A Blog Post for the Men

Jen Hamilton, Lab Manager

Oftentimes the coordinators at RHS get the infamous question: “Why do I have to collect my semen sample in the office and not at home?”

Since we, at RHS, deal with this issue on a daily basis we sometimes tend to forget the embarrassment or awkwardness that our male patients may feel about coming into the office for such an appointment. But there are several reasons that we ask that our male patients collect in the office and one of those reasons is not to torture you!

The only way to check a male for infertility is to collect semen for evaluation. Your semen sample provides valuable other information rather than just a sperm count. Multiple characteristics are studied such as ejaculate volumes, motility, and the ability of the sperm to swim forward. We also have the ability to do additional testing on the semen sample to further complete the diagnosis.

Since sperm motility is highly sensitive to alterations of time and temperature we ask that this semen sample be collected in our collection rooms near the laboratory. This is the main reason that we ask that you collect your semen sample in the office. As a rule, the semen sample is analyzed within one hour of collection. The interval between sample collection and analysis should be as short as possible since motility declines with time. This is especially crucial if the specimen has a low motility to begin with. Also, if further tests of sperm function are to be performed it is critical that the spermatozoa be separated from the seminal plasma within one hour of ejaculation. We also prefer that you collect in the office for identification purposes. We must photo ID you at the time we check you into the collection rooms. We have a big responsibility to ensure that we have the right semen specimen from the right patient at all times. This is another reason that we ask that you collect your specimen in the office.

So, even though you may have anxiety or embarrassment of collecting your semen sample in the office we can assure you that you are not alone. Many of our male patients feel this way! Please remember that you are always welcome to bring any materials from home which may help you during the collection process.

Fertility Awareness Month

Robin Musiak, Executive Director

June has been designated World Fertility Awareness Month by WorldFAM, an international organization that works to raise awareness about infertility. WorldFAM was founded to reduce the stigma that accompanies infertility, providing guidance for men and women who suffer its effects as well as a vehicle for education and information. Approximately one in ten couples have difficulty conceiving, and infertility affects about 6.1 million women and their partners in the U.S. alone. The message of World Fertility Awareness Month is clear: you are not alone. Infertility is a global issue, and it is being addressed on a global scale.
RHS will be wearing flowers this month to honor World Fertility Awareness Month. Our choice was to wear our representative flower, the Gerbera Daisy. The flowers are meant to bring awareness by prompting patients to ask about the flowers, which provide an opportunity for staff to inform and educate patients about the worldwide impact of infertility. RHS is committed to helping every patient to have a baby through treatment and education.

A Success Story from Annette

Annette Machulsky, MA, OI Coordinator

Someone once asked me, “What is an OI coordinator?” After thinking it over I realized that a lot of people may not know what OI stands for. That part is easy, OI stands for ovulation induction. We coordinate ovulation induction cycles, help the physicians educate patients on how their cycles work and help the patients better understand the series of events that need to take place for achieving conception.

There are two OI coordinators currently in our office, myself and Dee Bish. I have been working with Drs. Kubik and Albert for 13 years. I love being able to work closely with the physicians and help patients through the stress and anxiety of undergoing fertility treatments.

Our other OI coordinator, Delinda Bish, LPN has been in the medical field for 14 years and has a lot of experience in women’s healthcare. She recently joined the practice because of her interest in helping women achieve their goal of conception. Dee loves working with our team because she enjoys being involved in the success of making patient’s dreams coming true.

There are many reasons that Dee and I like working with fertility patients. I once had a patient who had a history of pregnancy loss. After coordinating 10 cycles with her, she had 3 chemical pregnancies and another loss. Finally, on her 12th cycle she conceived and successfully had a baby boy! She brought her son in to meet me, and told me that she would never forget hearing my voice the day I told her she had a positive pregnancy test. That is always a truly amazing feeling!

Why We're Here

Dr. Carolyn Kubik, Medical Director

Thanks for checking back for the first installment of Seedlings! Dr. Albert and I started RHS back in July 2000 with the dream of providing individualized, personal fertility care. We hope that this blog will give you the opportunity to understand a little more about the types of conditions that we treat and the holistic approach to fertility that we’re so passionate about. Along the way, we’ll be asking other members of the RHS team to write about what they do and what happens in their departments to give you a glimpse into how the whole team works together towards a single purpose – helping every patient to have a baby.

So a little bit of history about RHS: Dr. Albert and I both completed residencies at Magee Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. I completed a fellowship in reproductive endocrinology at Magee and Dr. Albert completed her fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. After fellowship, we both worked in the academic departments of our training institutions. I opened a private fertility practice in a suburb of Pittsburgh in 1991 and Dr. Albert joined me in 1992. We have been working together since that time. In 1995, we were asked to join the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, but decided to try private practice again and RHS was born on July 1, 2000.

One of the most exciting aspects for me about infertility treatment has been the opportunity to be involved with IVF since close to the very beginning. The first IVF baby was born in 1978, the year I started my residency at Magee. At that time, the human IVF pregnancy rate was only 1.2%. Since that time, pregnancy rates have improved dramatically so that now the chance of pregnancy with IVF is as high as 50% per treatment cycle! IVF has also lead to an improvement in our understanding of human conception – resulting in new and better treatments that are not as involved as IVF.

I rejoice with the successes of our patients and I try to provide consolation to those couples whom I am not able to help. I really enjoy what I do and I feel privileged to work in such a rewarding field of medicine.

A New Journey

Welcome to IVF Pittsburgh, a new blog by the doctors and staff at Reproductive Health Specialists! At RHS, we take a unique, holistic approach to infertility. Check out our blog whenever you get a chance to get updates on what's going on at RHS and the latest news in fertility. Feel free to post your comments and let us know what you think, too!