<http://schema.org/articleBody>
" Happy Hump Day! (My, how appropriate for this crowd!) We received just one question this week, so the second and third questions were culled from the bulletin board on fertility expert Dr. Arthur Wisot&amp;#039;s website. Juicy stuff! Before we dive in, Dr. Wisot&amp;#039;s disclaimer: &amp;quot;My answers to questions on this blog do not constitute medical advice, but are merely meant to create an educational forum for consumers. It is always best to discuss these issues with your health care provider.&amp;quot; The good doctor&amp;#039;s answers are in bold, below. We&amp;#039;d love to hear from you this week! Question #1: I am 34 and have been trying since March 2007. I have done two IUIs with injectables and got pregnant both times, but miscarried both times. Also had a miscarriage July 2007. I am starting up my treatments again soon. Would you recommend another IUI since it kind of worked each time? I am also thinking of moving ahead with IVF with PGD, to hopefully lower miscarriage risk. I am also going to be tested for recurrent pregnancy loss. Thanks. Answer: I hate when that happens. It&amp;#039;s so frustrating. After three miscarriages it is a good idea to go through special testing to see if there is a reason you repeatedly miscarry. Those would include tests of your and your partner&amp;#039;s chromosomes, your FSH and progesterone levels at the proper time of the cycle, a check of of the inside of the uterus, a culture for ureaplasma and tests for abnormal antibodies and a heredity tendency for your blood to clot when it shouldn&amp;#039;t. After all that, if everything is normal, you and your doctor have to decide whether you should try another IUI with intense monitoring of the early pregnancy or go on to IVF with preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to make sure, as best we can, to select embryos which are presumably have normal chromosomes. Question #2: I recently had IUI done with 2 inseminations. What are the statistics or the likelihood that it will work?  Answer: There are no solid stats for IUI because there are too many variables to create meaningful stats. In general if they are correcting the only problem or just being used to increase your chances when no other problems are evident, meaning that there are not other major fertility factors, you can expect they should work in three cycles. After that it is much less likely to work without further investigation or the addition of fertility drugs. In a couple with unexplained infertility, you can expect about 1/3rd to be pregnant after three cycles of fertility drugs and IUI.  What would cause it not to work? Chance alone or some other factor affecting fertility. Remember that a couple with normal fertility in their 20&amp;#039;s has about a 20% chance of getting pregnant with intercourse or IUI at the time of ovulation. That&amp;#039;s why we recommend a young couple try for a year before seeking help. What positive things allow a better chance for it to work? Just make sure that you have had a thorough evaluation to find other factors so that IUI is the right treatment for you. Question #3: Okay, I just have to ask. Can having orgasms without intercourse cause miscarriage in early pregnancy? Answer: Orgasms are not thought to be a cause of miscarriage. In a naturally conceived pregnancy (non-IVF), we generally do not have any restriction on intercourse or masturbation. Of course, always ask your doctor about you specifically, in case there are any risk factors for miscarriage which would require you join a nunnery for a few weeks.  Even if you have orgasms that occur spontaneously without stimulation, you shouldn&amp;#039;t be concerned: Keep in mind the lengths some women have gone to to try to abort an unwanted pregnancy\u2014without success\u2014and you will realize that an orgasm should have little effect. IVF is different. We do recommend avoidance of intercourse or whatever might lead to an orgasm. That&amp;#039;s because the embryos are put into the uterus in an unphysiologic manner and at an unphysiologic time, making the implantation more susceptible to adverse environmental factors like uterine contractions during orgasm. But again, ask your doctor his/her specific opinion about your activity. For IVFers, do what they told us as young boys to do: play baseball, take a cold shower, and read the beauty pages of Redbook. Well, for us it was Sports Illustrated, but not the swimsuit issue. A closing thought from Cheryl: When I grow up, I want to be one of those lucky girls having spontaneous orgasms! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.redbookmag.com/body/pregnancy-fertility/a4379/wisdom-from-wisot-wednesdays-r/>