Studies recently linked rigorous exercise with decreased fertility in women with a body mass index (BMI) under 25. The study out of Boston University categorized rigorous activities as running, fast cycling, aerobics, gymnastics, and swimming.

Dr. Mark Rispler with Innovative Fertility advises his clients to dial down the intensity of their workouts while trying to conceive, and instead incorporate moderate activities, which appear to enhance fertility. Moderate exercise choices include: brisk walking, leisurely cycling, golfing and gardening.

The study found no correlation between intense workouts and infertility in overweight or obese women.

3 ways exercise impacts fertility:

• Women with a BMI under 25 can increase the chances of getting pregnant by abstaining from rigorous exercise.
• Overweight or obese women (BMI of 25 or above) should consult a fertility doctor about beginning an exercise regimen. However, it seems that both rigorous and moderate exercise are beneficial to fertility.
•  All women appear to benefit from incorporating moderate exercise into their daily routines.

“This study … points out the benefits of moderate exercise to all women who are planning a pregnancy and suggests that women might reduce their time to pregnancy by modulating their exercise programs,” says Linda Giudice, MD, PhD, President-Elect of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

Healthful lifestyle choices can enhance your fertility, but there are genetic or physical barriers to getting pregnant that fertility specialists can diagnose and treat. If you are in the Los Angeles area, contact Dr. Rispler in Manhattan Beach to learn more about a proactive plan to start a family.

for more information please vist http://innovativefertility.com/

A key component in a successful in-vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle involves stimulating a woman’s egg production with fertility drugs. Reproductive endocrinologists (RE) then retrieve and evaluate the eggs. The eggs are fertilized in a controlled lab environment, and then the RE transfers the embryo back to the uterus.

Fertility doctors consider women who do not produce a sufficient number of eggs “poor responders.” A lack of viable eggs will derail an IVF cycle from its initial phases.

How do fertility specialists diagnose “poor responders?”

Dr. Rispler evaluates his infertility patients to determine if one or more situations exist:

• A woman is over age 40
• A woman produces three or fewer eggs during an ovarian stimulation cycle
• A woman presents with abnormal tests of ovarian egg reserve

What treatment options will increase egg production?

If a woman does not produce an adequate number of eggs, what treatment options exist? A respected medical journal, Fertility and Sterility, addresses the challenge of treating poor responders and concludes that no definitive solution exists.

However, Dr. Rispler has found success with treatment options that address a woman’s unique biochemistry.

• Hormone treatment, including DHEA, growth hormones, and androgen supplementation, contributes to a greater number of eggs produced; it also improves embryo quality and live birth rates.  Ask your fertility doctor about the associated risks of these treatment protocols.
• Surprisingly, the alternative to high doses of stimulation medication is the option to try a low-dose natural cycle stimulation. This approach saves costs, and while there is a lower fertility rate per cycle, minimal stimulation cycles can be cost beneficial over time.
• Ultimately, if a woman is unable to produce viable eggs, Dr. Rispler will provide information on egg donor services.

Barriers to pregnancy, whether related to male infertility or female infertility, are painful to endure. The fertility specialists at Innovative Fertility Center can help discover the underlying causes of infertility and prescribe a plan for your unique situation.

For more information, please visit http://innovativefertility.com to schedule a consultation with Dr. Rispler, contact our office.

Understanding the Issues of Male Factor Infertility

Typically, the causes of infertility for men fall into these categories:

Semen abnormalities
Some fertility issues occur because of sperm motility and morphology, which has to do with how well sperm move and how they are shaped. If sperm counts are low, this factor can also influence a couple’s ability to become pregnant.

Hormonal imbalances
The hormone testosterone contributes to proper sexual function in men. If levels are low, your partner may not produce enough sperm. Low testosterone can also lead to erectile dysfunction, which may contribute to fertility problems.

Structural issues
Some men have physical abnormalities that make conception difficult. Varicoceles, undescended testes, hyposadias, and congenital absence of the vas deferens are structural issues that often result in male factor infertility.

Functional issues
Erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, and retrograde ejaculation (semen goes into the bladder instead through of the urethra) can inhibit a couple’s ability to become pregnant.

Don’t let male factor infertility keep you from beginning or expanding your family. We can help you identify the issue and address the problem with options such as intrauterine insemination (IUI), in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

For more information, please visit http://innovativefertility.com/To schedule a consultation with Dr. Rispler, contact our office.

IVF practitioners routinely use progesterone for luteal support in IVF cycles. What this means in plain English! Is that during an in vitro fertilization cycle, after the egg retrieval and before the embryos are replaced back in the uterus, progesterone is given to the patient to help make implantation more successful.

How is Progesterone for IVF administered?

There are many ways to supplement progesterone including intramuscular injection, vaginal gels, vaginal suppositories, and oral progesterone. Intramuscular injections have been the standard in the United States. Unfortunately injections can be quite distressing to the patient and therefore many practitioners have been moving to alternate approaches.

In a recent article in Fertility and Sterility a prospective trial comparing intramuscular progesterone injections to a vaginal progesterone gel known as Crinone is reviewed. A prospective trial is the most accurate way to compare two treatment regimens, and since this is one of the first trials that is both prospective and large it is worthwhile noting its results.

What the authors fromTexas found is that the use of Crinone versus intramuscular progesterone is just as successful if not more so in producing live births through in vitro fertilization. This paper provides strong support for the adoption of vaginal progesterone gel for luteal support during in vitro fertilization.

Here at Innovative Fertility Center we traditionally used the intramuscular approach. With more and more literature supporting the use of vaginal progesterone supplementation we will begin changing our regiment to this more gentle vaginal method.

For more information on Progesterone Supplementation please visit http://innovativefertility.com/