About SGF

Have Heart, Share Hope

For more than a decade, Ferring has been providing parents who struggled with infertility the opportunity to win up to $10,000 toward their child’s education by sharing their stories to encourage hope and positivity. Earlier this year, Ferring called for entries from families across the country to share their fertility stories in support of this year’s Heart to Heart Video Contest theme, “Have Heart, Share Hope.”

A panel of judges then selected five finalists, and those five videos were voted on by the online viewing public who selected the eventual grand prize winner. Each of the five finalists received a $4,000 educational grant and the winner received a $10,000 educational grant.

This year, Shady Grove Fertility is thrilled to announce that both the Murphy-Glickman Family as well as Heather and Brandon Behlendorf, former Shady Grove Fertility patients, were selected as finalists in the Ferring Heart to Heart Video Contest.

The Murphy-Glickman’s Journey

Emily Murphy and Adam Glickman were determined to have children despite two failed in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles. Given their circumstances, they were advised to consider using a donor but their physician, Dr. Jeanne O’Brien of Shady Grove Fertility’s Rockville, MD, location wanted to try one more cycle. That lucky third cycle changed their lives forever when Dr. O’Brien showed them not one but two heartbeats on an ultrasound. Today, they are the proud parents of twins, a boy and girl.

“It’s important to us to share our infertility experience with others. Too often infertility is something couples face in silence, unaware of how common it really is,” said Emily Murphy. “We want to tell couples who face these kinds of issues, you’re not alone, we did it, and you can too.”

The Behlendorf’s Journey

For Heather and Brandon Behlendorf, after nine failed treatment cycles and 8.5 years of trying, they knew that their 10th would be there last. Fortunately, their persistence and hope that one day their dreams would come true paid off and they welcomed twin boys. As for the contest’s educational grant award, Heather said it will start young Josh and Eli’s college funds. “College is a long way off but we are sure it will arrive faster than we expect!”

Dr. Jeanne O’Brien says the two finalists represent the wide range of patients who receive care at Shady Grove Fertility. “Each couple had unique circumstances that we were able to overcome with treatment and pharmaceuticals from companies like Ferring. Their videos highlight the unique power of hope.”

The Behlendorf’s physician, Dr. David Saffan of Shady Grove Fertility’s Annandale, VA location, commented, “While so many couples struggle with infertility, it sadly remains a topic largely kept in the shadows. I am so proud of our patients and all of the participants and finalists whose videos shine an important light on the power of persistence in overcoming infertility.”

• Click here to watch the videos from all five finalists

For more information about the Ferring Heart to Heart Video Contest or if you would like to schedule an appointment with one of our 35 physicians, please call our New Patient Center at 1-877-971-7755 or fill out this brief form.

With one in 8 couples experiencing infertility, Shady Grove Fertility, the nation’s largest fertility practice, will host a Spring fertility education series to advise the community about overcoming infertility, treatment options, and preserving fertility through egg freezing.

Shady Grove Fertility is committed to raising awareness and educating patients and prospective patients with an in-depth fertility education before undergoing clinical care. Armed with credible, reliable information, men and woman can make more informed decisions about whether to pursue treatment.

Spring 2016 Fertility Education Series

As part of this ongoing effort, Shady Grove Fertility will be hosting 15 free informational events online and throughout the DC metro, Baltimore metro, Northern Virginia, and Philadelphia metro regions during the month of April covering topics from infertility basics, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and donor egg treatment, financial options, and egg freezing. During these live events, physicians present on the common causes of infertility, treatment options and success rates, and factors that should be considered before pursuing treatment. Attendees will also have the opportunity to engage in a question and answer panel with the physician presenter, one of the 34 reproductive endocrinologists within the Shady Grove Fertility practice, at the conclusion of the presentation.

Naveed Khan, M.D., of Shady Grove Fertility’s Leesburg, Virginia, office, who will be hosting the Fertility Options Seminars on April 7^th in Leesburg, VA shares the benefit of education through these events: “For many patients, not being able to conceive can affect a couple emotionally and physically,” says Dr. Khan. “Learning more about fertility through events like seminars and webcasts can give people the information they need to take the necessary steps to build their families.”

Find An Event in Your Area

Date    |     Location    |     Topic 
April 5 | Rockville, MD | Fertility Options
April 6 | Online | Fertility Q&A
April 7 | Leesburg, VA | Fertility Options
April 12 | Washington, D.C. | Egg Freezing
April 14 | Online | Weight and Fertility
April 14 | Online | Donor Egg Treatment
April 19 | Online | Egg Freezing
April 20 | Online | Financial Options
April 20 | Towson, MD | Egg Freezing
April 21 | Online | International Donor Egg
April 21 | Chesterbrook, PA | Fertility Options
April 21 | Towson, MD | Fertility Options
April 23 | Hagerstown, MD | Fertility Options
April 26 | Online | Getting Started
April 28 | Reading, PA | Fertility Options

For all seminars and webcasts in the spring 2016 fertility education series, interested parties must register to attend. For more information about our infertility education series or to schedule an appointment with one of our physicians, please speak with one of our New Patient Liaisons at 1-877-971-7755 or click here.

“When you stand and share your story in an empowering way, your story will heal you and your story will heal somebody else.”
― Iyanla Vanzant

Some of the most influential people in the Shady Grove Fertility community aren’t the physicians, nursing team, or staff. It’s you, our patients. As a former or current patient, you have a unique opportunity to help and raise awareness for the one out of eight couples struggling with infertility because you have experienced it. You know the emotions that can accompany not knowing where to go, when to get started, how to keep going, or what to expect. Your fertility story is unique and more valuable than you might realize.

What we have learned over the past 25 years and 40,000 babies born is that one the most valuable assets for our patients is community. Having a community of hope and a legion of encouragers—even who just validate that you are not alone in this struggle—as many of you already know, can sometimes make all the difference in someone’s experience. Who better to learn from than someone who has walked in your shoes?

This community is built by our patients who are open about their fertility story and struggles in order to help others experience the dreams they, too, at one point thought were impossible. We have hundreds of brave patients who have courageously shared their story, some on our website, others on a national level, such as Yunis’ and Andrea and Sandi.

The Yunis Family Fertility Story

The Yunis family joined the SGF family this past year, and their story has touched thousands of people.

After being diagnosed with unexplained infertility, and then male factor infertility, the Yunis family decided to share their experience with the Washington Post Magazine. They never realized the impact it would have on the people around them.

Looking back, the Yunis’ still marvel at the impact sharing their story made. People started sharing their own fertility struggles with them. Stephen, who, like so many men, hadn’t been able to discuss his condition with friends and coworkers, was suddenly a source of support. When one of his coworkers underwent fertility treatment, Stephen was a shoulder to lean on and a much-needed sounding board.

Andrea and Sandi’s Fertility Story

The same thing happened for Andrea and Sandi. The support they found through each other became a bond stronger than they ever imagined, changing both of their lives.

A few years after Andrea started trying to have a baby she discovered that she had polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Going through fertility treatment was difficult for Andrea, so after some encouragement from her husband, Mark, she decided to seek support on the Shady Grove Fertility Facebook page. Andrea quickly connected with a woman named Sandi. Sandi and her husband, Philip, were also patients at SGF and happened to live close to Andrea and Mark. The women decided to meet for dinner and became fast friends, supporting each other through their treatment, and finally to the news that Andrea and Mark were pregnant with twins. Sandi was ecstatic for her friend, even through her failed cycles, and the two continued to grow closer and closer.

Shortly before the birth of Andrea’s children, Sandi was told that in order to become a mother, she would need a gestational carrier. Sandi shared this news with Andrea, who immediately offered to be Sandi’s gestational carrier.

Sandi and Andrea’s story of friendship and courage has been shared nationally, on NBC’s Today Show as well as locally in the Herald Mail, but it is just one of the thousands of stories that happen here at Shady Grove Fertility.

The courage to share your story doesn’t just impact your own life, it can inspire, heal, and free others in a way you never thought possible.

To share your story, fill out this brief form and to read all of our patient stories, or to search for a specific story about a diagnosis, visit this page. For more information or to schedule an appointment with one of our physicians, please call our New Patient Center at 888-971-7755.

Almost a decade ago, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman declared that the world is flat, meaning technology and communication were successfully creating a world where quality of life would be equal. With emerging parity of technology and ability to communicate globally in mind, US News’ Anna Miller sought to answer the question, “Should you travel abroad for IVF?” Our very own Robert J. Stillman, M.D., Shady Grove Fertility’s Medical Director Emeritus, weighs in on important considerations as you contemplate traveling outside the United States in order to afford fertility treatment.

Shady Grove Fertility Practices Stepped Approach to Care                                               

While medical care in the United States has been considered the gold standard in all areas for more than a century, Miller begins with the story of a California couple who after multiple unsuccessful attempts to become pregnant with the low-tech treatment intrauterine insemination (IUI) and then in vitro fertilization (IVF), eventually found themselves considering adoption from a foreign country. Many couples who undergo treatment at Shady Grove Fertility will certainly find this treatment protocol (IUI followed by IVF) familiar. We believe in a stepped approach to care, typically beginning treatment with less complex protocols involving medication and timed intercourse or IUI, for example, and only progressing to more advanced options such as IVF should the need arise.

Stillman Advises, Consider the Risks

For this California-based couple, after 3 years of unsuccessful treatment, adoption seemed the best option so they began to search online. At some point they happened upon a fertility center in the Caribbean that seemed to meet all their needs to continue fertility treatment, including cost of travel and lodging. According to the CEO of Patients without Borders, approximately 5 to 7 percent of the 1.2 million Americans who travel abroad for medical care are utilizing advanced procedures like IVF. In this couple’s case, the center they chose appears to have a high rate of successful pregnancies and positive endorsements online from previous patients.

Marcia Inhorn, an author and professor of international affairs and anthropology tells US News, “Medical care in the U.S. is so expensive that people feel like, to access it, they have to go to what we used to call ‘developing countries.’” Inhorn compared an average cycle of IVF in the U.S. (approximately $15,000) to the cost in India (about $3,000) and Thailand ($6,800). While the p and success rates seem alluring to patients, Robert J. Stillman, M.D., Shady Grove Fertility’s Medical Director Emeritus, expressed caution, “You’re not talking about defective footwear that you can get less expensive elsewhere or online,” he says. “You’re talking about your health and perhaps, in this case, your child’s health.”

The Research Can be Misleading When Trying to Afford Fertility Treatment

While the article describes the ease of fertility treatment in Barbados, including details of the affordable Airbnb house, inexpensive flights, and warm staff, there are very good reasons to stay stateside for fertility treatment. Judith Daar, a professor at Whittier Law School and the University of California-Irvine School of Medicine and chair of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s ethics committee, warns that Americans might not have access to accurate success rates and quality of care in certain countries and “they also may not be told about procedures’ risks and benefits and may not have as much legal protection abroad should something go wrong.”

Other concerns include language barriers, different standards for needle use and reuse, counterfeit medications, not to mention potential complications that could arise. With all the potential for harm, Dr. Stillman explains the dilemma for couples who desperately want to build their families: “Anyone who thinks these couples are doing [infertility treatment] without great anxiety, great concerns, without great thought, are doing those couples a disservice. But there really is a buyer beware.”

Communication is Key

Besides scouring the internet and ensuring all the accreditations and success rates are correct, every expert interviewed strongly encouraged patients considering going abroad to communicate thoroughly and often with the center’s staff and physician, previous patients, and the stateside physician, regardless of if they can afford fertility treatment. The U.S. doctor can help facilitate gathering all the medical records and will be better able to care for the patient upon their return if they are included in the process. Dr. Stillman assures readers that they should not worry about offending their American doctor if they decide to travel abroad, “the goal is to help facilitate individuals or couples having a family. If a couple can avail themselves of care elsewhere, it’s the ethical responsibility of the [U.S. providers] to support that or participate in that or not block it – to say the very least.”

Trust Your Instinct

Even the most well researched and most informed couples should remember that if they feel any trepidation, they should feel free not to proceed even if they can afford fertility treatment. For couples whose fertility journeys have taken them to foreign countries, it can be extraordinarily difficult putting a halt on treatment once they’ve arrived. Dr. Stillman notes, “Cross-border reproductive care can be a blessing, or it can lead very, very far down a tragic rabbit hole.”

The Benefit of Seeking Care in the United States

While the cost and potential success rates can seem enticing for patients considering fertility treatment, there are many benefits to seeking care in the United States. Organizations such as the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) enforce rules and regulations for communicating success rates and pregnancy rates, and other regulations that act to protect prospective patients and fertility centers. Furthermore, local fertility centers, such as Shady Grove Fertility, highly prioritize patient care and satisfaction, as well as facilitate easier access to care through a variety of financial programs so couples can afford fertility treatment. In fact, Shady Grove Fertility participates with over 30 insurance providers and has many exclusive financial programs that make treatment more accessible and more affordable.

If you would like to learn more about Shady Grove Fertility’s exclusive financial programs that make affording fertility treatment more accessible, or to schedule a consultation with one of our 34 reproductive Endocrinologists, call 888-761-1967 or click to schedule an appointment.