The Laurence A. Jacobs M.D. Blog

One of the greatest joys of being a fertility doctor is when a family has a successful pregnancy and birth. Even more wonderful is when I hear from them years later and find out more about how their life is going and any new developments.

Such was the case recently from a former patient who received my January newsletters with my blogs: Life Is Not a Dress Rehearsal ... The Time Is Now for Fertility Resolutions and 2012 and Beyond. I was very touched that this patient took the time to write such a wonderful email — it's things like this that remind me why I love what I do.

Here is what she wrote:

Even though the Mayan Calendar says otherwise, I really don't believe the world is going to end in 2012. If I'm right, that means it's time to get busy and take control of your life and your fertility in 2012.

As your fertility doctor, I will do all I can to help you have a successful pregnancy and birth, but you need to do your part. Empower yourself - take control. 

Here are some helpful suggestions and comments.  We can discuss your specific details face-to-face in the office, since I have many ideas, resources and programs that can help you.  

January is the time when the desire for making positive life-changes is in the air, and yet it often doesn't last long. It seems like men and women have good intentions, but they usually lose steam as they roll through the year. Research indicates that couples who make resolutions together are much more likely to adhere to them if one partner does. So keep helping each other!

Many of my patients feel absolutely miserable because of their infertility situation. So how can we change that? This article may seem a bit harsh to some, but I am being honest ... with tough love. I'm trying to help. To quote Dr. Phil: "You need to hear what you need to hear."

The holidays can be painful for anyone, but as a practicing reproductive endocrinologist, I see how painful they are for my infertility patients. Many of them know the holidays are going to be stressful, and they are reluctant to go to visit family members and face the inevitable questions like "Isn't it time you started a family?"

Sometimes, my patients ask me for advice on how to deal with the holidays, and this is what I tell them:

Yaz, Yasmin, etc., are known as combination oral birth control drugs because they contain a combination of the hormones estrogen (ethinyl estradiol) and progestin (drospirenone). These oral contraceptive drugs  have  been linked to serious, life-threatening injuries including blood clots, strokes, heart attacks and death.   Studies have found carry a higher risk of blood clots than another type of progestin known as levonorgestrel, which is found in older birth control pills.

Half of all cases of infertility are due to male factor, and recent news articles and research have put male fertility back in the spotlight.

The good news is that unlike women who are born with all of the eggs they will ever have, men continue to produce sperm. So what a man does now can improve his fertility two to three months from now.

Diet, lifestyle and nutritional supplements — all can affect a man's fertility. These factors can also affect a couple's chances at a successful in vitro fertilization (IVF). A recent Brazilian study of 250 men who were undergoing IVF with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) published in the journal Fertility and Sterility found that the chances of a successful IVF increase if men have diet high in fruit and grains, and low in red meat, alcohol and coffee. The men's weight and diet had an effect on sperm concentration and motility (how well sperm swim).

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is raising concerns about the safety of oral contraceptives containing drospirenone following a review of two new studies. Drospirenone is a synthetic progestin that is used in birth control.

The studies found that women taking oral contraceptives containing drospirenone were at a greater risk to develop venous thromboembolisms, which are blood clots that form inside the veins, than women on older forms of birth control.  

A recent study demonstrates how removing fibroids that distort the shape of a woman's uterus can help prevent recurrent miscarriage. The British researchers looked at data from a large tertiary referral recurrent miscarriage clinic on women who had at least three consecutive miscarriages up to 24 weeks gestational age. They wanted to determine if fibroids were causing the repeated miscarriages and whether removing the fibroids would lead to improved outcomes.

The researchers divided the women into three groups: those with cavity-distorting fibroids who underwent surgery, women with fibroids that were not distorting the cavity and did not undergo any intervention, and a control group of women who had unexplained recurrent miscarriage. With exception of age, patient demographics across the groups were similar. However, on average,  the patients with fibroids were slightly older than those women with unexplained recurrent miscarriage.

Fertility Centers of Illinois Is still offering the  Fertility Awareness Check-Up!

This is an INEXPENSIVE opportunity for individuals or couples to obtain an overview of their fertility potential.
 
The Fertility Awareness Check-Up provides basic fertility testing for individuals or couples for just $90. This will help individuals or couples in their quest to plan a family by providing an inexpensive initial overview of reproductive potential. The Fertility Awareness Check-Up will help alleviate stress and save valuable time and financial resources in your journey to become a parent.
 
 Here are six frequently asked questions about the Fertility Awareness Check-Up …

As National PCOS Awareness Month draws to a close, I’d like to point out 10 important things you need to know about polycystic ovarian syndrome.

1. PCOS is a condition in which there is an imbalance in a woman’s female sex hormones, which causes problems with ovulation.
2. PCOS can have many variable and subtle symptoms. This is why a physician may overlook the diagnosis in a young woman who is not trying to get pregnant.
3. There is no single test to definitively diagnose PCOS; however, many women with PCOS have cysts on their ovaries, which are found via ultrasound.