Fertility
Exploring your options to build your family.
St. Luke's University Health Network works with couples to achieve healthy pregnancies by trying to figure out the infertility’s root cause. Then, we can work together to fix it. This may take some time, involve several tests and lab work and require trial and error. And sometimes, our best efforts might still result in more invasive measures. But we pledge to help you figure out what's causing your infertility and then help you address it.
Evaluation process
Couples will usually want to consider an evaluation for infertility after 12 months of trying to conceive for women under 35 and after six months if older than 35. Our physicians and staff are trained in guiding patients through diagnostic testing, which may include:
- History, physical and pelvic exams
- Blood tests to determine hormone levels, ovulation function and ovarian reserve
- Semen analysis
- Pelvic ultrasounds and X-rays to check the quality of the fallopian tubes
Additional testing will be performed based on these results to continue to determine the cause of the couple's infertility.
We are happy to work with couples to not only treat infertility but to understand the cause of the problem.
Reproductive endocrinology
St. Luke’s University Health Network OB/GYNs partner with well-regarded and skilled reproductive endocrinologists to provide specialized treatments, such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Together, they will identify the factors involved in your infertility and select the appropriate methods to treat them.
Surgical options
Diagnostic laparoscopy or minimally invasive surgery can be helpful in the infertility evaluation of women with a history of endometriosis, fibroids, chronic pelvic pain, pelvic inflammatory disease or ectopic pregnancy.
Limited data suggests surgical interventions for these conditions improve fertility. Many women will go on to become pregnant after the removal of fibroids in the uterus or adhesions and endometriosis in the pelvic cavity.
