First of all, we need to understand that “Infertility” is described when a couple is unable to get pregnant after having 6 months – one year (or longer) of unprotected sex regularly. Causes of infertility may occur from both male and female.   Primary cause may come from female e.g., blocked fallopian tubes, anovulation or uterine disorders. Causes of male infertility may including poor sperm quality or low sperm count. Other causes from both male and female such as aging, sleep late, smoking, drinking alcohol regularly.   Some genetic disorders make chromosome or body structure become abnormal. These abnormalities possibly relate to heredity. Although not many cases can be found but some diseases are inheritable. Therefore, please visit your gynecologist then allow the doctor check up thoroughly for both husband and wife. This will help you find out the actual causes of infertility. 129

Pelvic scan! How important is it for women? A pelvic scan involves with ultrasound assessment to detect female reproductive abnormalities whether the patient has symptoms or not. This test is significant since it can protect the spread of diseases or it allows patient can be treated at the right time.   The doctor will recommend a pelvic scan to women at 30 years of age onward as well as women who used to have sexual intercourse. People in these groups should receive the test regularly at least once a year to evaluate ovarian cysts or uterine fibroids, sexually transmitted diseases or other issues related to reproductive organs. Pelvic scan can help the doctor to examine uterus and ovaries since the abnormalities occurred in these internal organs cannot be detected from an external examination.   Apart from the above mentioned, woman who has following symptoms should see the doctor then receive[…]

The success of ICSI treatment depends on the quality of embryos. In medical procedure, embryo grading is used to evaluate and select the healthy embryos with the best quality before embryo transfer.   At Prime Fertility Clinic, our embryologists perform embryo grading. The fertility specialists assess embryos during 2 stages of embryo development which are Cleavage stage and Blastocyst stage as following details:   Cleavage stage The embryo assessment of Prime Fertility Clinic refers to an international criteria of Istanbul Consensus Scoring System. Considering cell morphology and symmetry, embryos are simply divided in 3 groups. Grade 1 (Good quality): The embryos that consist of blastomeres or an increased number of cells from cell division. Each cell has a nice round shape, equal size, no fragmentation (small fragments or broken pieces of abnormal cells of embryo). However, fragmentation less than 10% will be accepted. Embryos in this group are more likely[…]

The answer is “Yes”. Being too fat affects an ability to get pregnant. However, being too skinny can make it difficult for women to conceive as well.   An indicator to measure body fatness is BMI (Body Mass Index). Pregnancy opportunities of women based on BMI value are following: A BMI between 14-18 is considered very thin. The chance that women will deliver a healthy newborn is only 34%. A BMI between 19-28 is healthy weight or slight overweight. The chance that women will deliver a healthy newborn is 50%. A BMI between 29-43 means overweight or obesity. The chance that women will deliver a healthy newborn is 45%.   Women who are underweight will have “a secretion disorder of pituitary gland hormones”. The condition makes an anovulation then leads fertility problems respectively.   Women who are overweight, especially for those who are paunchy, their body will produce the abnormal[…]

Down Syndrome, a genetic condition that pregnant women must know! Down syndrome is a genetic disorder caused from an extra full or partial copy of the 21st chromosome. This extra copy of chromosome causes mild to moderate intellectual disability, delayed speech, decreased muscle tone. The obvious physical features are including flattened face / head / nose, small eyes, upward slanting eyelids, short neck, short height (shorter than other people at the same age once becoming an adult). As well as various health problems. Therefore, people with down syndrome mostly have a shorter lifespan than normal individuals.   Who has a greater risk of conceiving a baby with down syndrome? The answer is women who are pregnant at age 35 or older! Pregnancy in advanced maternal age makes a high risk of having infants with down syndrome. The older mothers are, the higher risk will be. Moreover, parents who have a[…]

Not only aging, but infertility may come from unhealthy habits such as drinking alcohol or smoking. These are greater risks of infertility in both males and females.   Drinking alcohol Even a small amount of alcohol consumption can affect reproductive performance of males and females. It is more difficult to get pregnant. Moderate to heavy alcohol intake may lead a greater risk of pregnancy lost or preterm labor. Moreover, drinking alcohol can affect hormonal system secreted by pituitary gland as well as hormones that control the ovarian performance. Therefore, females may have some issues before and after ovulation including endometrial abnormalities. Males who drink alcohol in moderate to excessive amount are more likely to have liver disorders. Increasing estrogen in males will cause low sperm count and poor sperm quality.     Smoking Obvious evidence has proved that quitting the smoking habit, marijuana, coffee or drug use can increase the[…]

Endometrial preparation will be performed during 2-5 days after patient’s period starts. The doctor will arrange date and time for embryo transfer by considering ultrasound images together with blood results for hormonal testing in order to ensure the patient has a good uterine cavity. The uterine cavity that is suitable for embryo transfer should has these characteristics as following: 8-10 Millimeters thickness (not over 14 mm.) 3 Layers of uterine lining, smooth, visible middle line Not thickset or dense No fluid inside Once the patient has a perfect endometrium for embryo transfer, the doctor will prescribe some oral medicines and vaginal suppositories for the patient to take in 5 days before the transferring day. After that, the doctor will schedule date and time for the embryo transfer. 430

Many women who join the infertility treatment may be wondering whether they should have a sick leave after the embryo transfer in order to get recovery or not? First of all, they need to understand 2 different types of embryo transfer which are fresh cycle and frozen cycle. Fresh Cycle: Ovarian stimulation, ovum retrieval and embryo transfer will be performed within the same menstrual cycle. That is once the eggs and sperm have been retrieved and fertilized, the embryos are raised until Day 2-3 or they reach Blastocyst stage. If the embryos grow up well and be healthy then the doctor will schedule the transferring day using the selected embryo respectively. Frozen Cycle: The embryo transfer will be performed in the cycle of endometrial preparation. Therefore, embryos have been frozen. After that, the frozen embryos will be thawed and transferred to the prepared uterine cavity. There is no need to[…]

Why can’t many women get pregnant? There might be several factors. One of the important risk factors that can be found in infertile women is “Blocked Fallopian Tubes”. […]