Conception Made Easy!

More than seven million Americans one in eight couples experience difficulty becoming pregnant. Statistics show that career-oriented couples are waiting longer to have children at an age when it becomes more difficult to conceive. The result is that many couples are desperate for help, trying invasive procedures that can cost as much as $20,000 per attempt. Fertility is an important and timely issue that you will find interesting. Find out why couples are trying fertility drugs, surgery, artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, gamete intrafallopian transfer, zygote intrafallopian transfer, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, donor eggs and even surrogate mothers. The FDA has also recently approved some new fertility products and procedures, including the first Home Conception Kit. We talk to one of the countrys foremost experts on fertility and the inventor of a new FDA-approved Conception Kit. Michael La Vean is recognized around the world for his contributions in the field of fertility. La Vean has created several important fertility products in the past. He discusses some of the amazing new options currently available for couples, while providing hope for some of you who are dealing with fertility issues. Fertility Treatment Options: Get a quick glimpse of what to expect from your treatment options below. For more detailed information on a particular treatment, click on the appropriate link. Fertility drugs Fertility drugs, such as clomiphene and gonadotropins, regulate your reproductive hormones and trigger the release of one or more of your eggs per ovulation cycle. Most women use them for three to six months before conceiving or trying a different kind of treatment. Ģ Side effects: Clomiphene can cause headaches, visual symptoms, hot flashes, cramping, bloating, and vaginal dryness. Gonadotropins can cause soreness, bloating, and rashes. Both can increase your odds of having twins or more. Ģ Success rates: About 20 to 60 percent of women who use fertility drugs (often with artificial insemination) get pregnant. Ģ Cost: Clomiphene pills cost at least $50 a month (not including the cost of doctors’ visits, ultrasounds of your ovaries, or follow-up procedures such as artificial insemination). Gonadotropin injections cost $ 2,000 to $ 5,000 a month (including doctors’ visits and tests). Ģ Community: Talk to others who are trying this treatment on our Fertility Drugs bulletin board. Surgery Surgery may help fix genetic defects or blocked fallopian tubes, or remove endometriosis, fibroids, or ovarian cysts. Ģ Side effects: After a laparoscopy you may feel temporary discomfort in your chest and shoulders from the carbon dioxide used during surgery. You may also feel soreness in your abdominal area for a few days. Ģ Success rates: About 40 to 60 percent of women treated for endometriosis and scar tissue conceive. Between 10 and 90 percent of women who have their tubes cleared conceive. Ģ Cost: Surgery can cost anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000. Ģ Community: Visit our bulletin boards to meet other women who have endometriosis or fibroids, or who are trying fertility treatment. Artificial insemination During artificial insemination, a concentrated dose of sperm (from your partner or a donor) is injected into your uterus with a catheter. Ģ Side effects: After the sperm is injected into your uterus, you may feel cramping for a day or so. Also, you may need to take fertility drugs before the procedure, which will raise your risk of having multiples and developing ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). Plus, if you use your partner’s sperm, he’ll have to provide a sample on demand. Ģ Success rates: About 5 to 25 percent of women who undergo artificial insemination conceive . Ģ Cost: You should expect to pay $300 to $700 for this procedure. Ģ Community: Talk to others who are trying this treatment on our Fertility Treatments bulletin board. In vitro fertilization (IVF) During in vitro fertilization (IVF), eggs removed from your ovaries are fertilized with sperm (from your partner or a donor) in a laboratory. The resulting embryos are placed in your uterus. Ģ Side effects: You may need to take fertility drugs before the procedure, which will raise your risk of having multiples and of developing ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). Plus, if you use your partner’s sperm, he’ll have to provide a sample on demand. Ģ Success rates: Between 28 and 35 percent of women who try in vitro fertilization conceive. Ģ Cost: This procedure usually costs between $8,000 and $15,000. Ģ Community: Talk to others who are undergoing this treatment on our High-Tech Methods for Getting Pregnant bulletin board. Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) During gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT), your eggs are mixed with sperm (from your partner or a donor) in a lab, and the mixture is surgically injected into your fallopian tubes so fertilization can occur naturally inside your body. Ģ Side effects: This procedure has a longer recovery time than IVF. You may feel temporary discomfort in your chest and shoulders from the carbon dioxide used during surgery. Also, you may need to take fertility drugs before the procedure, which will raise your risk of having multiples and of developing ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). Plus, if you use your partner’s sperm, he’ll have to provide a sample on demand. Ģ Success rates: About 25 to 30 percent of women who try GIFT conceive. Ģ Cost: This procedure usually costs between $8,000 and $15,000. Ģ Community: Talk to others who are trying this treatment on our High-Tech Methods for Getting Pregnant bulletin board. Zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT) As with GIFT, your eggs and sperm are mixed together in a lab. But during zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT), your doctor makes sure your eggs are fertilized before surgically placing them in your fallopian tubes. Ģ Side effects: This procedure is similar to a cycle of GIFT, but you’ll spend more time waiting on the lab. You may feel temporary discomfort in your chest and shoulders from the carbon dioxide used during surgery. Also, you may need to take fertility drugs before the procedure, which will raise your risk of having multiples and of developing ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). Plus, if you use your partner’s sperm, he’ll have to provide a sample on demand. Ģ Success rates: About 25 to 30 percent of women who try ZIFT conceive. Ģ Cost: This procedure usually costs between $8,000 and $15,000. Ģ Community: Talk to others who are trying this treatment on our High-Tech Methods for Getting Pregnant bulletin board. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) During intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), a single sperm is injected into a single egg and the resulting embryo is placed in your uterus. Ģ Side effects: Your partner’s sperm may need to be drawn from his testicle with a microscopic needle or surgical biopsy but it’s less painful than it sounds. Ģ Success rates: About 35 percent of couples who try ICSI conceive. Ģ Cost: ICSI can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $17,000. Ģ Community: Talk to others who are trying this treatment on our High-Tech Methods for Getting Pregnant bulletin board. Donor eggs and embryos Using IVF techniques, an egg (or embryo) donated by another woman is mixed with your partner’s sperm and implanted in your uterus. Ģ Side effects: You’ll need to choose the donor of the egg (or embryo) which can be a long process. Plus, you may feel a sense of loss at not having a baby with complete genetic ties. Ģ Success rates: Around 43 percent of women who try IVF using donor eggs or embryos conceive. Ģ Cost: You should expect to pay $10,000 to $20,000 for IVF with a donor egg or embryo (including compensation for the donor) Ģ Community: Talk to others who are trying this treatment on our High-Tech Methods for Getting Pregnant bulletin board. Gestational carriers (also known as surrogate mothers) A gestational carrier (or a surrogate mother) c
arries your embryo, or a donor’s embryo, to term, and then signs away all her parental rights. Ģ Side effects: You may feel like you don’t have control over the pregnancy from what the carrier eats to how she handles stress. Carefully choose someone you can communicate with. Ģ Success rates: Unavailable. Click here for information on the factors that affect success rates. Ģ Cost: This procedure may cost anywhere from $15,000 to $50,000. (About $12,000 goes to the surrogate mother. The rest goes to legal fees set by lawyers and agencies.) Ģ Community: Talk to others who are trying this option on our Fertility Treatments bulletin board. More about Michael La Vean – Founder and Board Member, Conceivex, Inc.: Michael La Vean is an experienced inventor and business man in the field of reproductive health care. Mr. La Vean has already founded and piloted one company, VEOS PLC, through to a successful IPO on the London Stock Exchange in 1999. Mr. La Vean is also experienced in regulation, having successfully taken products through both the FDA and an EC Notified Body (GMED). The Oves Cervical Cap was named Gynecologic Innovation of the Year in 1999 in France and Italy. Mr. La Vean left VEOS in June of 2001. Michael La Vean has several US and International patents in reproductive health care, including The Conception Kit and Conception Cap. He is active on many Industry Boards including the Alliance for Microbicide Development. Michael La Vean is also on the Board of Directors of the Franco-American Institute, a Fellow in the International Napoleonic Society, a member of The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and the former Mayor of Saranac, Michigan. Mr. La Vean is married and has one child, age 11. https://videos.whiteblox.com/gnb/secure/player.aspx?sid=32314