About drjohnzhang
View all posts by drjohnzhang
New Hope’s In-House Acupuncture for Fertility
Acupuncture in conjunction with In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) has been proven by studies to increase a woman’s chances of getting pregnant by up to 50 percent! National Institutes of Health research has shown a direct correlation between acupuncture and pregnancy. Why is this important? Because New Hope Fertility Center has incorporated an in-house acupuncture service as an integral part of our all-encompassing infertility treatment options. Bottom line: Acupuncture is a useful tool during the practice of the vast array of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) procedures offered at New Hope Fertility Center.
- Timed Intercourse
- Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)
- Conventional IVF
- Mini-IVF™
- Natural Cycle IVF™
Acupuncture Increases Pregnancy Success
Acupuncture is the holistic practice of inserting ultra-thin, sterile needles into the body’s specific trigger points serving as meridians to a woman’s reproductive system. The insertion of needles into one’s reproductive trigger points through specific channels serves to regulate the body’s functions.
What’s the real story? This remarkable Chinese medicine has been used in conjunction with Western medicine for centuries. According to the American Pregnancy Association, acupuncture helps increase a woman’s fertility by alleviating medical conditions preventing her from getting pregnant.
Look: Acupuncture . . .
- Reduces patient stress and produces a calming effect during infertility treatment
- Reduces uterine spasms after embryo transfer
- Improves clarity and overall whole body wellness during infertility treatment
- Improves egg quality – FSH level
- Improves embryo implantation – conception – success
- Reduces chance of miscarriage
Our acupuncture practitioners are skilled in determining a patient’s individual medical challenges in overcoming infertility.Read more: New Hope’s In-House Acupuncture for Fertility
Vitrification Method of Fertility Preservation
Many studies have shown that the vitrification method of cryopreservation increases the chances of pregnancy for women and men opting to preserve their fertility through the several cryopreservation alternatives being offered by New Hope Fertility Center.
What do we offer?
- Egg freezing
- Embryo freezing and Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET)
- Ovarian tissue freezing
- Sperm freezing
Vitrification Method of Freezing
New Hope Fertility Center’s founder and medical director – Dr. John Zhang – pioneered the use of modern freezing method of vitrification. Look: Used by our fertility specialists since 2004, vitrification is an advanced technique designed to increase the chance of a successful pregnancy being achieved through fertility preservation. Vitrification is the rapid freeze method of cryopreservation. Extreme, rapid freezing avoids the formation of harmful ice crystals between cells. Why is this important? The vitrification method increases the chances of pregnancy.
How Vitrification Works
Preparing an egg, embryo, ovarian tissue graft, or sperm sample for rapid freezing via vitrification entails:
- Placement in a high concentration of cryoprotectant solution while at room temperature
- Being directly plunged into liquid nitrogen to immediately drop the temperature in a large number of degrees
- Implementing an extreme rapid rate of thawing to prevent damage to cells
Dr. Zhang’s Division of Fertility Preservation
Our Division of Fertility Preservation was founded with the goal of ensuring every hopeful parent-to-be has a pathway to family planning. Freeze now and preserve your fertility for the future. We provide the most comprehensive, cutting-edge, and reliable 21st Century solutions for fertility preservation. With over 400 live births from cryopreservation technology, Dr. John Zhang has earned his world renowned reputation as a pioneer in the field of fertility preservation.
Fertility Preservation Leaders
New Hope Fertility Center has partnered with Fertility Preservation – founded by leading onco-fertility specialist – Dr. Kutluk Oktay.
Working in tandem with Dr. Oktay, New Hope Fertility Center’s Division of Fertility Preservation is one of the world’s leading providers of:
- Ovarian Tissue Freezing
- Ovarian Transplants
- Ovarian Stimulation for Cancer Patients
- Fertility Preservation for Children Diagnosed With Cancer and Turner Syndrome
Comprehensive Fertility Preservation
New Hope Fertility Center’s comprehensive solutions for fertility preservation are increasingly becoming popular every year. Both men and women are discovering their reproductive options for future family planning.
- Ovarian Tissue Freezing and Transplantation
- In Vitro Maturation
- Infertility Treatments After Chemotherapy
- Post-Mortem Emergency Fertility Preservation
- Medically Indicated Oocyte (Egg) Freezing
- Random Start Ovarian Stimulation
- Pregnancy After Cancer
Women must know all of their options to preserve their fertility for future family planning, including:
- Egg Freezing – Oocyte Cryopreservation
- Embryo Freezing and the Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) process
- Ovarian Tissue Freezing
- Gestational Surrogacy
How World Class IVF Technology Helps Treat Infertility
The latest IVF Technology, ingenuity and standards sets New Hope Fertility Center NYC apart from all other clinics – worldwide. Look: Our patients are our first priority and we strive to provide stellar IVF treatment through a customized, evidence-based approach. Bottom Line: We have designed a cutting-edge environment with the specific goal of maximizing every patient’s chances of having a baby.
World Class IVF Technology
Through our new IVF technology, ingenuity, and high standards of care, every patient receives superior IVF treatment.
- State-of-the-Art IVF Laboratory
- Powerful Air Filtration System
- Controlled and Uncontaminated Environment
That’s not the best part. Our cutting-edge IVF laboratory is designed with a powerful air filtration system supporting the success of our intricate procedures and research. Why is this important? This controlled air system facilitates an uncontaminated environment.
- Highest Medical Standards in the Industry
- Highest Scientific Standards in the Industry
- Highest Academic Standards in the Industry
- Highest Research Standards in the Industry
Read more: How World Class IVF Technology Helps Treat Infertility
How to Treat Anovulation: Ovulation Induction
The key to finally getting pregnant is a correct diagnosis of the problem. Why is this important? Diagnosing anovulation is critical because pregnancy is not possible without the maturation and release of an egg. An anovulatory cycle is one in which ovulation does not occur. Approximately 40 percent of women suffer from anovulation making it difficult for them to get pregnant naturally. Anovulation is diagnosed when a woman’s ovary does not release an egg (oocyte) during her monthly menstrual cycle. Look: Ovulation Induction through IVF stimulates the growth of a single follicle in a woman’s ovary to release its egg.
Causes and Symptoms of Anovulation
When a woman’s ovary does not release an egg during her natural menstrual cycle, the condition diagnosed is anovulation. The goal of ovulation induction is to stimulate the growth of a single follicle to release its egg. Bottom Line: Superovulation – through the administration of fertility medication – to stimulate and grow multiple follicles and release more than one egg during a woman’s menstrual cycle.
Causes of Ovulation Dysfunction – Anovulation
The most common causes of anovulation:
- Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
- Obesity
- Extreme exercise
- Hyperprolactinemia
- Premature Ovarian Failure
- Perimenopause (low ovarian reserve)
- Thyroid Dysfunction (hyperthyroidism)
- Extreme stress
Ovarian Tissue Freezing Basics
Ovarian tissue freezing lets a woman freeze hundreds – if not thousands – of her eggs for future use in family planning. The ovarian tissue freezing procedure is performed by laparoscopy to remove tissue from the outer membrane of a woman’s ovary. Later, this ovarian tissue is re-implanted and regains its function by producing eggs naturally. As a new and cutting-edge method offered by New Hope Fertility Center’s Division of Fertility Preservation – ovarian tissue freezing is growing in popularity for women.
Candidates for Ovarian Tissue Freezing
Ovarian tissue freezing can be performed on very short notice – unlike egg and embryo freezing alternatives. There are many females who should consider ovarian tissue freezing.
- Female children who do not have fully developed ovaries
- Female children or teenage girls who have been diagnosed with cancer
- Women in their prime reproductive years who have been diagnosed with cancer
- Women wanting to postpone motherhood past their prime reproductive years
- Women wanting to donate their ovarian tissue to help women who are unable to produce good eggs
The National Institutes of Health reported that [h]uman ovarian tissue transplantation has resulted in the birth of over 70 children worldwide. Preserving female fertility through ovarian tissue freezing is trending today because it is a proven safe and successful procedure. According to a 2015 study published in the journal of Human Reproduction, 10 out of 32 women facing chemotherapy were able to conceive naturally after undergoing ovarian tissue freezing before cancer treatment.Read more: Ovarian Tissue Freezing Basics
How PGD is Helping to Eliminate Common Genetic Disease
When my patients are known carriers of a genetic disease – a single gene disorder – I strongly recommend Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) testing in conjunction with In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Genetic diseases can be detected through PGD testing of embryos in vitro to eliminate passing on a single gene disorder to a child conceived via IVF.
Eliminate Common Genetic Disease From Being Passed On To Your Child
The most common genetic diseases tested for through PGD in conjunction with IVF are:
- Hemophilia
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Sickle Cell Anemia
- Tay Saches Disease
- Spinal Muscular Atrophy
- Duchennes Muscular Dystophy
- Thalassemia
After a woman’s eggs have been surgically retrieved and fertilized in vitro, developing embryos will be tested upon reaching the blastocyst stage (5 to 6 days after fertilization occurs). Cells are gently removed from each embryo using microsurgery technology. Our expert embryologists then analyze the cells using a probe that is specifically designed to test for a specific gene disorder. PGD diagnoses a genetic defect in an embryo.Read more: How PGD is Helping to Eliminate Common Genetic Disease
Femara for Infertility Treatment
Letrozole – brand named Femara – is an oral superovulation drug commonly used for the treatment of infertility. The specialists at New Hope Fertility Center have decades of education, training, and clinical experience in fertility medication therapy. It can’t be emphasized enough. Having the expertise to know how long a patient should remain on Femara therapy is determinative of pregnancy success.
Look: Here is an overview of how Femara is used.
- To induce an egg to develop and be released in a woman who is not ovulating naturally
- To increase the chances of pregnancy for a woman who can ovulate naturally through superovulation
About Femara
Femara is an oral medication working to block a woman’s production of estrogen. The components making up Femara belong to a classification of medications known as aromatase inhibitors. Aromatase is an enzyme responsible for producing estrogen. Femara works to inhibit aromatase – suppressing estrogen production.
Decreased estrogen production stimulates a woman’s ovaries into growing multiple egg follicles. The pituitary gland produces more of the hormones needed to stimulate a woman’s ovaries into producing multiple egg follicles – FSH and LH.
- Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH)
- Luteinizing Hormone (LH)
These hormones cause:
- Ovulation in women who have diagnosed as anovulatory, or
- Increase in the number of eggs developed in women who have the ability to ovulate
Clomid for Infertility Treatment
Clomiphene citrate – brand named Clomid or Serophene – has long been the first choice oral drug for superovulation in the treatment of infertility. The specialists at New Hope Fertility Center have decades of education, training, and clinical experience in fertility medication therapy. Why is this important? Having the expertise to know how long a patient should remain on Clomid therapy is determinative of pregnancy success.
An Overview of Clomid
Clomid is an oral medication prescribed by our fertility doctors:
- To induce an egg to develop and be released in a woman who is not ovulating naturally
- To increase the chances of pregnancy for a woman who ovulate naturally through superovulation
Clomid is composed of two separate types of isomers:
- Zuclomiphene – 1/3 inert component making up Clomid
- Enclomiphene – 2/3 active component making up Clomid
Clomid works by blocking estrogen receptors in the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. This blockage results in the stimulation of the pituitary gland into producing hormones causing a woman’s eggs to grow in her ovaries.Read more: Clomid for Infertility Treatment
Does Age Affect A Woman’s Egg Quality?
Yes. Age is a real factor when considering a woman’s egg quality when she is undergoing infertility treatment. As she ages past her prime maternal years, the quality of a woman’s eggs begins to decline – precipitously after age 37. A decrease in egg quality and quantity may be the reason behind a couple’s difficulty in conceiving and maintaining a successful pregnancy. Being aware of how a woman’s age can impact her fertility can help couples to make fully-informed decisions about what treatment option is best for them.
A woman in her prime reproductive years – 20s – has as 26 percent chance of getting pregnant with the one natural egg her body produces each month. Don’t despair if you are in your 30s or early 40s. Your quality eggs can still make a healthy baby. A woman is born with between 1 and 2 million eggs – however – she only releases 300 to 400 eggs through each natural ovulation cycle during her lifetime. Typically, a woman only releases one egg per month during her natural cycle. New Hope Fertility NYC’s policy: It only takes one good quality egg to have a healthy baby.
A Synopsis of the Decline in Egg Quality for Women
- Most women reach their peak fertility years between the ages of 23 and 31
- After age 31, a woman’s quality of eggs begins to decline
- 30 years = 20 percent chance of conceiving
- 31 years = fertility levels drop by three percent every year
- 35 years = fertility levels significantly declines
- 40 years = five percent chance of conceiving
One Good Egg Policy
The fertility specialists at New Hope Fertility NYC focus IVF treatment plans on producing high quality eggs – One Good Egg Policy – not a large quantity of eggs. When multiple eggs are produced, many are not suitable for fertilization in vitro and treatment is very hard on patients – physically and financially. Why is this important? Healthy, quality eggs achieve high IVF success rates for even those difficult patients who have been turned away from treatment at other fertility clinics. Bottom Line: For older women to get pregnant successfully through IVF, only one good egg and one healthy sperm is needed.Read more: Does Age Affect A Woman’s Egg Quality?
