For five to six days following fertilization, the developing embryos are cultured in the laboratory until the blastocyst stage of development has been reached. This represents growth of about 200 cells. We at RMA culture embryos exclusively to the blastocyst stage, because published data demonstrates that extended embryo culture results in improved implantation rates and pregnancy outcomes. This means we will never do an embryo biopsy – or an embryo transfer – at three days, or anything less than the blastocyst stage.
3-6 months of treatment with Clomid pills (clomiphene citrate) might improve fertility by as much as 2 times as compared to no treatment. This is a very low level infertility treatment. Infertility specialists do not usually recommend Clomid treatment( without insemination) for unexplained infertility for women over the age of about 35. Most fertility specialists do not use it (without IUI) on any couples with unexplained infertility. If a woman is already having regular periods and ovulating one egg every month, giving Clomid, which will probably stimulate the ovaries to release 2 or 3 eggs per month (instead of one) is not really fixing anything that is broken - and is not likely to be successful.
IUI is a procedure during which processed and concentrated motile sperm are inserted directly into a woman’s uterus. This procedure is timed according to a woman’s ovulation, and may be performed one to two times in the days immediately following the detection of ovulation. After ovulation a woman’s egg is picked up by the fallopian tube and waits there for the sperm. Since the IUI procedure deposits higher concentrations of good quality sperm close to where the egg is waiting, the chances that the egg and sperm will find one another are increased.
Nonmedicated cycle with IUI: Also known as natural cycle IUI, a non-medicated cycle with IUI is often used by single women or same-sex female couples who are not directly experiencing infertility, but rather a lack of sperm. This treatment involves tracking the development of the egg that is naturally recruited during a menstrual cycle and then introducing the donated sperm. You will come into the office for two to four monitoring appointments to track egg development and cycle timing.

Secondary infertility can be traced to either partner or both partners. About one-third of cases originate in women and about one-third originate in men. In the remaining one-third, the cause is due to a combination of factors or isn’t known. Increased age, complications from a prior pregnancy or surgery, increased weight, medications, sexually transmitted diseases, impaired sperm production, alcohol abuse, and smoking are all examples of secondary infertility in women and men.

^ GBD 2015 Disease and Injury Incidence and Prevalence, Collaborators. (8 October 2016). "Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 310 diseases and injuries, 1990-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015". Lancet. 388 (10053): 1545–1602. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31678-6. PMC 5055577. PMID 27733282.
Ovarian stimulation – You’ll take stimulation medications to increases both the quantity and quality of eggs. This usually begins during days 2-4 of your cycle and continues for around ten days. You’ll be closely monitored during this time to track your uterine lining, follicular development, and hormone levels. Once the follicles are optimal size, a trigger medication is given to fully mature the eggs.
Although menopause is a natural barrier to further conception, IVF has allowed women to be pregnant in their fifties and sixties. Women whose uteruses have been appropriately prepared receive embryos that originated from an egg of an egg donor. Therefore, although these women do not have a genetic link with the child, they have a physical link through pregnancy and childbirth. In many cases the genetic father of the child is the woman's partner. Even after menopause the uterus is fully capable of carrying out a pregnancy.[109]
The AMIGOS study suggested that clomid provided the best balance of a high pregnancy rate with a reasonably low multiple rate among couples with unexplained infertility. However, the authors of the Huang study concluded that on balance letrozole was better. From our vantage point, given that clomid more commonly causes multiple eggs to be ovulated, it seems like the slightly better option between the two because the whole point of treatment in unexplained infertility patients is to increase the odds of delivery by increasing the number of eggs ovulated.
One, two or three IVF treatments are government subsidised for women who are younger than 40 and have no children. The rules for how many treatments are subsidised, and the upper age limit for the women, vary between different county councils.[154] Single women are treated, and embryo adoption is allowed. There are also private clinics that offer the treatment for a fee.[155]
Sunni Muslim nations generally allow IVF between married couples when conducted with their own respective sperm and eggs, but not with donor eggs from other couples. But Iran, which is Shi'a Muslim, has a more complex scheme. Iran bans sperm donation but allows donation of both fertilised and unfertilised eggs. Fertilised eggs are donated from married couples to other married couples, while unfertilised eggs are donated in the context of mut'ah or temporary marriage to the father.[176]
Talk it out. Once you realize you’re entitled to your emotions, find an outlet for them. Talking about your feelings and your struggles can be a huge release and allow you to receive the support you need. If your family or friends don’t understand your sadness (or you find it hard to contain your baby envy around friends with more than one child), seek out people in your same situation. Find a support group for people with secondary infertility — online or in your area. And consider joining WTE's Trying to Conceive group to find moms who are also coping with secondary infertility.
There’s an intense emotional response to hearing, “There is no apparent reason for your infertility”. It can be difficult, maddening and equally frustrating for both you and your partner. People who do find out a specific cause find their situations difficult, too, of course, but knowing the “whys” makes it more bearable. In cases of unexplained infertility, couples feel that one reason, one cause is lurking in a shadowy corner. It just hasn’t been uncovered yet.
Those fearful of conceiving with multiples should strongly consider IVF and only transferring one embryo at a time. In these circumstances, just 1% of pregnancies lead to twins, and triplets are even more rare. Alternatively, 8 - 30% of medicated IUI pregnancies lead to twins. Finally, the least preferable circumstance is do to IVF with multiple embryo transfer, where in women under 38 years of age, 30% of pregnancies culminate in a multiple birth.
A 2013 review and meta analysis of randomised controlled trials of acupuncture as an adjuvant therapy in IVF found no overall benefit, and concluded that an apparent benefit detected in a subset of published trials where the control group (those not using acupuncture) experienced a lower than average rate of pregnancy requires further study, due to the possibility of publication bias and other factors.[34]
Infertility is a medical condition, and a fertility specialist can help with thorough, focused examinations directed at discovering the underlying cause. For every couple that begins an evaluation, about 35% discover that there is an issue with the man which is contributing to the couple’s infertility. 50% is related to female factor while 5% is due to rare causes. The remaining 10% (1 in 5 couples) is due to unexplained infertility despite completing a full infertility work-up.(2)
Post transfer – You’ll likely take progesterone and estrogen to improve implantation and pregnancy rates. If the transfer is successful, a blood pregnancy test will be positive in 10-14 days. From there, ultrasounds are used to ensure the implantation site as well as check for a heartbeat. The good news is that once a heartbeat is detected, the pregnancy has a 90-95% probability of the pregnancy resulting in a live birth.
3-6 months of treatment with Clomid pills (clomiphene citrate) might improve fertility by as much as 2 times as compared to no treatment. This is a very low level infertility treatment. Infertility specialists do not usually recommend Clomid treatment( without insemination) for unexplained infertility for women over the age of about 35. Most fertility specialists do not use it (without IUI) on any couples with unexplained infertility. If a woman is already having regular periods and ovulating one egg every month, giving Clomid, which will probably stimulate the ovaries to release 2 or 3 eggs per month (instead of one) is not really fixing anything that is broken - and is not likely to be successful.![]()