Produced by the placenta, human chorionic gonadotropin is a hormone released in the urine of pregnant women. Fertility doctors prescribe HCG to cause ovulation in women who are experiencing conception difficulties. More recently, HCG has been used...
Fertility doctors often use laparoscopic surgery to take a look at a woman's internal organs to find out why she is having trouble getting pregnant. The surgery is usually done on an outpatient basis and is performed by inserting a camera through...
A low sperm count can be a source of frustration for any couple that is attempting to build a family. In many cases, a low sperm count can be addressed by dietary changes, adjustments in sexual practices and even changes in underwear. A low sperm...
Fibroids are overgrowths of tissue in the uterus or womb. They grow from the muscle of the uterine wall and are not cancerous or precancerous. They can extend into the inside (submucosal) or protrude from the outside surface of the uterus...
Fertility doctors may prescribe the brand-name drug Pergonal to help women conceive children when other methods have not produced good results. The medication, known generically as follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone,...
It takes only one sperm to fertilize an egg and start a pregnancy. However, to overcome the daunting odds of a sperm successfully navigating the female reproductive tract to penetrate the egg, a man must contribute tens of millions of sperm to the...
There are plenty of old wives' tales about things you can do to increase the odds of having a boy. There are theories about what foods to eat, what sexual position to use and what time in a woman's cycle you should try to conceive. However, Mayo...
Many women undergoing an intrauterine insemination, or IUI, wonder whether exercising after the procedure could affect their ability to conceive. The answer is not straightforward. While there is no definitive evidence that exercise will hinder...
Patients with early stage cervical cancer may have a procedure called a conization, which removes a cone-shaped piece of tissue from the cervix. Patients receive local anesthesia for this surgery. An advantage of conization includes the ability...
Depo Provera makes birth control a hands-off experience for women who have trouble remembering to take daily pills. The quarterly injections are just as effective as other forms of hormonal birth control, and many women enjoy the convenience of...
If you're having trouble getting pregnant, you're willing to try just about anything to increase your chances of success. A rumor that pops up frequently on fertility forums states that drinking pineapple juice can increase the uterine lining...
Progesterone is a natural female hormone that is first produced by the corpus luteum, the cyst that is formed after the release of an egg during ovulation. If the egg is fertilized and a pregnancy occurs, progesterone production is taken over by...
HCG diet followers combine supplements or injections of HCG -- a hormone produced by pregnant women -- with extreme caloric restriction to lose weight, according to MayoClinic.com. Better known as a fertility drug, HCG also stimulates ovulation,...
Women who suffer from infertility problems may get some help from a combination hormone therapy, MayoClinic.com reports. Two of the substances used in such treatments are Clomid, a brand name of clomiphene, and human chorionic gonadotropin, or...
In 1994, my dad began a nine-month battle with lung cancer. He was a career Coast Guardsmen, and as a search-and-rescue diver he had discipline and endurance that likely doubled his time fighting the disease. At the time, I had recently fallen in...
Every woman is born with a set supply of eggs. Each egg is contained within a structure called a follicle, which is comprised of layers of ovarian cells surrounding fluid which provides nutrients for the egg. Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FHS) is...
Natural Family Planning refers to natural methods used by couples that want to either prevent or begin a pregnancy. According to health website Family Doctor, a woman can track her menstrual and ovulation cycles to determine her most fertile times...
Research shows that herbs like black cohosh, evening primrose oil and red raspberry leaves may boost fertility. Some health stores sell a fertility blend, which combines different herbs into one mix. The benefit of the herbs remains the same...
Women with polycystic ovary syndrome often suffer from problems with menstruation, fertility, weight gain and insulin levels. These factors put women at an increased risk of developing health complications such as type-2 diabetes and heart...
If you are Caucasian, between the ages of 20 and 39, you may be in the high-risk category of testicular cancer. Are you are one of those individuals diagnosed with testicular cancer? Is your doctor planning to treat you with chemotherapy, surgery...
Birth defects are abnormalities present at the time of a baby's birth. They occur in approximately 3 percent of pregnancies. When some part of the baby's body did not form correctly or completely, this is a structural birth defect. For example,...
There are a number of reasons why a female would opt for artificial insemination. One such cause is if the woman's partner suffers from mild infertility (a condition in which the male has either abnormally low numbers of sperm, or if the sperm...
The average menstrual cycle is 28 days. Women who have regular menstrual cycles can predict when they are ovulating, because ovulation occurs approximately half way through the cycle. If your menstrual cycles are irregular and change every month,...
The chance of conceiving is only 20% each month, which assumes that the timing is perfect and neither partner has fertility issues. While it seems like conception is easy, the reality is far from it. It takes 4 to 6 months for the average couple...
In simple terms, gluten is the protein found in wheat, rye and barley. When gluten reacts with water, it becomes a sticky, glue-like substance, which makes dough stretchy and gives bread its chewy texture. For the average person, eating gluten...
The female reproductive system consists of the organs that are necessary for the creation of new life. This includes the breasts, the ovaries, the fallopian tubes, the uterus, the cervix and the vagina. These organs work together to produce,...
HCG is short for human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone produced by developing embryonic tissue. Normally, adults don't produce hCG, and don't have it in their bloodstream. If a woman is pregnant, she'll have hCG in her blood due to production of...
Infertility patients often start treatment with their obstetrician or gynecologist but move on to treatment by doctors with a specific interest in infertility. These doctors are usually, but not always, doctors with a background in OB/GYN...
The causes of couples' infertility are pretty much evenly split between the women and the men. There are many different factors that can cause fertility problems in men. Before you can increase your fertility, you and your doctor need to try to...
Infertility, the inability to contribute to conception, can result from any number of causes. Learn more about infertility in this reproductive health video.
