Infertility Treatments
If you or your partner are having trouble getting pregnant, you’re not alone. Infertility is common among individuals and couples throughout the U.S. and around the world.
Fortunately, medical advances have made it much easier to figure out what’s causing your infertility—and then treat it. And you can get any fertility test or treatment you need from University of Iowa Health Care.
Our reproductive endocrinologists specialize in female and male infertility. We can diagnose and manage any factors that have made it hard for you to conceive, including:
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Problems with one of your reproductive organs, such as a blocked fallopian tube or varicocele (swollen testicular veins)
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Hormone problems that affect your ability to ovulate or produce sperm, including polycystic ovary syndrome and hyperprolactinemia
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Medical conditions such as endometriosis, which can damage the uterus, fallopian tubes, or other female reproductive organs
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Semen abnormalities such as oligospermia (low sperm count) and low sperm motility
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Risk factors such as age, weight, smoking, and alcohol or drug use
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Unexplained infertility
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A history of sterilizing surgery such as tubal ligation
How we approach infertility care
Whether you’re trying to start a family or want a second opinion about your reproductive options, turn to UI Health Care. We’re here to help pinpoint (and remove) any barriers preventing you from getting pregnant.
When you meet with one of our reproductive endocrinologists, you’ll have a thorough discussion about your medical and sexual history. This gives us clues about the cause of your infertility—and helps us choose the right tests.
Some of the items we’ll review include:
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How long (and how frequently) you’ve been trying to get pregnant
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Whether you have (or had) any medical conditions that can impact fertility
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Whether you’ve had any medical treatments that can affect fertility, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy
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If you’ve had problems with menstruation, such as irregular or absent periods
For most patients, the key to getting pregnant is identifying the cause of your fertility challenges. Depending on your medical history, your provider may ask you to have one or more of the following tests:
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Blood tests to check your hormone levels
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A hysteroscopy to examine the uterus
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A hysterosalpingogram (HSG) to look for blockages in the fallopian tubes
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Male fertility tests, including semen analysis
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Minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopy) to check for signs of medical conditions like endometriosis
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Ovarian reserve testing to estimate your egg reserves
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Ultrasound imaging to look for problems with the uterus, ovaries, and more
Once we understand why you’re having difficulty getting pregnant, we can recommend treatments that are most likely to help.
Depending on your needs, you may get all the care you need from our reproductive endocrinology team.
If you need advanced treatments that will improve your chances of conceiving, we may also refer you to another specialist. For example, our reproductive endocrinologists work closely with urologists to address male infertility. As a team, we’ll manage any underlying conditions or issues that are impacting your fertility.
Types of infertility treatments we offer
When we founded the UI Center for Advanced Reproductive Care in 1987, it was the first program of its kind in Iowa. Since then, we’ve become a trusted leader in infertility care.
We offer the full range of infertility treatments, with success rates above the national average. These treatments include:
Our clinical outcomes, including success rates by age and treatment type, are available through the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology.
What to expect
Trying to get pregnant while undergoing medical tests and treatments can feel overwhelming. But with UI Health Care, you’ll have a partner to guide you through each step of the process. Plus, counseling is readily available and offered throughout your infertility treatment.
Your treatment plan will be based on several factors. These include your age, medical needs, and whether you’ve tried infertility treatments in the past.
If you have several options to choose from, we’ll help you decide where to start. Before moving forward, we’ll make sure you understand:
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How each treatment works
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The risks and benefits of each option
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Possible complications or undesired outcomes
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The average success rates
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Which treatments your health insurance provider is likely to cover, and which ones you may need to pay for yourself
Whenever possible, we use a stepwise approach to treatment. In other words, we start with the simplest and least expensive option.
If you don’t get pregnant after a reasonable number of attempts, we try a different option. And we save the most complex (and often the costliest) treatments for last.
Who should see a reproductive endocrinologist?
If you haven’t gotten pregnant within a couple months of trying, don’t lose hope. For some people, it just takes a little longer to conceive.
However, you should consider scheduling a consultation with an infertility specialist if:
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You’re under age 35, and haven’t gotten pregnant after trying regularly for a year
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You or your partner are 35 or older, and haven’t gotten pregnant after six months of trying
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You have irregular menstrual cycles
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You or your partner are over 40
Additional options for building your family
We also offer services for people who are unable to carry a pregnancy or have concerns about their future fertility.
These include:
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Using a donor: We offer access to donor eggs, embryos, and sperm.
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Surrogacy (gestational carrier services): Another woman carries and gives birth to your child that was made using your egg. This is an option for people who can’t get pregnant because they have certain medical conditions (or don’t have a uterus).
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Fertility preservation: We offer egg freezing, embryo freezing, sperm freezing, and other services to people who want to someday have children. This is an ideal option for people who need medical treatments that could cause infertility. It’s also an alternative for people who aren’t ready to start a family now, but plan to when they’re older.