To determine the cause and treatment of infertility, we consider the medical history of both the man and the woman. We ask about past illnesses, allergies, occupation, previous treatments… even the health of relatives.

At every visit, we always ask women about the first day of their last menstruation, as all examinations and treatments must be tailored to this. Please make sure to note this date and have it ready for your visit with us.

Without ultrasound examination, a gynecologist can hardly treat patients today. Even more so, ultrasound is indispensable in infertility treatment, especially in in vitro fertilization.

With us, you will see on a large screen the same image the doctor sees on the ultrasound device. After a short time, you will know for yourself what is on the screen – that the black area is fluid, what a follicle on the ovary looks like, how the endometrium in the uterus appears, and more.

In the future – we hope that with us you will also be able to see how a developing embryo looks in the uterus and how its heart is beating. 🙂

Although medical history and ultrasound examination clarify much, certain analyses still need to be performed using blood tests. We examine the thyroid, prolactin, antibodies against syphilis, HIV (AIDS), chlamydia, and for in vitro fertilization cycles also hepatitis – as prescribed by law and decree 422/2008, and other tests as needed.

Given the usually clear ultrasound findings regarding the ovarian reserve, antimüllerian hormone (AMH) testing is performed only occasionally, mainly when we need to confirm that small follicles are most likely not visible on the ultrasound and it is not merely a technical issue with the imaging.

Unfortunately, almost always, the ultrasound findings and AMH results correspond: where the ultrasound does not detect follicles in which an egg develops, AMH also does not detect them.

This examination is somewhat invasive because we need to insert a cannula or catheter into the uterus through the cervix and inject fluid. The fluid then passes through the fallopian tubes – if they are blocked, this can be observed on the ultrasound device.

Checking fallopian tube patency is one of the basic examinations, but sometimes the cause of infertility is already found during previous examinations, allowing us to decide on treatment without verifying tube patency.

This is the first-choice examination when a woman cannot become pregnant.

This male examination is non-invasive, simple, and straightforward, yet it reveals nearly half of the causes of infertility.

If you do not want to obtain a referral from your gynecologist (the examination is covered by insurance for insured men), you can make an appointment with us directly for this test (call the IVF laboratory at 224 987 479) and have it performed at your own expense (see the price list). The examination can even be done anonymously if you consider that important.

Men provide sperm with 2–5 days of sexual abstinence.

The easiest method is to collect sperm in a designated room at our facility, which is equipped with the necessary tools. Alternatively, you can request a special sterile container and deliver the sperm to us within approximately 1–2 hours of collection.

For more detailed information about sperm collection, please contact the laboratory at 224 967 479.

Infertility treatment depends on the underlying cause.

We always aim to treat using the simplest and most natural method.

An important factor in infertility treatment is TIME: each month brings a new chance for pregnancy, but as time passes, the woman ages.

Until the age of 35, the decline in female fertility is small, but it accelerates afterward, and after age 42, the chance of pregnancy in a given cycle is very low. Since many women come after the age of 35, we always take this into account.

We propose a treatment plan and, in agreement with the woman and man, proceed in the following months – i.e., during menstrual cycles.

It is important to note that the chance of natural pregnancy in humans is generally low – only 16–20% per menstrual cycle for women under 35. After 35, the probability decreases even further. This is mainly due to the fact that proper fertilization of the egg does not occur, meaning the chromosomes from the egg and sperm do not combine correctly. On the other hand, if pregnancy occurs, thanks to strong natural selection of embryos early in pregnancy, most children are born healthy.

Eggs are fertilized independently, and embryos implant into the uterine lining independently as well. It is similar to rolling a die in a board game and waiting for a six – that represents the 16% probability. To increase the chance of rolling a six, you can roll two or more dice simultaneously. Similarly, with eggs – when multiple eggs mature in the ovaries using medication, the probability of pregnancy increases. This is the advantage of hormonal stimulation.

However, it can happen that, just like rolling multiple dice, more than one egg fertilizes and implants successfully, resulting in twins or multiple pregnancies. This is always a risk.

Therefore, in most cases, after hormonal stimulation, eggs are retrieved, fertilized, and only one embryo is transferred into the uterus – the other high-quality embryos are frozen for future use for several months or even years. If the woman becomes pregnant and gives birth, the frozen embryos remain stored in our cryobank until she decides to try for another pregnancy.

This method primarily overcomes the barrier of cervical mucus, which can prevent sperm from entering the uterus. It is a simple method, very close to natural conception, with a corresponding effectiveness (about 15% per egg released during ovulation in the ovary).

The prerequisite is a normal or only slightly below-normal sperm analysis. Sperm are processed before insemination and introduced into the uterus in much higher numbers than would naturally occur during intercourse.

Donor sperm can also be used where appropriate.

In the past, the IVF cycle was developed for women who had completely blocked [or removed] fallopian tubes. This obstacle was overcome by retrieving the egg from the ovary and fertilizing it in a test tube [in vitro – hence the name In Vitro Fertilization, or IVF]. Under a microscope, the development of the embryo was monitored, and it was subsequently introduced [expertly transferred] through the cervix into the uterus.

Today, almost half of IVF cycles are performed due to poor sperm analysis using the method of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection [ICSI].

Thanks to ICSI, most men are effectively fertile, instead of about 10 million sperm, only a few dozen need to be found for fertilization.

In an IVF cycle, hormonal stimulation is almost always used to mature several eggs. This increases the chances that at least one embryo will develop well and can be transferred into the uterus with good prospects. During development in the incubator, embryos are monitored, and the best one is transferred. Many embryos, however, stop developing. Therefore, it is advantageous to start the laboratory process with more than just one egg.

By monitoring embryos during development, the embryo we transfer into the uterus leads to pregnancy with a chance of about 40% for women under 35 – compared to only 16–20% for an egg in a natural cycle. This is not because the process in the test tube is better for eggs and embryos than in the uterus, but because we can select those that develop well.