Zachary Schmitz, age 19 months, is his mommy's little helper. He can feed himself and loves to take things off shelves and then put them back. And Zachary's mom and dad, Theresa and Bill, wouldn't have these everyday joys without helpers of another kind: the staff at RHS.

After ten years of struggling with infertility, the New York couple traveled to Pittsburgh at the suggestion of their obstetrician. The outcome was well worth the three-hour drive. Zachary was the result of a single embryo transfer procedure, implanted five days after fertilization.

After forming a close bond with the RHS team, whom she describes as caring and supportive every step of the way, Theresa has taken her son to visit several times. They plan another return trip, this time to give Zachary a brother or sister. "I think what RHS does is wonderful," Theresa said. "They make families! I'm very grateful for mine."

New employee: Delinda Bish has joined the RHS staff as a coordinator with Dr. Albert. Delinda has 13 years of experience in OB/GYN.

Advocacy Day: Representatives from the National Infertility Association will be meeting with members of Congress on April 10, 2008 to lobby for issues relating to infertility treatment. For more information, click here.

Balance Within: RHS has recently held lectures on chiropractic care and acupuncture at our Wexford office location as part of our Balance Within program. Check our homepage often to find out about upcoming events and lectures.

Many couples have heard that abstaining from sex until the female is ovulating will help them conceive. This is based on the belief that having prolonged periods of abstinence will concentrate the male's sperm for the most fertile time of the woman's cycle. This, however, is untrue. Sperm quality actually declines with prolonged abstinence from ejaculation. It is better to have regular intercourse because sperm can live in the woman's reproductive tract for 72 hours or more.

Question: I heard that low progesterone levels are a cause of my infertility. Will taking progesterone supplements help my chance of getting pregnant?

Answer: All women are in fact progesterone "deficient" for half of their menstrual cycles - before ovulation and during their periods. Progesterone rises at ovulation and falls after the failure of a pregnancy to implant and secrete progesterone from cells in the placenta. Women who don't get periods at all usually are truly "progesterone deficient," but using progesterone supplements won't help their fertility. They have ovulatory dysfunction as the primary problem that needs to be treated. When they ovulate, the progesterone problem will be corrected, without taking progesterone supplements.

With one of the highest success rates in the U.S., RHS doctors Judith Albert and Carolyn Kubik have learned an important lesson: in fertility treatment, less can be more. When breakthroughs in IVF occurred in the 1980s, doctors implanted multiple embryos, hoping to strengthen the odds of achieving at least one live birth. However, the risk of negative consequences due to multiple births and the development of advanced techniques have since challenged this approach.

After extensive study, the American Society of Reproductive Medicine now recommends that women with a good prognosis who are 35 years or younger proceed with single embryo transfer. The focus of this advanced fertility treatment is to create fewer, healthier embryos with a greater chance of successful conception and birth. According to Dr. Albert, "As embryo culture and assessment techniques have improved, the ability to reduce the number of embryos transferred and still maintain reasonable pregnancy rates has improved dramatically."

Multiple embryo transfer increases the odds of multiple births, leading to an unintended problem: too many successful implantations. As a result, the rate of twins and higher-order multiples has soared. While stories of smiling but exhausted parents of quadruplets, quintuplets and sextuplets may touch our hearts, there is another story behind these pregnancies that is not as familiar.

Multiple births are more often associated with adverse outcomes. For the babies, these include prematurity and low birth weight, which can be life-threatening and carry increased odds of long-term physical and developmental problems among survivors. Even in twins, more than half of IVF pregnancies resulted in babies born below 5.5 pounds, with 65% born prematurely. Risks to the mother can include gestational diabetes, high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia. And higher rates of miscarriage coupled with sometimes recommended selective reduction to boost survival rates of remaining fetuses can cause heartbreak even when pregnancy occurs.

Research has shown that not all women are candidates for single embryo transfer, and screening criteria assist the RHS specialists in selecting the technique most likely to succeed for each individual patient. Women who are over 37 years of age and have a higher incidence of chromosomal defects, and those who have failed to conceive after several IVF cycles will not conceive as easily when only one embryo is transferred, making other approaches necessary.

Use of single embryo transfer with higher pregnancy rates is one of the ways RHS is redefining infertility treatment in the region. Delivering a healthy baby after an uneventful pregnancy is our goal, and one we are able to achieve for many patients with our experienced physicians and advanced, cutting-edge technology.

Diet and exercise play an important role in reducing the risk of many diseases, including heart disease, cancer and diabetes. We can add infertility to the growing list of conditions that can sometimes be avoided by focusing on your health.

Pregnancy is a result of many intricate processes within the male and female bodies, and research has shown that bodies in top condition are more likely to conceive and produce a healthy baby. Here are a few simple guidelines that may boost fertility while improving your overall health and wellbeing:

1. Focus on maintaining your ideal body weight. Being overweight can be a barrier to conception, while underweight women can experience disruptions in menstruation and ovulation.
   
   
2. Monitor which foods you eat. Healthy, more slowly digested carbs such as whole grains, beans and vegetables are better than more quickly digested white bread, potatoes and sweets in keeping blood sugar and insulin levels in check. Eliminating trans fats and replacing some of the meat on your plate with proteins such as beans and nuts can also be beneficial.
   
   
3. Watch what you put into your system. Caffeine has been linked to reduced fertility and increased risk of miscarriage, and smoking and recreational drugs can also be damaging. Alcohol intake should be limited.
   
   
4. Be careful of certain supplements. While a daily multivitamin will ensure your body has enough of many essential nutrients, herbal supplements and prescription drugs should be reviewed with your fertility specialist to ensure they are not interfering with conception.
   
   
5. Stay in shape. Exercise is an important part of overall fitness and reducing stress. But, overly strenuous exercise can actually lower sperm count and stop ovulation. As a rule, 30 minutes of daily exercise is beneficial.
   
   

For more healthy tips, visit the RHS website.