General

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In February 2009, at age 32, my fertility journey began. My husband and I had been trying to conceive for over a year with no results. So I went in to see my OBGYN. He did some tests which all came back normal and gave me a prescription for Clomid to see if it would help. Needless to say after three months of Clomid and still nothing, I was on my way to Shady Grove Fertility.

I never thought my weight would be an issue…

My beginning weight was 225 in May 2010. I never really thought my weight would be that much of an issue, since I had seen so many people much heavier than me get pregnant with no problems at all.

After meeting with Dr. Simon Kiperzstok, our plan was to try IUI first. Our first cycle in June 2010 was canceled due to a cyst and in July we had our first failed IUI. Dr. Kiperzstok decided our best bet for success would be IVF so we pushed forward.

In September we started our first IVF cycle, which ended with a pregnancy, but unfortunately I miscarried at seven weeks. As you can imagine I was devastated and like most people I am a stress eater and I put on some pounds. We tried IVF for the second time in February 2011 with negative results.

After more testing it was determined I had poor ovarian response/reserve. I wasn’t responding to the medication like most people would. I only had one more IVF attempt covered under my insurance, but four more IUI’s, so we decided to continue with stimulation cycles doing IUI instead of IVF, if my follicle count was low. Well all the IUI’s were failures. I was only producing one to three mature follicles with each cycle.

My hopes of becoming a mother was quickly slipping away. The emotional toll the failed attempts took contributed to the 25 pounds I packed on in a year. With only one IVF attempt left, Dr. Kiperzstok advised me I needed to lose the weight to increase my chances of a successful cycle. So I took a break from stimulation for a few months to try to get the weight off.

Tools for Success – Low Calorie Diet

I have always struggled with losing weight and a friend of mine was having a lot of success with a low calorie diet. I began the diet weighing 252 lbs and in the first week I had lost 5 lbs. I couldn’t believe it! I liked that I saw instant results and that kept me motivated to stick with it. I was also going to the gym one to two times each week doing 30-40 minutes of cardio and a little strength training here and there. After 45 days I was down 30 pounds and ready to start my cycles again.

In July 2012, I started stimulation medication again and to my surprise I produced five mature follicles – the most in over a year! I was excited but also incredibly scared. This would be our last attempt at IVF. The team retrieved five eggs, four of which fertilized. On day 3 we transferred three embryos.

Two weeks later, to my surprise I had a positive pregnancy test. I couldn’t believe it, my prayers had finally been answered. On March 27, 2013, I gave birth to my beautiful daughter, Maybree!

I have already started back on my diet to get rid of the pregnancy weight and hopefully much more this time. Already down 9 lbs!

Dr. Simon Kipersztok sees patients at the Shady Grove Fertility office in Waldorf, MD. If you have been trying to conceive without success and would like to schedule a new patient consultation, please call 1.877.971.7755.

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I started my journey December 27, 2012 during the first consultation with Dr. Simon Kipersztok. During this conversation, he communicated a very strong concern regarding my weight and how it was impacting my ability to ovulate. He offered several options to help me get pregnant, but not until I dropped some weight to make sure it was safe for me to get pregnant.

Finding Weight Watchers

diet diary and fresh fruits – diet and breakfast

Dr. Kipersztok suggested that I join Weight Watchers and see if the program would work for me. When I got home that day after our appointment, while somewhat discouraged, I logged in and signed up for a monthly pass with Weight Watchers and made plans to attend my first meeting on January 3, 2013.

Weighing in at 244.4 pounds at my first meeting on January 3, 2013, removing any weight was such a daunting task. During my introductory meetings, I was taught how to do the Weight Watchers Points program and encouraged to attend meetings each week to keep me motivated. The weight started to fly off and I was amazed. To date, I am 210 pounds and still coming down. It appears that my ovulation has returned on its own without the need for extra help from the doctor, but we are monitoring it to make sure.

The hardest thing about this journey was getting started. I never thought I would look up and see myself at 210 pounds ever again in my life. I was often scared and reluctant to get on the scale at the doctor’s office because I did not want to see how much weight I gained from the last appointment. Now, when I visit the doctor, I ask to be weighed because I like to see my progress!

A Good Team

I am almost 32 years old and have wanted to have a baby for as long as I can remember and never understood why I wasn’t getting pregnant. There have been times during this process where I have been discouraged and just wanting the weight to come off faster, but the good thing about it is, my Weight Watchers leader, Dr. Kipersztok, and Nurse Kristal Lewis keep me focused and motivated to reach my goal.

I reach out to the nurse, Kristal, every week on Thursday when I weigh in to let her know how much weight I have removed for that week and what my current weight is. Kristal shares this news with Dr. Kipersztok and they both share their excitement for my progress. I have never had a doctor and nurse so connected and involved in my life to the point where I feel I must share my goals with them. Dr. Kipersztok and Kristal have truly become a part of this journey with me and are just as important to me as my family as I go through this process to reach my goal.

I am motivated and beyond encouraged. Weight Watchers was and will continue to be the right choice for me. I am thankful to Dr. Kipersztok for the suggestion that truly saved my live and helped me take control of my life. I am looking forward to seeing myself under 200 pounds and continuing on to my goal weight of 141.

If nothing else is taken from my story just understand that it can be done. I am living proof that if you want to change your life for the better and have a baby, just listen to the doctors at Shady Grove Fertility. If you help yourself, the outcome can be so much more precious and fulfilling than you ever imagined!

Dr. Simon Kipersztok sees patients at the Shady Grove Fertility office in Waldorf, MD. If you have been trying to conceive without success and would like to schedule a new patient consultation, please call 1.877.971.7755.

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I will never forget my journey at Shady Grove Fertility. I remember going into the office just thinking my only challenge would be my age and the fact that I had a tubal ligation. Since I had conceived naturally three times prior, I thought this time would be a cinch.

Well during my initial consult, Dr. Simon Kipersztok gave me a shocker: I needed to lose weight because my BMI was over the allowable amount for IVF. That first day I expected to hear anything but “I needed to lose weight.” It was devastating to me. I knew I was overweight but I never thought it would affect my ability to have a child. I mean hey, what’s a few pounds? I see plus size women pregnant all the time! Heck, I had been one three times in the past.

Tameenah1a

Over the next year (yes, YEAR) I struggled with weight loss. Since my goal was only 10–15 pounds, I thought it would be a piece of cake. Boy, oh, boy was I wrong. I would lose a few pounds, then schedule a follow-up. By the time I got to the office, the pounds just magically reappeared! Almost like the scale in the office was permanently registered at “overweight.” I would leave in tears feeling devastated to get turned away once again. Dr. Kipersztok would always smile and just say, “Tameenah, you will get there. Just a little more work to go.” He believed in me more than I did.

Tools for Weight Loss Success

Everyone at SGF was like my own personal cheerleading team. One day while leaving the office I noticed a sign about the SGF Facebook page. I checked it out and started participating. I found out that I wasn’t the only one struggling and realized how losing weight gave other women success. Through the page I gained a sisterhood with women who understood my path. Some of them had either lost weight or needed to lose weight. It was great!

We joined My Fitness Pal online and tracked our daily caloric intake and exercise. I cut back my carbs, started eating six small meals a day, cut out all beverages except for water, started exercising three days a week for an hour and said goodbye to the McDonalds double cheeseburger! There’s also a daily calendar on the SGF facebook page where we post our steps in the infertility journey and cheer each other on. I wanted so badly to have my name posted, so it was a great motivator. And in June 2012, my name was on listed!

When I went into the office, Dr. Kipersztok said I was ready, and I felt like I won the lottery. I had lost the weight. The other “Shady Grove Sisters” (that’s what we call each other on the page) were so excited, it felt great. I was on my way!

So now it seems like Cinderella should get the glass slipper, right? Unfortunately, my first IVF turned into a non-viable pregnancy, plus being on the medications prescribed, I packed on a few pounds. When Dr. Kipersztok spoke with me to discuss my results I said, “Okay, it gives me time to lose some more weight.” I lost additional weight and within 60 days I achieved my miracle! I am now 29 weeks pregnant with a girl rightfully named Journey Semira which translates to ‘Journey Fulfilled.’

Thanks to SGF for encouraging me to change my lifestyle, I am beating the odds. I am in advanced age now with diabetes and hypertension, but have had a completely normal, healthy pregnancy! No complications, no illness, not even morning sickness. My OB told me just two weeks ago how I am one of the best patients to have ever come through.

I will be forever grateful to the staff at SGF for their encouragement and support. Those changes I made — I still keep up today! I don’t even miss that double cheeseburger!

Patient Story Update
After a year of trying, Tameenah gave birth to her daughter, Journey.

Watch Tameenah on NBC4 discuss her journey.

Dr. Simon Kipersztok sees patients at the Shady Grove Fertility office in Waldorf, MD. If you have been trying to conceive without success and would like to schedule a new patient consultation, please call 1.877.971.7755.

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CNN Story Recap: A family from Iowa was looking to grow their family through adoption when they heard about embryo adoption. Intrigued, they looked into the process, and found that embryo adoption would be a perfect match. Knowing that not all the embryos might result in a healthy pregnancy, the couple decided to put back two embryos. Today, the happy couple is pregnant with triplets.

What is embryo adoption?

In some cases, men and women that have gone through the IVF or donor egg process, might have unused embryos after treatment. In which case, there is a decision to make: freeze and save the embryos for future use, discard the embryos, or donate them.

Is embryo adoption really adoption?

No. In most states, adoption only refers to the placement of a child after birth. Legal agreements are established to oversee the process of embryo donation to help protect the recipient parent’s relationship with the child. However, according to Dr. Paulette Browne of Shady Grove Fertility’s Fair Oaks, VA office, “this is solely dependent on the family law and family judges in each state. This could potentially leave the intended parents unprotected if the genetic parents change their minds in the future.”

Does Shady Grove Fertility allow for embryo adoption?

SGF patients that have unused embryos are welcome to donate them if they no longer would like to store them and do not want to discard the embryos.

SGF does not accept the use of adopted embryos in our laboratories. In addition to the potential legal matters, there is significant screening necessary to use donated/adopted eggs, sperm and embryos. Often times, genetic parents won’t go through the appropriate screening because at the point in time in which the embryos were created, they themselves were the intended parents.

Egg donors and sperm donors go through extensive screening to ensure the health of any resulting child as well as the woman carrying the pregnancy.  This screening is required by law.

Would you like to learn more about embryo adoption?

If you are interested in placing your embryos for adoption, please contact the National Embryo Donation Center or Night Light’s Snowflakes® Program.

If you would like to schedule an appointment to discuss your fertility treatment options, please speak with one of our New Patient Liaisons at 877-971-7755.

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Shady Grove Fertility is proud to participate with Glow. Glow aims to change the way fertility care is funded, offering qualified users an insurance alternative for treatment.

What is Glow?

Glow is actually two things: first, it is a free mobile application available for iOS users (iPhone, iPad, etc) offering women the ability to track and provide them with insights about their reproductive health. By having women track their ovulation, Glow will be able to inform women and their partners of their fertility window and their changes of conception. Along with the app, Glow First is a not-for-profit fund that qualified women can elect to participate in. Participants contribute $50 per month over the course of 10 months. This money goes into a pool what will be divided equally amongst any participants who did not achieve a natural pregnancy after 10 months while using the Glow app. Glow’s founder, Max Levchin, formerly of PayPal, has personally donated $1 million to Glow First.

Max Levchin – co-founder and former chief technical officer of PayPal.

“We see so many opportunities to improve the state of health and wellness through data science.” said Max Levchin, executive chairman and co-founder of Glow. “Deeper insights will result in more informed diagnostics and decisions, earlier treatments, and ultimately cheaper, more accessible healthcare. We are excited to be leading this movement.”

How is Shady Grove Fertility connected to Glow?

Glow is working with some of the best physicians and teams in the fertility community – including Shady Grove Fertility. By participating with Glow, Shady Grove Fertility is providing feedback about fertility options, interpreting fertility treatment success rates, etc. Shady Grove Fertility is proud to be working with an organization dedicated to helping increase access to elective healthcare, such as fertility treatment.

“Glow helps women become more informed…”

Every year, approximately five to ten million couples are trying to conceive in the United States, yet only about four million babies are born. There are an estimated seven million women and their partners in the United States with infertility… that is approximately one in eight couples who are facing infertility.

“I left my career on Wall Street and underwent five in-vitro fertilizations, among other procedures, to have my two beautiful children, so I know all too well what it is like to go through fertility treatments. I am thrilled to be a part of a company that is helping people solve hard problems through data, and in this particular case, the problem of infertility,” said Gunce Arkan, a key contributor to Glow. “Glow helps women become more informed about their reproductive health, empowers them with the option to focus on their careers and think about children a little later if they’d like to and is being developed by a team of highly competent people who are single-mindedly focused on overcoming obstacles.”

If you would like to schedule an appointment with a fertility specialist, please speak with one of our New Patient Liaisons at 877-971-7755.

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For the past two years, Shady Grove Fertility, Melissa Esposito, MD and Jason Bromer, MD have been serving patients from Harrisburg and other parts of Pennsylvania, on a part-time basis.  And while it helped that we offered initial appointments and some monitoring locally, everyone kept asking us “when are you opening a full service office?”  We are excited to announce the opening of a full service office in Harrisburg, PA. We will be open five days a week from 7am to 4pm, offering a full range of diagnostic and treatment services.

We want to thank the hundreds of Harrisburg patients who have trusted Shady Grove Fertility to make their dreams come true.  With the opening of the new full service office, now even more patients will have access to top quality care and affordable financial options including the very popular Shared Risk Program, which guarantees the delivery of a baby or 100% Refund and the Shared Help Discount Program, which offers up to 30% discount on treatment.

355 N 21st Street, Suite 301
Camp Hill, PA 17011 (view on map)
For New Patient Appointments, please call: 1-877-971-7755
For Other Questions and Follow-Up Visits, please call: 717-763-1036

The team couldn’t be more excited for our new facility that will enable us to offer a new, more comfortable and convenient environment for patients to visit when they have appointments.

If you are interested in building a family through fertility treatment, please schedule an appointment, or speak with one of our New Patient Liaisons at 877-971-7755.

2026 Shady Grove Fertility

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