Infertility Supplements and Dietary Aids

Infertility problems affect millions of couples in America. As the stress of infertility increases, it is common for people to search for answers on the Internet and printed sources such as magazines. Much of the information and advice available to women trying to conceive has not been written or reviewed by an infertility specialist. Even worse, much of the information is simply not true, and can lead to couples to take medications or treatments that may actually decrease their chances of getting pregnant.

It is important to understand that any medication or dietary aid that is labeled with the words “nutritional supplement” or “dietary aid” are classified as food items by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This means that these supplements are not regulated by the same laws that regulate medications. Laws pertaining to medications require that new medications are equivalent or better to existing medications, and these medications can not be misrepresented in terms of their effects and side effects. Nutritional supplements do not even have to contain any medications, and there is not government oversight to protect against harmful contamination in these medications.

Most of the dietary supplements advertised to help with infertility have no evidence supporting the proposed benefits. Unfortunately, the nutritional supplement market for infertility is a multibillion dollar industry. As long as there are individuals that will believe the marketing hype surrounding infertility diet aids, these products will continue to be sold. These products are frequently packaged like medications and the advertisements frequently report that the effects are clinically proven. Other than a potential false advertising claim, there are no restrictions on how these supplements are marketed, and no requirement to test the quality or effects of these supplements.

Scientific studies on some of these compounds showed very harmful contamination and broad ranges of chemicals and hormones that can have harmful effects. Infertility specialists are frequently asked for their opinion about these supplements and often encounter resistance when patients are advised to stop using these supplements. Most of this faith placed in these nutritional supplements comes from the marketing and hype placed on these nutritional aids and vitamins. This marketing does not take into account the well-being of infertility patients, but instead seeks only to make a profit. Infertility doctors are committed to the health and well being of their patients and keep up to date with all of the evidence-based treatments designed to improve an infertile couple’s chances of having a baby.

Vitamins may play a role in overall health, however, patients do not need to take anything more than a multivitamin or prenatal vitamin. It is recommended that women trying to conceive take at least 400 micrograms of folic acid (folate). In certain circumstances, women may be advised to take additional vitamins or other nutritional supplements, but should do so only under the advice of a physician or other health care provider.

California IVF: Davis Fertility Center, Inc. does not support the use of dietary supplements or nutritional aids, and remain concerned that many of these nutritional aids may have harmful effects in addition to being very expensive. There is no evidence that nutritional supplements for male and female infertility will have any benefits on the chances of having a baby. Please inform your physician of any and all nutritional aids, dietary supplements and vitamins that you are taking.

Our infertility doctors fully support and educate our patients about healthy eating and diet changes that can help women get pregnant.  Diet can have a big effect on PCOS and having a baby.  A balanced diet and healthy lifestyle including exercise and avoiding smoking and smokers can help improve a woman's fertility health and chances of conceiving.

Trying to Conceive After 35? Advanced Maternal Age, #Infertility and Getting Pregnant

Natural pregnancy rates are affected by age and the average woman’s chance of conceiving on her own during a 12 month period of time decreases as she gets older. Advanced Maternal age is one cause of infertility.

• 20-24 year old women have a 86% chance of conceiving in 12 months
• 25-29 year old women trying to conceive have a 78% chance of getting pregnant within a year
• 63% of women between the ages of 30-34 attain pregnancy naturally with 1 year
• At 35-39 years old, most women have a 54% chance when trying to get pregnant over the course of one year.
• After 40, a woman who is trying to conceive over 1 year has a 36% chance of pregnancy
• By 45, only 5% of women conceive a child naturally after one year of trying for a pregnancy

In addition, after 1 year of not conceiving, there is only a 5% chance of getting pregnant by waiting an additional 6 months to 1 year. Another way to view this information is by a woman’s chance of getting pregnant per month. During the first year of trying, a woman at age 23 would have an approximately 25% chance of pregnancy each month, whereas a woman at age 40 would have a 13% chance of pregnancy each month.

The decline in a woman’s chances of getting pregnant is not related to a woman’s health or how young she feels. The main cause for this decrease in the chances of getting pregnant lies within the genetics of the egg.

As a woman ages, the quality of the eggs deteriorates. The decline in quality causes an increased risk of chromosomal problems within the eggs, which leads to fewer normal eggs and an increased risk of miscarriages due to chromosomally abnormal embryos such as Down syndrome. Preimplantation genetic testing (PGD)of embryos is one way to detect chromosomally abnormal embryos.

There are not any known medications or treatments that can change the effects of age on the eggs, since the problem lies within the genetics of the eggs. When a woman’s ovary is being formed, the body sets aside cells that will make up the eggs within the ovary. A woman is born with all of the eggs she will ever have in life. The eggs have not finished their cell division and still contain 2 complete sets of chromosomes. Before an embryo can be formed, the egg must finish separating the chromosomes so that the egg will only contribute one set of chromosomes that add to the set of chromosomes provided by the sperm. Over time, the ability of the egg to separate the chromosomes normally starts to decline, and there will be an increase in the number of chromosomally abnormal eggs. Many eggs will stop living because of the abnormalities, though a woman may still ovulate normally. Some embryos will be formed from an abnormal egg, but most of these pregnancies will end in a miscarriage.

In addition to the increase in chromosome abnormalities, the number of eggs available for fertility treatments will also decline. In a normal menstrual cycle, only one egg survives and goes through ovulation. During fertility treatments, medications are used to increase the number of eggs produced. As a woman ages, the number of eggs available, or “ovarian reserve,” decreases. Having fewer eggs available can result in lower pregnancy rates with fertility treatments. There are tests available to try to evaluate “ovarian reserve,” but these tests are often inaccurate. A normal ovarian reserve test does not imply that a woman has a better chance of getting pregnant and will not undo the effects of age on her chances of getting pregnant.

There are tests that can be used to detect abnormal eggs and embryos with genetic problems.  These tests are referred to as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, PGD, and pre-implantation genetic screening, PGS.  There are various techniques for looking at genetic material from embryos before pregnancy.  California IVF continues to push forward with new clinical infertility treatments to help with recurrent pregnancy loss, testing eggs before pregnancy, and gender selection.

When an egg from a donor is used, pregnancy rates are generally not affected by age. Women who are interested in becoming an egg donor are younger, screened for infectious diseases and generally provide excellent chances for another woman to become pregnant. Additionally, women using donor eggs would be more likely to have extra embryos which could be used in a frozen embryo transfer so the overall pregnancy rate is even higher than depicted. Donor eggs are often used as an option for women who are unsuccessful using their own eggs or who have reached an age where their chances using their own eggs become too low.

Donated Embryos and Adoption as Options for Having a Baby

When couples are not able to have a baby without help, they may often consider donor eggs or adoption to build a family.  Donated embryos offer couples a very affordable alternative.  Embryos from in vitro fertilization procedures can be donated to a couple wanting to have a baby.  These embryos are then placed into the uterus, or womb, of the intended mother.  Since donors have waived their rights to the embryos, the resulting pregnancy belongs to the couple receiving the embryos.  This means there are no legal challenges or problems with parental rights.  The intended parents are able to enjoy pregnancy and have a baby of their own.

Pregnancy using donated embryos is sometimes called "embryo adoption".  Since the intended mother carries the pregnancy and gives birth, and there are no legal challenges to parental rights, the use of the term adoption is not accurate.  Pregnancy using donated embryos is usually much more cost effective that other forms of fertility treatments.

Donors that provide embryos have also been screened for health risks including inherited disorders, mental illness, and other traits that would be undesirable to most parents. It is not possible to avoid all health risks and birth defects, but this is true for any pregnancy.  Usually, the background information on the donors will be made available to the recipient couple.

Donated embryos are usually in limited supply compared to the long waiting lists of people searching for donated embryos.  In an effort to minimize the waiting times, California IVF: Davis Fertility Center, Inc. has formed the California Conceptions Donated Embryo Program.  It is the goal of this program to make donor embryos readily available to people that are not able to afford other forms of infertility treatments, are not able to find embryos available for donation, or face problems with adoption due to age or financial barriers. 

California Conceptions Donated Embryo Program is an service of California IVF: Davis Fertility Center, Inc.  The program offers patients an excellent opportunity to become pregnant using donated embryos.  Our success has allowed us to offer a 100% refund plan to qualified recipients.  Individuals and couples that are interested should explore our California Conceptions Web site to learn more about joining this unique donated embryo ("embryo adoption") program.  

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Northern California Fertility Doctor Joins Genetic Testing Clinical Study to Help Roseville and Sacramento IVF Infertility Patients Get Pregnant

Getting pregnant using fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization is stressful for any couple. But for couples in which one or both partners has the potential of having a child with a genetically based disease like Tay Sachs or Gaucher’s disease can be frightening. A new genetic screening under clinical study gives at-risk IVF patients a fuller glimpse of their developing embryos.

Until now, IVF patients have had to choose between testing for chromosome abnormalities like Down Syndrome or single-gene hereditary disorders like Tay Sachs. A new screening from Redwood City, Calif. based Gene Security Network combines single gene hereditary disease testing and a 24-chromosome comparison into one test.

Dr. Ernest Zeringue, founder of California IVF: Davis Fertility Center, Inc. says “this test will offer at risk couples an additional tool for increasing their chance of pregnancy while minimizing the risk of having a baby with a genetic disorder.”

While new technology can not completely relieve the worries of getting pregnant, this next step in the genetic testing of embryos will help at risk patients make more informed decisions about their best options for bringing home a healthy baby.

Learn more about female infertility issues, male infertility, in vitro fertilization (IVF), artificial insemination (IUI) and genetic testing (PGD/PGS) from California IVF's Sacramento area fertility experts at our convenient Northern California fertility medical center with offices in Davis and Roseville.

Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis of Embyros Provide "Gene Security" to Sacramento Area IVF Patients

In recent years, genetic testing has made the leap from science fiction to science present. While many older moms-to-be worry about disorders such as Down Syndrome, they are not the only women who can benefit from advanced genetic testing. Couples of any age who have miscarried frequently may gain new insight into their best pregnancy options by combining in-vitro fertilization (IVF) with a 24 gene screening test. At California IVF: Davis Fertility Center, Inc., we are proud to be the greater Sacramento area partner for Gene Security Network, an innovative genetic testing company based in Redwood City, CA. This partnership allows us to provide patients and referring doctors with the cutting edge technology necessary to make informed decisions about the best chances for pregnancy.

Performed in the three to five day window between egg fertilization and embryo implantation, a twenty-four gene pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD24) is a battery of tests that looks at twenty three pairs of chromosomes along with the X/Y gender selecting pair. The result is a chromosome-level glimpse into the viability of a patient’s developing embryos. Ruling out the implantation of embryos with known genetic disorders is the primary reason for this test. Although it is not recommended to perform PGD24 for gender selection alone, this is one potential benefit for couples who are concerned about potential genetic disorders, already have children and wish to balance out their current families by favoring the selection of healthy embryos of a certain sex.

On its website, Gene Security Network lists the following reasons for combining IVF and PGD24 testing:

- the female partner is 35 years of age or older

- the couple has had recurrent miscarriages of unknown cause

- a previous child or pregnancy has had a chromosome abnormality

- the couple is concerned about having a child with a chromosome abnormality

- the couple has had a previous, unsuccessful IVF cycle

- one member of the couple carries a balanced chromosome translocation or inversion

- the couple is at risk of having a child with an inherited single gene genetic disease

Contact California IVF: Davis Fertility Center, Inc. at (530) 771-0177 to learn more about combining IVF with a PDG24 screening from Gene Security Network.

Learn more about the genetic diseases and family balancing reasons that cause many Sacramento, Roseville and Greater Northern California area fertility patients to combine IVF with genetic screenings at our center.

On-site Acupuncture, Stress, Fertility and IVF Embryo Transfer

California IVF: Davis Fertility Center now provides expanded on-site access to acupuncture services from the Acupuncture Fertility Specialists, based in Sacramento and Roseville.

Safe and convenient, Dr. David Cherry, O.M.D., L.Ac. and Jennifer Horton, L.Ac., MSTCM coordinate their appointments to provide the maximum benefit to patients undergoing IVF or other fertility treatments.

Regular appointments at the Acupuncture Fertility Specialists office help relieve the stress of taking fertility medications and procedures like egg retrieval and build up to on-site sessions before and after embryo transfer.

By having acupuncture available on-site during embryo transfer days, California IVF hopes to save patients the hassle of driving to additional appointments, reduce overall stress, and possibly improve the chances of implantation and pregnancy.

While the scientific benefits of combining fertility treatment and acupuncture are still being studied, many people are convinced of the positive effects. Many patients report lower stress-levels and believe these combined treatments helped them get pregnant.

California IVF proudly offers this on-site service to provide a comprehensive and stress-reducing approach to fertility treatment for its patients in the greater Sacramento and Northern California area including the San Francisco Bay Area, Stockton and Modesto.

For more information about combining in vitro fertilization or other assisted reproductive therapies with acupuncture, call California IVF: Davis Fertility Center at (530) 771-0177 or Acupuncture Fertility Specialists at (916) 486-0187 or (916) 789-1006.

Learn more about increasing fertility by combining IVF with acupuncture and where to find this service on-site in the greater Sacramento and Northern California area.