Weight is a sensitive subject for everyone, but for those trying to conceive, it is important to review and understand its impact on fertility and pregnancy. Being either underweight or overweight can make it more difficult to get pregnant, decrease success rates with fertility treatments, and lead to complications in pregnancy. However, you can optimize your chances for a healthy baby by learning more about the impact weight can have on fertility and taking steps to reach a healthier weight.

Dealing with infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss have been compared to dealing with chronic disease and even cancer. Similar feelings of frustration, isolation, and questions like ‘Why me?’ surround these conditions, but the reactions from friends and the support provided can be different. As a society, we know what to do when someone gets cancer – we have meals to organize and flowers to send – but people suffering with recurrent pregnancy loss often suffer in silence. Most miscarriages are in the first trimester, before people are physically showing pregnancy and before they announce it publicly.

Preparing for your first visit with a provider to discuss recurrent miscarriage can be stressful. You are meeting someone new who may or may not be compassionate, you’re going to have to talk about the miscarriages, you’re nervous they are going to tell you something scary, and so on. Being prepared for what to expect and taking a list of questions with you can decrease your anxiety and make the visit more productive. Here's how to prepare for your visit.

It was supposed to be a simple procedure, taking less than an hour out of my day and a week away from work. Weeks later, I am back at work – not yet fully recovered but forever changed… for the better.

If you’re planning to see a fertility doctor, you’ll get the most out of your visit if you come prepared. Discussing issues like egg quality, sperm count, timing sex, and treatment options can leave anyone feeling a little dazed and confused. And getting started on the right foot will make what can be a stressful, confusing process go much more smoothly. This list of questions is a great thing to take along with you to your next visit—and don’t forget to bring something to take notes with!

In September 2016 NPR broke a story about gene editing of embryos that caused quite a stir in academic, ethic, and multiple media circles. NPR was the first to tell us all about Fredrik Lanner, a Swedish biologist at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm who is editing the genes of healthy human embryos. This is not the first or the last time we will hear about science experiments on human embryos, but this story really hit a nerve in the scientific community. Here’s what happened.

As a recurrent pregnancy loss specialist, part of my job is to talk with my patients about their emotional as well as their physical well-being. Having a miscarriage can be an isolating and devastating experience, and when many of my patients come in, they are in the middle of grieving a recent loss. They describe the strain this can place on relationships with friends and family—people can unintentionally be hurtful when trying to be supportive. Many of my patients start to feel isolated from their family and friends, which is unfortunate, because going through a miscarriage is one of those times when people need support more than ever.

Michael Phelps won his 23rd gold medal in the Rio Olympics in 2016, and Katie Ledecky broke world records in multiple events, leaving the rest of the world’s greatest swimmers in her wake. The success of the world’s elite athletes is not only due to drive, determination, practice and persistence, but also to physical and genetic traits that allow them to crush their competition. As a fertility specialist, I talk about genetics every day with my patients and here are my answers to many common misconceptions.