If You're Trying to Conceive, Skip the Triathlon. Try Yoga.

Along the same lines as there being no magic to getting pregnant, whether with IVF or without treatment, there's also no perfect exercise that will lead to conception.


But... yoga comes close.


Conception (and pregnancy) have much to do with balance. Not too much of this, and just the right amount of that. Your fitness factors, including your weight and body mass index, flexibility and strength, all play roles in keeping your endocrine system humming along.


Choice of exercise is a very personal thing. You should take several things into consideration when choosing the type, level, and frequency of physical exertion you engage in, whether you're trying to conceive or not. For example, running isn't the safest idea for everyone, but for some, it's perfect. Swimming is great, but not everyone has regular, easy access to a pool. The same could be said of biking.


As this article in The Windsor Star describes, yoga is about more than stretching and posing. If done well, yoga can both strengthen and relax your body, which is a state of being that facilitates hormone health.


You may want to avoid the most rigorous forms of yoga (there are many different versions), including the forms that are taught in studios heated above 90 degrees. And if you can find a yoga instructor who knows specific poses that are good for your reproductive organs, that's a bonus. (Here at Houston Fertility Center, we'll help you find one...)


Remember, you're looking for balance through activity.
Put your dreams of being a triathlete on hold until after the baby comes, but don't shelve your body's need to move and breathe.


~Dr. Sonja Kristiansen MD

Building a Family In Tough Times

The country's economy is struggling so much that women are quite possibly having fewer children as a result. A report published last month by the Centers for Disease Control likens the trend to the Great Depression's fertility rates.

My patients feel the pain. If getting pregnant the old fashioned way is harder now, imagine what it's like to need special fertility treatment in order to have a baby.

In that light, I'm currently offering a big discount on IVF: $7995 through November 30th.

Because Houston Fertility Center has its own state-of-the-art laboratory, I'm able to provide the highest quality reproductive medicine services at more affordable prices. And since this is the time of year when people living in the Houston area are caught between high electric bills (for air conditioning!) and impending holiday season expenses -- it seems like the best time of year to make family-building a reality for so many.

Hang in there!

~Dr. Sonja Kristiansen MD

When Egg & Sperm Don't Hook Up

It's pretty amazing what is still being learned about the most basic points along the conception trail. The big news recently is about a molecule that helps sperm cells bind to egg cells.

Researchers are calling it SLeX, short for sialyl-LewisX. Their study found SLeX on 70% of the 195 unfertilised eggs tested. If your egg cells don't have SLeX, sperm cells won't connect to it for the mating game. The best news: the authors of the study, who came from Britain, Taiwan, and the U.S., believe this discovery might lead to related infertility treatments in only about two years.

But what about in the meantime? While clinical diagnosis of this condition may be a couple of years away, the treatment for women with missing SLex is already available.

Intractytoplasmic sperm injection, or ICSI, is available for patients whose infertility is caused by lack of SLeX, as well as other causes. ICSI is one of assisted reproduction's most fascinating treatments -- a single sperm cell actually being injected into an egg cell. And while it may sound like science fiction, ICSI is no longer experimental. In fact, ICSI's been around for decades now and used with great success in conjunction with IVF. In 2008, staff of Houston Fertility Center had a related poster presentation accepted for that year's meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Our study concluded that patients using ICSI had higher implantation rates.

One of the most incredible uses of ICSI is to treat even the most severe forms of male factor infertility. Since IVF with ICSI requires only one good sperm cell, the treatment has made biological dads out of men who previously had nearly no chance of having offspring.

Developments from our greater understanding of how SLeX can make or break conception attempts might lead to quicker, more direct diagnosis for couples with unexplained infertility. Every little detail makes a difference.

~Dr. Sonja Kristiansen, MD