Infertility is a challenging health problem that can affect you physically, mentally, and emotionally.
The fertility and reproductive endocrinology experts at UPMC offer a range of fertility services delivered with compassionate care. We also treat many conditions that affect your reproductive health, such as menstrual irregularities, fibroids, and polycystic ovary syndrome.
Doctors define fertility as the ability to conceive a child. Reproductive endocrinology is the medical specialty that treats infertility.
Reproductive health refers to the well-being of your reproductive system and its function at all stages of life.
Fertility in reproductive health means the ability to become pregnant and sustain that pregnancy.
We treat the full spectrum of male and female infertility. We also treat a wide range of other reproductive and endocrine conditions that may lead to infertility.
These include:
We offer a wide range of fertility and reproductive health services, from in vitro fertilization (IVF) to genetic counseling. Our goal is always to provide compassionate, expert care to anyone struggling with infertility.
Treatment options for infertility can vary widely. At UPMC, we work with you and the possible factors causing your infertility. Based on our evaluation, we customize your treatment for the best possible outcome.
We also offer fertility preservation options for those who may wish to delay parenthood or conceive in the future.
Learn more about each of the diagnostic and treatment options we offer.
It’s important to get a correct diagnosis before moving forward with infertility treatment. At UPMC, we provide individualized testing and a plan of care.
This may include:
We offer services to enable a healthy pregnancy even before you conceive.
We offer preconception counseling to families to achieve the best possible pregnancy outcome. We review six categories that may affect pregnancy.
They are:
When one or both parents carry a known hereditary disease, they may worry about passing those genes along to their children. We offer genetic testing for diseases like cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, and Huntington’s disease.
Several forms of genetic testing allow us to test an embryo before placing it in the uterus via IVF.
We offer several treatments that promote fertility. They may be surgical or involve medication.
Depending on your condition, surgery may be an option in treating infertility. We use the latest technology to help restore fertility.
The procedures we offer include:
Your treatment may include medicines that regulate or stimulate ovulation. Doctors may use these alone or in combination with other methods, such as IVF.
Types of fertility drugs include:
We offer a wide range of high-tech options to assist people with infertility.
Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) include all fertility treatments where eggs or embryos are handled outside the body.
The most common type of ART is in vitro fertilization (IVF). In IVF, doctors remove eggs from the ovaries, combine them with sperm in a laboratory, then return the resulting embryo(s) to the uterus.
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a type of IVF. It’s often used for couples where the main problem is male infertility. Instead of the egg and sperm combining on their own in a culture dish, doctors inject the egg with a single sperm.
For those who need help building a family, UPMC offers the following third party reproductive services.
They are:
You may have a health condition or medical treatment, like chemotherapy or radiation treatments, that affects your ability to get pregnant. Or for personal reasons, you may want to delay starting a family.
UPMC is a pioneer in methods of preserving fertility in people, for whatever reason they choose to delay pregnancy.
Some of these fertility preservation methods include:
Because infertility touches every aspect of your life, we offer counseling services and support groups. You can receive individual, family, or group counseling sessions with licensed social workers.
If you’re under 35, you should see a fertility specialist if you’ve been trying to get pregnant for more than 12 months. For women over 35, wait only six months. If you’re over 40, you should seek immediate evaluation and treatment for infertility.
UPMC is a world-renowned leader in reproductive health care, with a women-focused approach to fertility services. Our doctors provide highly personalized, compassionate care, from evaluation and diagnosis to high-tech fertility treatment.
The couple is always involved in fertility decisions. We take great care to inform you about the details of any treatment, from genetic testing to surrogacy. Our infertility experts also take a team approach, drawing in specialists from related fields when needed.
UPMC is also involved in ongoing research in fertility and reproductive health care. That enables us to have access to the latest procedures and treatments.
Last reviewed by a UPMC medical professional on 2024-09-05.
