Show 1119: What Can You Do to Facilitate Fertility?

Chances are you know someone who has had difficulty conceiving a child, though you may not be aware of their struggle. Modern medicine has a lot to offer couples who are having trouble with fertility. Men with low sperm counts and women with endometriosis can often be treated successfully. Both intrauterine insemination and in vitro fertilization are tools that can be used to help a couple conceive.

The Fertility Doctor:

Dr. Rebecca Flyckt has focused her practice on fertility preservation. She explains the conditions that can interfere with conception and how they can be addressed. What role does polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) play? How about lowered sperm counts?

The Heartbreak of Infertility:

Cathy Quillet is a marriage and family therapist who has worked with couples facing infertility. She has personal experience with the emotional toll infertility can take on both partners and on their relationship. Sometimes well-meaning friends and family members can make very hurtful comments to people in this situation. What can you say or do that will be helpful rather than harmful?

This Week’s Guests:

Rebecca Flyckt, MD, FACOG is a board-certified OB/GYN with subspecialty training in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. She earned her medical degree from Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, California. She then returned to her native city of Cleveland to complete residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University Hospitals of Cleveland followed by fellowship training in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Flyckt is Director of the Fertility Preservation and Cancer Program at the Cleveland Clinic. The photo of Dr. Flyckt is courtesy of the Cleveland Clinic.

Cathie Quillet, LMFT, has been working with couples for years as an independent marriage and family therapist. Unable to have children, Quillet is familiar with all of the complexities of the infertile journey. Not Pregnant: A Companion for the Emotional Journey of Infertility is a compilation of tough lessons she learned and what no one warns you about when standing face-to-face with infertility. In addition, Quillet collaborated with her ob-gyn, Dr. Shannon Sutherland, to further explain the medical side of infertility.