Secondary Infertility is when a couple has difficulty conceiving or carrying a pregnancy to term after successfully having one or more children without medical assistance.  It’s more common than people realize, and it’s emotional – patients feel frustrated, isolated and confused.

LISTEN to Dr. Leondires discuss Secondary Infertility ON-AIR with Conceive Magazine's Voice America

 

·      Primary infertility is when a couple faces challenges with their first pregnancy; secondary infertility occurs with couples who are trying to have another child after their first. 

 

·      Over 3 million Americans encounter secondary infertility, which is more common than primary infertility and yet people are less likely to seek treatment.

 

·      There are solutions that work.  We believe in individualized, comprehensive patient care. We work with each patient individually to create a custom fertility treatment plan that may additionally include a variety of RMACT’s other patient services such as support groups, couples counseling, in-vitro fertilization (IVF) financing, yoga classes, advice from a nutritionist and acupuncture.

 

·      Couples assume that if they were able to get pregnant once, they should be able to conceive again. However, everyone’s bodies changes with time, which is a key cause of secondary fertility.

 

·      Like primary infertility, secondary infertility is a result of a variety of causes. 

 

o   Natural age related decline in fertility

o   Decline in sperm counts in men

o   Development of irregular menstrual cycles

o   Surgery (even C-section) that has led to tubal damage

 

If you would like more information or to schedule a consultation call (800) 865- 5431.

 

RMA of Connecticut fertility clinic staff are receiving many inquiries into the proper guidelines for both the flu shots and the H1N1 shots for pregnant women and/or those trying to conceive.  To  provide easy access to this information we have posted the guidelines here and on our fertility clinic homepage

Following are policy guidelines issued in a joint statement issued by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday, October 18, 2009:

Complications from influenza can cause serious illness and even death in pregnant women.  Pregnant women with 2009 H1Ni influenza have higher rates of hospitalization and death than the general population.  As a consequence, fertility clinics should encourage patients planning pregnancy to be vaccinated for both seasonal influenza and 2009 H1N1.  for now, certain areas may have 2009 H1N1 vaccine available only for those in the initial target groups (pregnant women, caregivers of infants < 6 months through 24 years, and people aged 25 through 64 with high risk medical conditions).  Thus, women who are planning a pregnancy may need to wait for a few weeks until more vaccine is available.

Women who become pregnant should receive the vaccine as soon as it is available.  Pregnant women and women anticipating planning pregnancy should also get the seasonal influenza vaccine.  Women who are pregnant should receive the inactivated vaccine (the flu shot), not the live vaccine (nasal spray).  Women who are planning a pregnancy, and have no pre-existing medical contraindications, can receive the live vaccine (nasal spray ) up to one month before conceiving, or the inactivated vaccine (the flu shot) at any time before conceiving.

A special area of CDC's website (http://www.cdc.gov/H1N1flu/) is devoted to additional guidance or information about 2009 H1N1 influenza for clinicians, public health officials and health care consumers.  In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services maintains a comprehensive series of materials and resources at www.flu.gov

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
1600 Clifton Rd., Atlanta GA  30333, USA
800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) or TTY: (888) 232-6348
cdcinfo@cdc.gov