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🔬 Former embryologist sharing IVF research in simple terms
🌈 All IVF journeys welcome. Hateful comments get deleted/blocked.

16/12/2025

The Uterine Wall of Fame (UWOF) is a collection of real IVF success stories from people who faced tough odds -- low-grade embryos, repeated failures, low AMH, mosaic results, and more.

UWOF #31 is one of those stories!

Diagnosed with premature ovarian failure and endometriosis, went through 10 IVF cycles using her own eggs before finding success with a donor egg embryo. Her son was born in November 2022.

✅ Visit the UWOF to read this full story and others like it (link in the comments, free to access & no subscription required).

💌 Have a story of your own? Can be anonymous or named -- link to the form is in the comments.

⚠️ The UWOF is a project by Remembryo / Embryoman, created to give hope to others going through IVF with challenging situations. These stories are personal, not medical advice. What works for one may not work for all—always check with your doctor before making treatment changes.

𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄-𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔.

15/12/2025

A new randomized controlled trial tested whether adding prolactin and EmbryoGlue to embryo transfer media could improve outcomes after single frozen blastocyst transfer.

EmbryoGlue is a transfer medium containing high levels of hyaluronic acid, a molecule involved in embryo–endometrium interaction. Prolactin is a hormone best known for its role in lactation, but it also has been shown to support implantation.

In this study, live birth rates were higher when prolactin was added to EmbryoGlue (39%) compared with EmbryoGlue alone (32%) or standard media (31%). Implantation rates were similar across groups, but early pregnancy loss was lower with prolactin (5% vs ~13%).

Importantly, this study did something unusual: all of the embryos had their zona (shell) removed before transfer. Most IVF labs don't do this, and it appears to be specific to the clinic that ran the study. Because removing the zona could change how an embryo interacts with the endometrium, it’s not clear if prolactin would have the same benefit in standard embryo transfers where the zona is left intact.

✅ Because of this limitation, I didn’t review it in full on Remembryo, but you can find a link to the original article on RBMO in the comments (abstract only).

✉️ Like this post? Explore more topics and sign up for my free Friday newsletter to stay updated on the latest IVF research (link in the comments).

𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄-𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔.

15/12/2025

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Link in the comments.

11/12/2025

A new review by Caroppo and Eisenberg (2025) looked at many large studies to see whether infertile men are more likely to develop other health issues.

Across these studies, infertile men showed higher rates of some cancers, heart disease, metabolic issues, autoimmune conditions, and early mortality. The risks were even higher with more severe forms of male infertility.

The reasons aren’t clear, but researchers point to immune changes, environmental exposures, and epigenetic differences as possible explanations.

This doesn’t mean infertility causes these conditions, or that infertile men will develop them. The overall risks for these diseases still remain low and most infertile men will never develop these conditions.

The main takeaway is that a fertility evaluation can be a good chance to check for other health concerns, especially in younger men who may not see a doctor regularly. The authors write that "assessing male fertility may offer a window into future health, facilitating earlier intervention and more personalized preventive care."

✅ Check out all the details on the Remembryo, link is in the comments.

✉️ Like this post? Explore more topics and sign up for my free Friday newsletter to stay updated on the latest IVF research (link in the comments).

𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄-𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔.

10/12/2025

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) wrapped up their 81st annual meeting last month, focusing on the latest developments in IVF and ART.

Here's some of the highlights I selected:

➡️ Non-mosaic segmental aneuploid embryos can implant and lead to live births, though outcomes were about half as good as embryos without segmental errors.
➡️ About 28% of U.S. IVF clinics were affiliated with private equity, with that % increasing over the 2011 to 2022 study period.
➡️ G-CSF priming before IVF in poor ovarian reserve patients improved embryo development, increased AMH levels, and led to higher cumulative live birth rates.
➡️ One culture media produced higher euploidy rates than another, potentially due to the inclusion of antioxidants.
➡️ AI assisted embryo selection performed as well as traditional embryo grading based selection for achieving clinical pregnancy.
➡️ 21 aneuploid embryos transferred produced no live births.
➡️ Low level mosaicism involving chromosomes 13, 18, 21, X, or Y led to a 44.7% clinical pregnancy rate and 18 healthy deliveries, with no confirmed chromosomal abnormalities.
➡️ IVF patients who received nutrition counseling had higher numbers of mature oocytes, useable blastocysts, and euploid embryos.

Note that these results come from conference abstracts, which are preliminary and may not yet have undergone peer review.

✅ Check out all the highlights (and links to the original research) on Remembryo, link is in the comments.

✉️ Like this post? Explore more topics and sign up for my free Friday newsletter to stay updated on the latest IVF research (link in comments).

𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤-𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴.

08/12/2025

A new systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated global data on how common endometriosis and adenomyosis are.

These conditions are often underdiagnosed, diagnosed late, or identified only when symptoms become severe, which makes it hard to estimate how common they are.

The authors combined results from almost 200 million women across different countries, finding that endometriosis in the general population occurred at 5% and adenomyosis at 1%. These rates rose to 38% and 31% in patients with infertility.

For adenomyosis, focal and diffuse forms were both common, at 17% and 15%. For endometriosis, ovarian endometriomas had the highest prevalence (13%), followed by deep infiltrating endometriosis (10%) and superficial peritoneal endometriosis (6%).

They also found that these conditions frequently occur together, with adenomyosis appearing in about 42% of people with endometriosis.

✅ I haven't reviewed this one in detail, but you can find a link to the original article on Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology in the comments.

✉️ Like this post? Explore more topics and sign up for my free Friday newsletter to stay updated on the latest IVF research (link in the comments).

𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄-𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔.

04/12/2025

Many women have unsuccessful IVF cycles because their eggs don't mature, fertilization doesn't happen, or embryos arrest and stop developing. The reasons for this are often unclear.

A new study by Changlong Zhang and colleagues introduces the term "oocyte and early embryo competence defects," or OECD, for younger patients who don't produce a transferable embryo due to low egg quality.

The researchers grouped 2,140 women into six patterns based on the type of problem during IVF. Some had no eggs retrieved (empty follicles), some had eggs that failed to mature or fertilize, some had zygotes that did not divide, and some had embryos that arrested before reaching blastocyst. Others had mixed patterns across cycles.

Using genetic sequencing, the team found that 13-23% of these patients had a detectable genetic change. The highest rates were in the empty follicle or zygote arrest groups, while the embryo arrest group was mostly unexplained.

They also found several new genes linked to embryo arrest and showed that each OECD group tends to involve different genes. A small number of patients carried rare changes in two genes at once, which suggests that some cases may come from unusual combinations rather than a single gene.

The hope is that this kind of work will eventually lead to more standardized testing to help identify genetic causes in patients who repeatedly have low quality eggs or no transferable embryos. However, most cases still don’t have a clear genetic cause, which means more research is needed (including studies that look more closely at male genetics).

✅ Check out all the details on the Remembryo, link is in the comments.

✉️ Like this post? Explore more topics and sign up for my free Friday newsletter to stay updated on the latest IVF research (link in the comments).

𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄-𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔.

03/12/2025

November’s IVF Research Roundup is live!

🔹 New study highlights
🔹 IVF news & community Q&A
🔹 71 research study summaries (subscribers only)

📌 Post is free to read — link in comments.

02/12/2025

The World Health Organization released its first global guideline on infertility, urging countries to overhaul how fertility care is delivered. The goal is to make treatment safer, more consistent, and more affordable across health systems.

The guideline lays out 40 recommendations that cover prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. WHO asks governments to integrate fertility care into national health strategies instead of leaving it up to private clinics and out-of-pocket spending.

A major focus in their guidelines focuses on prevention. WHO calls for better public education about fertility, clearer guidance in primary care, and stronger efforts to address risk factors such as untreated infections and to***co use.

The document also highlights the mental and emotional strain of infertility and recommends routine access to psychosocial support throughout care.

“Millions face this journey alone – priced out of care, pushed toward cheaper but unproven treatments, or forced to choose between their hopes of having children and their financial security. We encourage more countries to adapt this guideline, giving more people the possibility to access affordable, respectful, and science-based care,” said WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

✅ Check out all the details on the World Health Organization, link is in the comments.

✉️ Like this post? Explore more topics and sign up for my free Friday newsletter to stay updated on the latest IVF research (link in the comments).

𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄-𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔.

01/12/2025

A new study looked at whether NAD-related molecules in blood and urine differ in women who have had recurrent miscarriages.

NAD helps with cell energy and repair, and changes in this pathway might reflect underlying stress in the body. The researchers compared 88 women and measured NAD and 25 related metabolites across blood, plasma, and urine.

Women with recurrent miscarriage had higher levels of several NAD breakdown products, including 1MNA, 2PY, and 4PY, and higher nicotinamide in urine. When these markers were combined with age, they distinguished women with and without recurrent miscarriage with good accuracy, suggesting they may be useful in predicting recurrent miscarriage risk.

Some women take NAD-related supplements to support mitochondrial health, but this study did not test supplements or evaluate whether boosting NAD affects miscarriage risk. It focused on naturally occurring NAD breakdown products as a way to test for miscarriage risk.

Limitations include that this was a small single-center study, samples were taken long after the miscarriages, and factors such as diet, vitamins, and lifestyle can influence NAD pathways. Larger studies are needed before these markers could be used.

✅ I haven't reviewed this one in detail, but you can find a link to the original article on Human Reproduction in the comments.

✉️ Like this post? Explore more topics and sign up for my free Friday newsletter to stay updated on the latest IVF research (link in the comments).

𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄-𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔.

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