How to select your IVF specialist

By Dr. Shweta Goswami

Searching foran IVF specialist is such a big task as there are numerous IVF doctors availainle across the world. Also, not to mention discussing an issue like infertility which is quite a social taboo even in this day and age is also such a big question itself. Today, as an infertility expert let me help you out explaining about the traits one should look out for in an IVF specialist.

Let us consider below points while selecting your IVF Expert:

1. An IVF Expert should answers all your questions and doesn’t dismiss them as being trivial. Believes the only stupid question is the one you don’t ask. Responds to your email (usually within 24 hours) and doesn’t force you to come in for every little problem.

2. An IVF Expert should be fully staffed, with a full-time experienced embryologist, so he/she does not have to depend upon external experts.

3. An IVF Expert must respect you and treats you like an intelligent adult. He/She should not talk down to you and does his/her best to educate you, so you have realistic expectations of your IVF treatment.

4. An IVF Expert must be open and transparent and provides clear documentation of all your IVF treatment, including photos of your embryos.

5. An IVF Expert must clear about the costs incurred for the treatment and provides a receipt for 100% of your payments.

6. An IVF Expert must has a high success rate because the lab and

What you should know about Ovarian Cancer?

By Dr. Shweta Goswami 

Ovarian cancer - the cancer of ovaries has been known as a ‘silent killer' in the past because it's hard to diagnose. 

Its symptoms are:

• persistent tummy or pelvic pain  
• increased tummy size or persistent bloating – not bloating that comes and goes 
• Difficulty eating and feeling full quickly.  

Some women may also experience other symptoms like: 

•  the need to wee more frequently,  
• changes in bowel habit,  
• extreme fatigue or pain.  

If you have these symptoms more than 12 times in a month, you should seriously consider going to see your doctor. 

According to the American Cancer Society about 1 in 75 women will get ovarian cancer in her lifetime, but young women are rarely affected. The risk escalates starting at age 63, 

Diagnosis of Ovarian cancer: 

It is often diagnosed at a late stage. Ovarian cancer is frequently diagnosed when the cancer is already at an advanced stage and women often delay seeking help. This may be because the woman thinks her symptoms are due to menopause or confused with other common stomach and digestive complaints. Doctors also often initially suspect less serious

Prepare yourself for IVF Treatment

By Dr. Shweta Goswami 

Before the beginning of IVF treatment everyone has this question in mind; how do I prepare myself for this? So, here is your answer. Today in this blog I will mention few tips on how to prepare oneself for the IVF treatment. 

1. First of all start an exercise routine as exercising and remaining active is not just good for fertility health but also for the overall body. It opens up the muscles and makes them flexible. Furthermore, it regulates blood flow

 in the body. This makes the body much more responsive to medications given during the treatment. 

2. You can also try your hand at Yoga. It may sound same like exercise for some people but yoga is much more than just something that improves the flexibility and stamina of the body. It calms the mind and creates an emotional balance amongst the people who do it. It harmonizes the whole body and lots regular practice prevents the person from the maximum amounts of diseases also, it also strengthens the immunity system. 

3. Eat a good fertility diet. What you eat is directly affects your overall wellbeing. It is very important for a woman to eat a healthy holistic diet to enhance the fertility. For example - Vitamin C is very important to women undergoing IVF as

5 Tips to combat male infertility

By Dr. Shweta Goswami

By this time we all know that infertility is not only a women problem; men too are equally responsible for being infertile. 4 in 10 men usually have impaired fertility and 40% of all conception problems are down to defective sperm. I have listed out 5 simple measures that can give your sperm a boost: 

1. Keeping your testicles cool: 

It is very important to keep your testicles temperature cool for making the best sperm production. Do not wear too tight pants or underwear and stop placing your laptops on your lap as they can increase scrotal temperature by almost 3 degrees in just 15 minutes.  Place it on a desk instead, or position it on the sofa next to you. 

2.  Omit stress from your life: 

Stress today is very common but it interferes with the sperm-producing hormones. If possible stay away from stress as much as possible.  Practice relaxation techniques and spending time doing the activities which can help you to cope up with stress. 

3. Cut down smoking and limit alcohol consumption: 

Male smokers are 30% more likely to struggle making their wives pregnant. The harmful products of tobacco smoking can kill sperm cells. On the other hand alcohol consumption can reduce libido and affect sperm quality. 

4.  Have sex frequently: 

A young healthy couple only has a 20 – 25% chance of falling pregnant from one sexual encounter. So, the more you do it, the better your chances are. Daily ejaculation also improves the quality of sperm. 

5. Taking supplements and vitamins improves fertility: 

Taking sufficient amount of supplements helps in improving fertility among men. For instance Zinc which is vital to sperm production. Consuming just 15mg per day has been scientifically proven to increase fertility. Sources of zinc are lamb, whole grains, nuts, seafood, peanuts and pumpkin seeds. Also, try to meet your daily allowance of Vitamin C and

Dealing with infertility

By Dr. Shweta Goswami 

We are living in a society where barrenness ia a taboo. In today’s era also people look down to such women who cannot bear a child in their womb. No matter how society as a whole we are progressing there are many issues which needs to be dealt carefully and one such issue is infertility. Today, we talk about on how to deal with infertility. It is very normal thing these days as there are many lifestyle factors that affects ones fertility be it a male or a female. But without losing our self confidence we need to deal with it.  

So, here are few tips that may help you to get through it: 

1. Love your body  

No matter what God has given you beautiful body. Self-care is utmost important things that you can do Just nurture and love your body. Diet and exercise can be a great way to take control and give your body what it needs. From taking a long hot water shower bath to treating yourself to lovely food, to pampering yourself with a spa etc just do that. 

2. Give yourself time 

Take each day as if it’s today only. It is a cliché that ‘time heals’, take each day as it comes and try not to beat yourself up. Manage your work home time equally and do what the time needs at a particular given hour. 

3. Do not get over emotional 

It is completely ok if you feel a loss for sometime but hanging to such a loss for a longer period of time is not good. Today thanks to the technology we have so many options to

Vitamin E improves fertility among men

By Dr. Shweta Goswami 

Infertility is a common problem now. No one knows that what the exact cause of infertility is. Lifestyle plays a vital role in our fertility issues. For example what we take inside our body directly impacts on fertility if we drink alcohol or smoke regularly it badly affects our fertility. 

Studies have shown that certain nutrients if we consume on a regular basis can directly impact the sperm quality in men and can ultimately results in improved pregnancy rates. Many times it is said that low levels of Vitamin E can cause impotence in men. Lack of vitamin E also causes low sex drive and infertility. So, in a way vitamin E is considered as very important nutrient for men. Vitamin E acts as a anti oxidant protecting cell membranes from oxidative damage. 

In a study conducted in USA, men undergoing IVF treatment who have been given vitamin E have shown better fertilization rates which suggest that the antioxidant activity of vitamin E makes the sperm more fertile. Vitamin E is known to

Your journey from fat to fertile

By Dr. Shweta Goswami 

As we all know that fat is no fun. Being overweight or obese has its own plethora of problems. Being overweight affects everything.  Yet another growing problem in today’s time among the population is infertility caused due to Obesity. Weight problem cases are on increase everywhere, and so are infertility clinics. Almost 10% of couples in the country get affected by infertility and are hesitant to take medical advice. The obesity rates in India have been rising at an extensive rate, out of which quarter of the women’s population is defined as medically obese. 

People in cities follow a sedentary lifestyle. Little or no physical activity, easily jumping up to junk food, sitting for prolonged hours, night shifts, wrong eating patterns etc are to be blamed for being obese and there by infertile. 

Obesity also leads to low stamina, which reduces the urge of having sex. Obesity in women is known to contribute to anovulation, a reduced conception rate and at greater risk of pregnancy complications like having a C-section, giving birth to a large baby or even developing gestational diabetes and hypertension. On the other hand men who are

All you need to know about Surrogacy

By Dr. Shweta Goswami 

Surrogacy is now a well explored and accepted form of starting a family that people are turning to. Surrogacy simply means a biological or non biological mother carrying the child of another woman for full nine months. 

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) data says that approximately 2,000 babies are born every year through commercial surrogacy. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) figures claim that surrogacy is a $2.3 billion industry in India, because it is largely unregulated and cheap. 

These days awareness about surrogacy is increasing. People who would have never thought that they would be able to become proud parents are finally getting chance to be. 

Surrogacy is advised to those who have either no or a malformed uterus, uterus damaged due to infection/ tumor, and where the uterus is removed for some clinical process. Surrogacy is also for those couples intending to be parents but where the woman is having repeated miscarriages. 

In IVF surrogacy or gestational surrogacy a pregnancy is created by the egg and sperm of the parent couple. The surrogate is just a carrier and is not genetically related to the child. While the procedure costs Rs. 15 lakhs or upwards, a surrogate earns Rs. 5-6 lakh and is paid Rs. 9-10,000 per month during the pregnancy. 

Surrogacy is a legal deal between a couple and an individual and a third party to carry their baby to term. There may be many reasons why couples opt for surrogacy; it may be a missing uterus, multiple pregnancy losses, or failed in vitro fertilization attempts. So, now the couple can have their own biological baby by hiring a surrogate. 

Sometimes a family member or friend offers to be a surrogate. This can deeply reduce the cost of surrogacy. However, because not everyone knows

How old is too old to have a baby.?

By Dr. Shweta Goswami 

We all witnessed the recent news of an Indian couple where the woman of 72 years of age and her husband 79 years of age gave birth to a baby boy but at the same time we know that age factor is directly associated with decreasing fertility in women; their eggs grow old. But age does affect the fertility level in men too. 

Yes, you heard it right. Age is not a difficulty in women but after the age of 30, there is a drop in testosterone of 1% per year in men too. Testosterone is the energy, the hormone that you need to make good-quality sperm. It’s not just women who have to worry about their ticking reproductive clock. Men's sperm quality seems to decline after the age of 35. The older a man is the more his sperm cells are dived, and the more divisions present, the more there is a chance for an abnormality to occur. 

In males, sperm motility changed with age. Sperm motility is how well the sperm swim. Sperm motility is usually the best before age 25 and lowest after age 55. In fact, when comparing the number of “good swimming” sperm in men between the ages 30 to 35 with men over age 55, sperm motility decreased by 54 percent. 

In fact many studies have claimed that pregnancy rates decrease between 23% to 38% in comparisons between men under 30 and men over 50. Increased paternal age

Some Do’s and Don’ts during IVF treatment

By Dr. Shweta Goswami 

In Vitreo fertilization (IVF) is a blessing for infertile couples and indeed IVF trend has picked up in India from quite a while now.  When a couple chooses IVF for conception, it affects both the partners physically and emotionally.  There are a few things that you need to keep in mind to improve your chances of conception. 

1. First of all de-stress yourself; be calm and composed think positive.  Also avoid making major life changes such as moving to a new house or starting a new job the same time you’re going through the IVF process. As High stress levels are known to reduce fertility in both men and women and compromise the outcome of an IVF cycle. 

2. Take good care of yourself; It’s very hard to combine your job with an IVF treatment. Don’t stop living. Don’t put everything on hold for your big dream. The impact will be massive. 

3. Eat good amount of nutrients; before your IVF begin start eating fertility diet. Getting nutritious foods is vital for producing healthy eggs and promoting implantation of the embryo. Your diet should consist of 4-6 small meals each day and each should consist of some complex carbohydrate (such as brown rice or quinoa) interspread with fresh fruits and vegetables. For a fertility diet read here. 

4. Drink lots of fluids; Some women during IVF process suffer from OHSS (Ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome) so drink lots of fluids during this time. Drinking 3-5 liters of water per day can prevent OHSS in some cases. 

5. Stop consuming alcohol; Alcohol consumption, even in small amounts, can reduce a woman's chance of conceiving by more than 50%, so why take a chance. 

6. Communication