At Zouves Fertility Center, we help patients build the family of their dreams on a daily basis—and yet for me, it never gets old. I’ve been doing IVF for more than thirty years now. ZFC was proud to take part in the birth of more than 200 babies in 2014. I know from personal experience what a gift it is to become a father and I know that for each family, this birth is a little miracle.
It’s undeniable that we are in the middle of an IVF boom. Celebrities like Giuliana Rancic and Nicole Kidman are openly sharing how IVF played a role in their journey to motherhood. Meanwhile, tech giants Apple and Facebook are breaking new ground with their support of employees who want to stop the biological clock by freezing their eggs.
Indeed, more and more women are using IVF than ever before. The latest report from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology found that a record 61,740 babies were born as a result of IVF efforts in 2012.
The landscape of IVF has changed dramatically in the last few years. Along with a quantum leap in reproductive technology, we’ve adopted a much more holistic approach to boosting fertility. More than ever before, the power is in the hands of the patient to control their own reproductive destiny and to create the family they’ve always wanted.
What sets Zouves Fertility Center apart is our belief in combining Maximum Science with Optimum Health. This means that we are passionate about offering our patients the latest in cutting-edge reproductive technology while harboring a deep respect for the mind-body connection and the power of nutrition and stress reduction.
First, we have some unprecedented new numbers to share with you. Using Comprehensive Chromosomal Screening (CCS), we can now achieve a 70% chance of pregnancy with a single normal embryo. This also means the risk of multiple pregnancies has all but disappeared. After three decades of IVF, I never believed I would see results like this. CCS is an absolute breakthrough. It gives patients the ability to analyze all 24 chromosomes for abnormalities, and choose only the healthiest embryos for transfer.
Additionally, Egg Freezing is emerging as “The Great Equalizer” between the sexes— allowing women to stop the biological clock and store their eggs in their healthiest, most fertile years. While many clinics are just now jumping on the bandwagon, Zouves Fertility Center has been a pioneer in Egg Freezing for more than six years now. We were early adopters of the latest technology.
A woman is born with all of the eggs she will ever have. Starting in puberty and ending in menopause, a woman will recruit anywhere between 10-30 eggs each month. As a woman ages, not only does the number of eggs dwindle, but the actual DNA begins to degrade. This leads to an overall decline in egg quality.
With the previous “slow freeze method” of freezing eggs, only 6% of eggs would survive the freezing and thawing process. Today, with Egg Vitrification, more than 90% of eggs survive the freezing and thawing process. ZFC is proud to be a leader in Egg Vitrification, and we are the only IVF program in the country with a CAP-accredited molecular pathology lab.
Almost one in six couples face infertility and by the time many patients come to us, they’ve been through years of trying to conceive and years of heartache. We know that no two patients are the same and that each treatment plan must be tailored to each unique case. Undergoing fertility treatments is very similar to training for a triathlon: one has to be mentally, physically and spiritually strong. ZFC believes in the mind/body connection, reducing stress and promoting overall quality of life during this process.
In preparing to have a baby, a healthy eating plan is one of the simplest lifestyle changes that will have the greatest impact on success. I’ve been astounded by the positive results some patients have seen cycle-to-cycle after committing to an anti-inflammatory, organic, gluten and dairy-free diet. It is important to try to eat a diet comprised of at least 30% protein (which can be in the form of nuts, meat, fish and grains.) We also guide our patients on which specific vitamins are essential to boosting their fertility and overall health.
Traditional Chinese Medicine has been practiced by almost a quarter of the world’s population for 5,000 years, with evidence of treatments for infertility dating back to 11AD. We support our patients in doing yoga, meditation and in using traditional herbs. We work closely with many of the best acupuncturists in the Bay Area, who specialize in reducing stress and boosting fertility during each cycle.
What makes my job so exciting is seeing my patients face-to-face every day, and helping them achieve a miracle that I know will change their lives forever. I feel truly privileged to be a part of offering such truly revolutionary technology to our patients, along with supporting them in optimizing their health for the best possible results. If you’d like more information, you can find us at www.goivf.com.
