http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/feeds/infertility-insights?key=infertility-insights Healthline Health Blogger Carl M. Herbert - Infertility Insights en-us Copyright (c) 2013 Healthline, All rights reserved. en-us Copyright (c) 2013 Healthline, All rights reserved. http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/evaluating-ivf-clinics-pregnancy-rates Patients in my practice often inquire about their chances conceiving through reproductive medicine. The answer to this question depends on a variety of factors such as the patient's age and diagnosis. Thankfully, most fertility clinics nowadays po... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/evaluating-ivf-clinics-pregnancy-rates Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/endometrial-lining-and-post-transfer-bed-rest I recently saw a patient in my practice, Pacific Fertility Center, who had recently undergone a retrieval and she inquired about a couple matters that I get asked about all the time. For starters, she inquired as to what is the optimal endometrial... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/endometrial-lining-and-post-transfer-bed-rest Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/egg-freezing One of the hot topics in the fertility field is Egg Freezing, and, once perfected this technology could revolutionize the field of reproductive medicine. It could allow a woman to freeze her eggs and, at a later date, those eggs would be thawed, f... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/egg-freezing Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/male-infertility-treatments A vast majority of the talk surrounding infertility surrounds female treatments. Male factor infertility does indeed play a role in a significant number of the cases I see. Thankfully, with today’s reproductive medicine, even men with the most sev... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/male-infertility-treatments Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/improving-your-fertility-dos-and-donts Overcoming infertility through reproductive medicine is a team effort. Certainly patients should seek out the very best fertility medicine. Additionally, patients need to make sure they are doing their part to ensure that their lifestyle gives the... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/improving-your-fertility-dos-and-donts Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/sperm-donation Some patients in our clinic require the use of a sperm donor. There are a variety of scenarios when a sperm donor is used (i.e., heterosexual couples, lesbian couples and single women). However, for this post, I’m going to keep the focus centered ... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/sperm-donation Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/sperm-samples-home My colleagues and I occasionally field questions from patients about whether they can collect a sperm sample at home. This is an interesting topic and my colleague at Pacific Fertility Center, Joe Conaghan, PhD, High-complexity Clinical Laboratory... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/sperm-samples-home Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/metformin-pcos-treatment Occasionally, my patients express some confusion over the drug Metformin (brand name: Glucophage). They've heard it is a fertility drug but are thrown off by the fact that it is an FDA-approved drug for type 2 diabetes. Indeed, metformin is used a... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/metformin-pcos-treatment Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/embryo-day-three-transfer-versus-blastocyst-day-five-transfer Transferring embryos at the blastocyst stage may be an option for patients in an IVF cycle. As background, a blastocyst is an embryo that has undergone multiple cellular divisions with the formation of a cavity within it. A fertilized egg reaches ... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/embryo-day-three-transfer-versus-blastocyst-day-five-transfer Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/biological-clock-keeps-ticking Everyone knows the quip about the three most important things in real estate: Location, Location, Location. In reproductive medicine, it’s: Timing, Timing, Timing. By timing, I’m really referring to the age of the female patient. The older the fem... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/biological-clock-keeps-ticking Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/coping-through-holidays Following Halloween, the holiday season suddenly looms. Excited children, crowded stores, decorations, and holiday parties are all set to descend on us. Yet because the winter holidays tend to celebrate families and children, these usually joyous ... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/coping-through-holidays Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/hydrosalpinx A hydrosalpinx is a fallopian tube that is filled with fluid. Injury to the end of the fallopian tube, the ampulla, and its delicate fingers, the fimbria, causes the end of the tube to close. Glands within the tube produce a watery fluid that coll... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/hydrosalpinx Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/ivf-dilemma-optimizing-pregnancy-rates-minimizing-multiples One of the challenges in reproductive medicine is giving patients the best chance of conceiving while avoiding multiple births. After all, it is our experience that singleton births are the healthiest for both baby and mother. However, with an IVF... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/ivf-dilemma-optimizing-pregnancy-rates-minimizing-multiples Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/3d-ultrasound-enhances-diagnosis For some women, infertility is caused or exacerbated by having a uterus with congenital abnormalities that cause it to be misshapened. These uterine anomalies can lead to greater difficulty with embryo implantation and/or cause higher rates of mis... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/3d-ultrasound-enhances-diagnosis Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/overview-fertilization Since this is a fertility blog, I think it only makes since to provide a brief overview of the dynamics of the fertilization process in an in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure. Once a sperm is inside the egg, the head of the sperm swells to for... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/overview-fertilization Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/male-factor-infertility More often than not, discussions of fertility treatments are centered around the woman…and for good reason. In the majority of IVF cases treated at my practice, it is typically the female partner who has the infertility diagnosis. In fact, accordi... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/male-factor-infertility Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/shedding-holiday-pounds The Holiday Season is upon us. As many of us know all too well, Holidays and weight gain can go hand-in-hand. While exercising away those extra pounds is typically the right thing to do, for those who are conceiving, exercise habits need to be tem... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/shedding-holiday-pounds Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/presidents-council-takes-ethics-art Many physicians working in the field of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) braced for the release of the latest and fifth report by the President's Council on Bioethics, which takes an in-depth look at the practices and results of ART in the... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/presidents-council-takes-ethics-art Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/guide-infertility-insurance I am often asked which insurance company has the most favorable coverage for infertility treatment. Unfortunately, the answer is not that simple. The package of insurance coverage for infertility treatment is not up to the insurance company, per s... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/guide-infertility-insurance Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/best-medical-blogosphere If you are familiar with blogs you know that many bloggers link to other bloggers. I wanted to give a note of thanks to the host of this week's “Grand Rounds" - an online forum that gathers interesting posts from other healthcare bloggers - for in... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/best-medical-blogosphere Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/polycystic-ovary-syndrome-pcos Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), also called Stein-Leventhal Syndrome, is the most common endocrinologic disorder in women of reproductive age. Approximately 5-10% of reproductive age women have PCOS. This syndrome can have many symptoms. However... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/polycystic-ovary-syndrome-pcos Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/approaching-ivf-treatment-options There are only a few causes of infertility for which In Vitro Fertilization is the only treatment option. These causes are the following: blockage of, or severely damaged fallopian tubes and extremely low sperm count or no sperm in the ejaculate. ... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/approaching-ivf-treatment-options Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/intracervical-insemination-vs-intrauterine-insemination Patients periodically inquire as to whether they can use washed sperm for both an intrauterine insemination (IUI) as well as an intracervical insemination (ICI). For an intrauterine insemination (IUI), one would already be using washed sperm. ... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/intracervical-insemination-vs-intrauterine-insemination Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/fsh-test-kits (Contribution from Carolyn Givens, M.D. )Periodically, patients in my practice have questions about FSH urine tests, as they have noticed that there are FSH urine test kits for sale over-the-counter to help women confirm the onset of menopause. Ad... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/fsh-test-kits Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/tubal-problems The fallopian tubes are the pathway to fertility. Sperm travel upward through the fallopian tubes to find an egg. After fertilization, the embryo travels back through the tube to the uterus. The fallopian tubes are a two-way path that allows the s... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/tubal-problems Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/ovarian-reserve-and-fsh FSH Levels One of the most important indicators of a women's ovarian reserve (egg quality/quantity) or reproductive potential is the follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). It is not, however, a perfect screening for egg quality and/or quantity.FSH, a... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/ovarian-reserve-and-fsh Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/welcome-art-conception Greetings! I am Carl M. Herbert, M.D., an ABOG board-certified reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist (otherwise known as an infertility doctor). I have been performing assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures such as in-... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/welcome-art-conception Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/assisted-hatching A human blastocyst (left side of picture) hatching from its shell (right side)The human egg is surrounded by a protein shell called the "zona pellucida". This shell has several important functions. Most importantly, it allows only one sperm throug... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/assisted-hatching Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/therapy-and-infertility It is hard to imagine an experience as stressful as battling infertility. To address the emotional aspects of infertility, some fertility clinics (including ours), offer an in-house marriage and family therapist who is available to discuss the key... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/therapy-and-infertility Carl M. Herbert, MD http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/embryo-adoption One of the joys of being in assisted reproductive technology is the benefit we provide to those who might not been able to otherwise have a family. One of the wonderful programs that, we, as well as other fertility clinics provide is an embryo ado... http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/infertility-insights/embryo-adoption Carl M. Herbert, MD