All Blog Posts (125)

Frequently I am asked about IUI compared to IVF and specifically about NC IVF compared with IUI. Although IUI can be successful, there are clear limitations to an IUI. First of all, unless pregnancy occurs an IUI does little to explain why a couple has failed to conceive. Could the tube have failed to catch an egg(s)? Could the sperm have failed to find an egg(s)? Could the sperm have failed to fertilize an egg(s)? Could the fertilized egg(s) have failed to grow? Could the embryo(s) have…

New Years Eve is such a special day.  For many people, it is a time to reflect upon and evaluate one’s life, as well as look forward to the New Year.  It is also a time to think about what went well with the past year and make resolutions to make the next year even better.  This is true for us at Dominion Fertility, so we would like to share some of our resolutions for 2012.

Dr. DiMattina ,Dr. Gordon & Dr. Reh’s Resolutions for…

Working at Dominion Fertility often feels like working with an extended family.  When Dr. DiMattina started Dominion Fertility in 1987, he always wanted it to be a place that offered cutting edge technology in a personal setting.  Some 25 years later, that is exactly what Dominion Fertility is.  We have staff that have worked here for over 20 years and employees that often leave to start a family and come back when their kids are entering school.  It is a place that…

Most patients who have PCOS do not have regular menstrual cycles and therefore they cannot be treated with Natural Cycle IVF (NCIVF) as it requires patients to have fairly regular menstrual cycles.  This is an example of an interesting patient of mine who had irregular menstrual cycles, which upon taking Metformin became regular, thus allowing her to be successfully treated with NCIVF.

 A.H. is a 34 year old female who came to see me for a consultation in June, 2010. …

So says Dr. Isaac Kudoch in the November, 2011 journal Fertility and Sterility.  Hello everyone.  Dr. D here to discuss this article and of course, add some personal experience performing Natural Cycle IVF (NCIVF) in young patients with poor ovarian reserve.

Let me illustrate how NCIVF helped C.M., a 32 year old lady with a 3 year history of primary infertility and poor ovarian reserve.  She came to see me for consultation in December, 2010.  In 2009, she underwent a…

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…..you know the song, but the reality can be very different.  The holidays can be a very difficult time if you were hoping to have a baby or at least be pregnant this holiday season and it hasn’t happened for you.  Marketing geared towards families and children abound and can be hard to escape.  If you find yourself in this situation this holiday, here are some helpful hints to survive the holidays with infertility.

Take care of…

Many of my patients come from outside the Washington, DC area seeking treatment using Natural Cycle IVF (NCIVF).  Currently, I am taking care of 3 patients that live in San Francisco, one from Ghana and one from Germany, all desiring NCIVF.

Here is an example of a patient who lives in upstate New York who found us on the internet.  She had 3 total visits to our Arlington office and she is now pregnant following her first treatment using NCIVF.

S.S. is a 24…

Here’s another interesting patient profile to share with our members of Fertile Grounds regarding our Natural Cycle IVF (NCIVF) program. 

Please recall that about 2 months ago I reported in this forum the delivery of my 48 year old patient who achieved a successful pregnancy after her first Natural Cycle embryo transfer.  This lady had previously failed 4 stimulated IVF procedures at another clinic and was told to adopt or use an egg donor.  So, she decided to try NCIVF with…

Hello, am fairly new into all of these and would like to seek feedback from others.  We will be doing our first IVF in January, provided all goes well leading to it.  I am vegan on voluntary basis 1/3 of the year (not vegetarian, but vegan).  The rest of year I eat everything.  Would it be better if I eat normally (like not vegan food) these months preceeding to IVF or it does not matter what your diet is?  Thanks all.

I'd like medical input (and thoughts from an RE) on using Royal Jelly and COq10 during IVF.  Obviously I've read the hype on the internet and I'm taking it.  Even if I was told it was just placebo at this point I'd keep at just so I could hope I might get that Baby.  What I want to know, is there any danger on continuing my supplements during IVF stimulation.  I understand there might be some estrogen effects with Royal Jelly, but are they really enough to screw up my IVF meds?  And, any…

Hi everyone.  Dr D here with great news and an update.

  A.N. was 47 years old when she came to see me last year at Dominion Fertility.  She had no children and had failed 4 stimulated IVF procedures in 2009 at another local infertility center.  Her day 3 FSH level was 20 mIU/ml and her AMH level <0.1 indicating poor ovarian reserve.  Her doctors advised her to use either ova donor IVF or adopt.

We performed Natural Cycle IVF and she achieved pregnancy with…

Please join us to learn more about • Which yoga postures are most suited for increasing blood flow and receptivity to the reproductive organs, pelvis and hips • Breathing practices to manage moods and increase vitality.  •Mindfulness techniques for coping with and transforming limiting thoughts and beliefs that often deplete energy • Additional ways to take charge of managing stress, while enhancing the overall sense of well-being of your body, mind and spirit. Fertility yoga is appropriate…

Hi,

My name is Therese and I am a 42 year old gal and wanted to share my success story with you all.  I have been going to Dominion Fertility for about the past four years on and off.  My husband and I put off having a baby a little too long, and as you all know... egg quality goes down the older you get. :(  So after trying for half a year by ourselves, we turned to Dominion Fertility for help.  One of my tubes was blocked so the practice performed a tubal ligation and after…

And one of the largest in the world.  Hi everyone, DrD here updating you about our NCIVF program. 

Since 2007, we have performed over 1000 cycles and are now in our 5^th year of performing NCIVF.  According to the last reported CDC data, we have performed more NCIVF than all of the other IVF centers in the United States combined.  Last week, I submitted for formal peer review and publication our data for the first 4 years (2007-10) of performing NCIVF at Dominion…

I sure do like my ice cream, but as many of you have noticed, I am expecting a baby of my own in the near future.  My official due date is in two weeks, although as an obstetrician by training I know it could really be any day now.  I wanted to post this to address any questions that my patients might have regarding my leave and their care in my absence.

How long will I be out of the office fulltime?  Barring any major unexpected outcomes, I expect to be out of the…

After my first failed NCIVF (at egg retrievall there was no egg) I have realized the need for some outside support.  It is amazing to me how many couples are going through fertility problems.  When you walk into the waiting room during monitoring hours and its standing room only it is shocking.  I'd love to see Dominion offer a support group.  One night a week after hours?  What are the chances for something like this to get started?

Thank you