. She conceived from a frozen blastocyst transfer (day 5 embryo) in only one clomid-only Mini-IVF cycle. She is pregnant with twins from a single embryo transfer. Congratulations!

The following picture catapulted one couple to the media limelight after they posted it to facebook:

The family (who admittedly took a beautiful and captivating picture) has been gaining recognition for their sextuplets, and, as a result, recently appeared as guests on the Oprah Winfrey show where she gave them $250,000 dollars to spend on things for their children at Walmart. On Oprah’s show they talked about how, unlike in the case of the Octomom, where many people stepped forward to offer financial assistance, they have received very little and are struggling to raise their children. The money came as a nice surprise for them and they were moved to tears at the gesture from Oprah.

The publicity the couple is getting, and the throw back reminder to cases like the octomom remind us of one of the concerns regarding conventional IVF treatment — and one of the outcomes that is quite possible when multiple embryos are transferred into the womb for implantation. Clinics may choose to do this because it increases the chances that one of the embryos will implant successfully and develop into a baby, with the obvious other possibility that more than one will implant and there will be multiple births.

At New Hope, we take a different approach to this and painstakingly select only the highest quality embryos, enabling us to also recommend Single Embryo Transfers under our “One Good Egg” policy. Our decision to promote single embryo transfers means that there is less risk for pregnancy/birth complications for the mother, as well as less health concerns for the babies as they develop.

On Sunday, February 20, 2011, some of the most renowned rabbis arrived at New Hope Fertility’s West-Side clinic in Columbus circle to hear talks from Rabbi Dovid Morgenstern, Dr. Sherman Silber and Dr. John Zhang. Rabbi Dovid Silber MCed the event and introduced each of the illustrious speakers who proceeded to talk about infertility issues as they applied to the jewish community as well as the population at large. Many of the presentations addressed how advances in technology are aiding fertility treatment, now allowing incredible procedures like vasectomy reversals and ovarian tissue transfers to be safe and successful. In addition, Dr. Zhang spoke about New Hope Fertility’s commitment to customized and gentler IVF methods that allow for procedures that require less medication than conventional IVF while still producing the same results.

Dr. Sherman Silber talks at an infertility presentation for rabbis at New Hope Fertility.

Dr. John Zhang and Sherman Silber trade of at the podium.

Dr. John Zhang talks at an infertility presentation for rabbis at New Hope Fertility.

Researchers, scientists, and medical professionals have long been aware of the link between weight and fertility. In particular, with the rising incidence of overweight and obese people around the world, the topic has gotten more and more attention in the recent years.

Being overweight or obese affects a woman’s fertility because it has been linked strongly to ovulatory dysfunction. Increases in weight have been found to be directly proportional to irregularity in a woman’s menstrual cycle. That is to say that the more a woman’s weight increases, the more irregular their cycle is. With highly irregular cycles, come ovulatory dysfunctions, and in particular, anovulation, the failure to release an egg during the ovulatory time in a woman’s menstrual cycle, is a common side effect of irregular cycles.

If you are curious to calculate your own BMI, then you can use this handy BMI Calculator.

If you do fall into an overweight or obese category and think that it may be causing fertility problems for you, then the first thing to do is try to lose weight in healthy ways, the same way that you would if you were simply making a new years resolution. Limiting unhealthy foods and excessive calories, while maintaining a balanced diet and regular cardiovascular exercise for 30 minutes 3-4 times a week until you are in a healthier weight category may be a key to helping you get your body back on track.