Like so many things in life, our expectations of what family building is going to look like may differ greatly from our reality. For our patient Angela, even though she knew that fertility treatment was going to be part of her story from the start, there were still some surprises along the way. We are so grateful to Angela for openly sharing her journey and for demonstrating the power of perseverance and believing in yourself. Read the full story in her own words below.

When journalist Amy Klein got married and started trying to get pregnant, it was 2011. She was 41, and she was met with a distinct lack of fertility support. While patients struggling with fertility today have the benefit of online communities on Facebook and Instagram, the best that Amy could find were “mommy boards” - chat forums where women would talk about fertility treatment secretly, using initials rather than names.

It’s the IVF outcome you don’t ever want to think about.

It's true! Laser Acupuncture can increase implantation success rates by up to 15% when administered just before and immediately after an embryo transfer. Jump down in the article for acupuncture FAQs and all the study details straight from Illume Fertility's expert acupuncturists.

You're waiting - counting the days until you can share your pregnancy news. We're taught that sharing pregnancy news is safe at 12 or 13 weeks but that telling anyone before that milestone is iffy, at best. Where did we learn this? And what are the facts behind miscarriage, pregnancy, and silence?

The following commentary is based on a nation-wide study published in October 2019 by Oxford University Press A group of researchers wanted to assess the validity of an ongoing speculation with assisted reproductive treatment (ART) – that hormone stimulation increased a woman’s risk for ovarian cancer. This study ultimately confirmed the belief that ART does not increase cancer risk, except for patients with endometriosis. However, there needs to be more research to prove the latter - the increased risk of ovarian cancer in IVF patients with endometriosis might be because of the diagnosis, not because of the added element of hormone stimulation. More on that below. But first, a message from our very own Dr. Joshua Hurwitz:

To the Women Fighting for Their Fertility,

2020 is starting off with great news (think fireworks!) for the 1 in 8 New York couples who need fertility treatment to build a family. This celebration is specifically for those who need in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and fertility preservation coverage. Thanks to a bill passed last year in New York and having taken effect on January 1, 2020, residents of the state went from no IVF coverage to three cycles covered by insurance!