Blog

October is baby loss and miscarriage awareness month, so I thought I’d share a story with you about how I have been affected by this, both personally and professionally. At 10 weeks, during my second pregnancy, I was told that my baby’s heartbeat stopped. Of course I was devastated, except that I did have a little nagging intuition that something ‘wasn’t quite right’ with this pregnancy which I had been hoping……

Read more

  Fertility meds don’t actually come in a nutshell. They come in the form of a pill or injections, depending on the type of medication. I’m going to address oral medications first, since they are usually the first step for those proceeding with fertility treatments. There are two different oral medications prescribed for fertility treatment in the United States: clomiphene citrate (Clomid) and letrozole (Femara). Although they work in different ways,……

Read more

I’ve had the opportunity over the years to work in a few different fertility clinics, all sizes and in many regions. I’ve also, as a consultant, have been privy the inner-workings of many others and have come to the conclusion that the following factors are important for staff and patient satisfaction at a Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI) center. Of course, pregnancy rates are important (and can be researched on the……

Read more

As a fertility nurse, I know that we often receive emails from the front desk asking us to call a patient about a particular question or problem.   Although fertility treatments, and the challenges inherent in them, can be incredibly stressful (and this is not meant to minimize that) you might get a laugh from some of these. Whether you are a nurse or patient, I’m sure you can identify with……

Read more

Ok, so you are starting fertility treatment. Overall, it’s exciting to have a plan to be able to achieve the family you have envisioned. At your appointment, your health care provider reviews the basics with you, discusses medications, next steps, treatment strategies, percentages. You hear most of it, and will probably ask a few questions. Then, he or she sneaks in, “Oh, and by the way, no drinking, no recreational drugs,……

Read more

I spoke to my female patient about her weight the other day. Wait, you say. Isn’t that against “Girl Code”? Tantamount to replying “yes” to the “Do I look fat in this” question? Actually, I would counter that discussing excess (or not enough) weight, as a nurse to your fertility patient, is not only appropriate, it’s necessary. Here’s why. There are many studies that show that being obese has detrimental effects……

Read more