Clinical interests
Fourteen educational pages on the areas of reproductive medicine Dr. Shami works in, arranged in the order fertility care usually follows. Each sets out what is involved and its risks and limits, with the evidence behind it.
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- 4
Tests
Finding out what is happening, in both partners, before any treatment.
- Fertility tests for couplesThe tests for both partners, and what they can and cannot show.
- Age and fertilityHow fertility changes with age in women and men, and what tests can and cannot show.
- Male fertilitySemen analysis and the basic tests of male fertility.
- Semen analysis: the test and the reportPreparing for the test, and how to read what the report shows.
- Preconception healthHealth before pregnancy: weight, folic acid, smoking, alcohol, vaccinations.
- Genetic history & testingFamily history, carrier screening and karyotype, and when they matter.
Natural conception
The least invasive routes, where they are realistic.
Assisted reproduction
IUI, IVF, egg freezing and embryo testing: how they work and their risks.
- Intrauterine insemination (IUI)How insemination works, who it may suit, and its risks.
- IVF & ICSIIn vitro fertilisation and sperm injection, step by step, with their risks.
- Egg freezingHow eggs are frozen and used later, what the evidence shows, and the limits.
- PGT-A: testing embryos for chromosome numberWhat chromosome testing of embryos can and cannot do.
- PGT-M for diagnosed genetic diseasesTesting embryos for a genetic condition the family carries.
When treatment has not worked
Repeated implantation failure and pregnancy loss.
What a first fertility assessment usually covers
A first assessment looks at both partners. This is what it usually includes; the fertility tests page explains each test and its limits.
Both partners
A history for each partner, tests of ovulation and ovarian reserve, an ultrasound scan, and a semen analysis.
Earlier reports
Previous test reports, scan reports and treatment summaries help avoid repeating tests.
Timed to the cycle
Some hormone tests and scans are done on particular days of the menstrual cycle.
Findings explained
What is normal, what is not, and what the findings may mean for the next step.
The conditions behind many fertility questions
Four pages describe common conditions that affect fertility and what is known about them, with sources for each.