Fertility Online

  Cancer. This difficult and complicated disease that has increased its onset of presentation, having affected millions of people worldwide, and it does not discriminates between age, race, religion, sex, etc. It is simply a disease that we all come with, and our genetics predispose each one of us of having it active at any moment during our life, specially when we have a family history of this disease.   Oncofertility is a field that bridges fertility with oncology in a way to provide options to cancer survivors of becoming parents in the future using their own gametes. It is known that treatment for cancer (chemotherapy, radiation and surgery) can destroy completely the gametes of female and males, making them impossible for them to conceive children in their future. Also, the number of cancer survivors has increased with the onset of new technologies for diagnose and on- time treatment of the disease. For this reason, having an increased number of cancer survivors and t...

Did you know that? by Lucy Coleman – Infertility is defined as he inability to conceive after one year of unprotected intercourse or the inability to carry a pregnancy to live birth. – 7.4 million women, or 11.9% of women, have ever received any infertility services in their lifetime. – 1 in 8 couples (or 12% or married women) have trouble getting pregnant or sustaining a pregnancy. – Approximately one-third of infertility is attributed to the female partner, one-third attributed to the male partner and one-third is caused by a combination of problems in both partners or, is unexplained. – A couple ages 29-33 with a normal functioning reproductive system has only a 20-25% chance of conceiving in any given month. After six months of trying, 60% of couples will conceive without medical assistance. – Approximately 44% of women with infertility have sought medical assistance. Of those who seek medical intervention, approximately 65% give birth. – Approximately 85-90% of infertili...

The following video is courtesy of UFO Disclosure Group. Astrophysicist Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson was asked by a reader of TIME magazine, “What is the most astounding fact you can share with us about the Universe?” This is his answer. Continue reading The post Connectivity. appeared first on Fertility Online

When it comes to fertility treatments it is really hard to make choices or to know when it is time to step back and reconsider what we are doing. Most patients are so focused in having a successful treatment that they spend most of their time planning how to make it possible. I understand this and can relate to the story myself. Patients become too obsessed with positive results, and when they do not get them, there is too much disappointment because their expectations were set too high. Also considering the amount of money that cost having these type of treatments. I do my best to explain the implications of fertility treatments, the advantages and disadvantages than come with it, the emotional burden that causes, and the cost of trying too many times. Even when sometimes feel I have been too strong or harsh explaining the case and probabilities of success, I do so because it is better to know the true than live in a dream. And that is exactly what I like my patients to know, the ...

As I have mentioned before in previous articles, it is not an easy task to realize the fact of being challenged in the fertility area, and to acknowledge it. Once we know there is something going on, measures should be taken. If you are in a stable relationship then communication is important. It is crucial to speak the truth and find solutions together. If you are faced with infertility issues, talk to your partner in an open, honest and direct way. Communication is one of the main ingredients of a relationship. Communication in fertility treatments is key. If you address this at the beginning is better. There are signs and symptoms that tell us something is wrong when we decide to conceive. If you have had previous long-term relationships and had sex without protection this might be a sign that something is happening. If you are having sex with your actual partner for over a year without protection and no pregnancy is achieved that is another sign. If you are under 35 years and ha...

It came to my attention the fascinating fact of Albert Einstein’s birthday and its coincidentally celebration with Pi (π) day this year. Albert Einstein is known as one of the greatest minds of all time. German-born theoretical physicist. He was born on March 14, 1879, in Ulm, Germany. His life in science started early, with special interest in mathematics and physics. Among his 300 scientific papers, there were two very important ones. The general theory of relativity and the photoelectric effect. Both of them had a deep effect in the quantum field. He began to think in depth at the age of 16. He asked himself questions like: How would a beam of light appear if you could chase it at high velocity? And he concluded that the speed of the light beam should appear to be exactly the same whether an observer is traveling toward or away from it. The general theory of relativity , written in 1905, was his work resulting from trying to reconcile Newton’s classical mechanics with the laws ...

The procedure of in vitro fertilization is complex and involves several important and necessary steps in order to increase the chances of success. The scientific personnel needs to be prepared for any last minute event that might arise as consequence of dealing with cells. These gametes can show different behaviors at any moment during each hour they spend in the laboratory.   It has been said that the embryology laboratory is a surrogate environment resembling the same environment provided to the cells by the uterus inside the body.   Once we obtain the eggs and make possible the fertilization with the sperm, in a few hours we will start having consecutive divisions that are crucial to the process of selecting the best embryos. First we need to take into account the fact that 16 to 18 hours after fertilization we need to pay attention to the formation of the pronuclei. Normal fertilization of the egg will show the presence of two pronuclei, not one, three, four, five, an...

  I am amazed of how ironic life can be. Anything happens without a cause, there is no luck. Every person that crosses your life has a meaning. Either you play a role to them or they will play a role to yours. No matter of small or fleeting your interactions, there are no chance encounters in this world. Each person in your life was sent your way to teach you a lesson.   Every day I meet new people that teach me new lessons. I feel profoundly grateful for the life I have lived and for each person who has crossed my life, either to play a positive or negative role on it. I appreciate the good things and also the bad ones because they have taught me lessons I can pass on to others.   Life can be an irony itself. Because it is filled with situations that sometimes would not even be possible if we try to plan them. They just happen when they have to happen. Why? Simple. Because we need to live our experiences and learn from them. Because we are souls in search of life a...

As we all know, this is an era of a staggering increase of people looking to back-up their gametes in order to preserve their genetics and future fertility. We see advertisements offering women the opportunity to save their eggs, in places called Cryobanks. Their offer is focused in women as well as men. We know men freeze their sperm for future use. Couples freeze their embryos, because most fertility procedures get remaining embryos that might end in future babies named back-up babies. This information sounds quite overwhelming when we put it together, but let’s simplify things. Today more women freeze their eggs for several reasons. Most women are simply not prepared to become mothers during their best fertile years, and once they are finally prepared, their reserve of eggs has depleted considerably and the risk of genetic diseases increases. Having this panorama, it is a great idea to have a back-up plan, which was not available a few years ago, and freeze the eggs when their ...

For those who pursue the path of becoming doctors it is a long ride, filled with obstacles, loneliness, sleepiness, loss of social life and challenges that sometimes make us reconsider if we took the right path. Then the very long career followed by a longer specialization, postgraduates, masters, doctorates and the headache of getting the job. No any job, I mean “the job” we worked so hard for.   Well, looking it this way even I would not have considered becoming a doctor in the first place.     Fortunately the investment it is worth the try, definitely. But there is a catch, as always. What do geniuses and successful people have in common? Each one of them have something unique to offer to the world. That something unique is the secret to be successful, and it is easily accomplished proportionally to the level of commitment one has with their passion. When we decide to take any path in life, to do anything we want to become, passion plays a key role, because it is...

Past, present, future. Infertility was, is and will still being a challenge in the world, actually it is increasing dramatically and will become a bigger challenge than what it is today. We Doctors strive to learn more and more everyday about the peculiar behaviors of Mother Nature, however we still far from the truth. My deceased grandmother used to say: “the problems of today will become the plagues of the future”. Today I understand what she meant. We are trying to solve problems today that will be very harder to solve in the future. Let’s analyze the way we humans behave. We do have natural resources which we are consuming without the appreciation and gratefulness deserved. We do have amazing, perfect and healthy bodies, which we damage and destroy, with our daily habits. We are part of a perfect designed universe that wants us to learn and grow; instead we are stuck in our stubbornness and believe that we do not need anything else. We think very highly of ourselves when we disc...

“When I see into the stars, it gets easier for me to understand most of the answers still out there, in the universe around us”. I wake up everyday early in the morning, drink a large glass of water, watch some news, run for 10 minutes, get my breakfast, and head on to the clinic. I get there, get changed with clean clothes and it takes me around 5 minutes to get ready; I need to be as clean as possible. I do not wear a watch so do not need to be concerned about the time. Once I am ready, with my hair and shoes covered, and clean hands and face, I start my favorite part of the day: to go inside my embryology laboratory. To be part of that, the place where amazing things happen, it makes me feel grateful for the opportunity of being there. It was hard work though. Several years on the medical school, several years specializing in human reproduction, long working hours at fertility clinics in several places around the world, many hours of studying and reading new advances and resea...

Once you acknowledge something is not working properly in the fertility area, it is advisable to find a fertility specialist. This way you will get a proper guidance and the next steps to diagnose the possible causes. The first important thing to do is to select the right fertility specialist. This is not easy as many specialists are available, most of them with impressive curriculums and studies, however once you get to know them it might be disappointing to find out they are not the person you were looking for. Others are very difficult to get appointments with, because they are so good that the waiting list is very long. It seems like a matter of luck to find the right one. I make emphasis in this because the relationship you establish with your specialist needs to be based in trust, otherwise you will not get the expected results. Once you select the right fertility specialist, then comes the appointment. Most fertility clinics have a nice warm environment to promote relaxatio...

When it comes to lifestyle we presume it might have to be related to the activities we do on a day-to day basis. Well, yes, but partially. It also has a lot to do with us intrinsically. Our lifestyles today demand lots of activities, and when we fail to comply some of those activities we feel frustrated. It is normal to feel that way. But what if we design a system that can work together with our activities, our health, relationships and the day-to-day situations of work or studies? I designed a system and proved it myself, with friends and patients, and showed to be amazing at increasing the results in many aspects of our lives. Before I explain you the system, I would like to let you know some facts about my own experience. A few years ago I found to have fertility problems and had several tests done. Hormones, ultrasound scans, hysteronsalpingography, hysteroscopy and several other tests. They were all showing serious problems with my uterus, ovaries and ovarian reserve (which ...

One day I read someone’s article stating that in this lifetime she could not be happy with any men she had a relationship with, and that she knew perhaps he did not come to this lifetime this time to meet her. By the time I read the article I did not know the things I now know. I was not aware of the fact that we, as souls, can recognize each other with our energy. I know as a fact we all have souls that mean a world to us: an infinite love. It is not the love we feel for the rest of the souls, whom we also love very much. This is a much deeper love, so deep that it is difficult to explain with words. Once we realize in any lifetime, that we are all connected, and our energies are capable of great things, we can see more clearly. I have seen many people depressed and sad because they are on disturbed, unhappy, and disrespectful relationships, and they cannot understand why they are submerged into such unhealthy situations. For us who are on the other side of the line, it is counte...

How difficult is it being humans? It should not be so hard. It has been wonderful to live here having a body after all. I once met a remarkable person, who was ill with terminal lung cancer. He was young still and at the beginning he refused the idea of leaving this world being so young and not having the chance to accomplish his goals during this lifetime. He was devastated by the news. But then, a spectacular change occurred on him, he started being happy and grateful for each day. He lived each of his 90 last days on earth happy. He was determined to make them memorable and amazing. And he succeeded. Those last days with him were some of the most amazing days of my life. We though humans most times do not value how amazing it is to live every day, and the many advantages of having a healthy vessel to do so, as it is our human bodies. He said: “When I come back I will definitely have a better and healthier body”... Continue reading The post Humans appeared first on Fertility...

It is not easy. Undergo a fertility treatment it means a lot for most couples. Some of them feel scared about the treatment. They think it is anti-natural or counterproductive for their health. Some fear they might not get the expected results. Some simply do not have the money required. It is a tough decision. It is one of those situations when you do not until you live it. What to do? If you and your partner are completely convinced parenthood it is something very important and will make your relationship stronger, and if you have been trying to conceive for 6 months (if you are under 35) or one year (if you are over 35 years) without contraception, then you will need advice and guidance of a fertility specialist. Make some inquiries and go with the one you feel better with, listen all the explanations and choices they will give you. It is crucial to feel comfortable and supported by your medical team. They will guide you through the process and explain the pros and cons of havin...

A bridge between Worlds. Witnessing life and death. By Lucy Coleman, MD. How to describe the feeling of witnessing what I call “the bridge” between dimensions and realizing that feeling was always there, waiting to be explored further and understood in a deeper spiritual sense. The feeling is unimaginable. And this was my experience. I am a doctor, specialist in Reproductive Medicine, a scientist, a former believer that everything could be demonstrated, even the things that have not being demonstrated yet, because their time to be demonstrated it is about to come. Now I know everything has a time. I dedicated my entire life to science and medicine, believing that science had most of the answers. And most times found the explanation I was looking for, because it seemed they had the correct and scientific logic for most of the phenomena occurred in nature. My beliefs were that we had all the tools to find answers, explanations, reasons and logic. That was a fact until now, because ...

  There is an extensive information regarding the main causes of infertility. There are biological physical causes related to our bodies and non-biological causes related to our energy and well-being. Regarding to biological causes we can separate them in female and masculine causes. The female causes are: – Ovulation disorders: these ones can be related to hormonal disorders, which prevents the egg to be released from the follicle of the ovary. These hormonal disorders may be related to genetic predisposition, disorders in our diet, tumours, injuries. Causes of these disorders can be related to polycystic ovarian disease, hyperprolactinemia, hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism, hypergonadotrophic hypogonadism. – Endometriosis: which is presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterus. This can be painful and affect the function of the ovaries. – Fallopian tube damage or blockage:

In occasions we have to make decisions that will definitely impact the future of the world in many ways. Some people argued that being gay comes with genetics. There is a great article about this topic I would like to refer to ( In this study Kenrick Vezina makes a pretty good work at understanding the claims of some geneticists regarding genetics homosexuality. Michael Bailey, a geneticists from Northwestern University and Kevin Mitchell from Trinity College in Dublin claimed homosexuality has a very strong genetic component linked to the Y chromosome. For what I understood in their work there is a difference between sexual preference and sexual orientation, being the later related to the Y chromosome. Preference is whether you are attracted to males or females, however orientation is the one linked to that Y chromosome and it is moderately heritable. There are regions on this chromosome that influence the development of sexual orientation in men. They say there is no universal pat...

  Through this blog I will communicate the discoveries I’ve made during my fertility experience. It has been a broad experience fulfilled with new discoveries, understanding and respect for the field of life. I am sure many of the patients coming here will find comfort to several questions they may have, as a way to … Continue reading »

  To read this, I recommend you to have a look at some of my other articles, that way it will be easier to understand. I need you to have an open mind. The article “Biological and non-biological causes of infertility” there contains explanations about all the biological causes. However, even though many patients present … Continue reading »