I am excited to share some news with you. The number of needle sticks for infertility treatments may rapidly decrease with the advent of saliva hormone tests. Saliva tests and vaginal progesterone may make drawing blood a thing of the past during infertility therapy…except for one important blood test: the pregnancy test!
My daughter, Chloe, just turned one. Like my son, Chloe is an IVF baby. As we celebrated Chloe’s first birthday, I started to think about the journey my wife and I took to get to her. Those days of trying to conceive by taking shots and undergoing IVF seem so far away.
After the birth of our son, my wife and I waited one year before we decided to try to conceive again. Although we required IVF to conceive with our firstborn, we secretly hoped that we would not need IVF again for our second child.
We were wrong. After 6 months of trying on our own without any luck, we decided to try IVF again. The thought of having to undergo shots and sonograms again was not particularly exciting. The process of IVF just seemed to consume our lives and my wife was dreading the thought of feeling like a pin-cushion again. But, we wanted another child, so, we made an appointment with the IVF physician in my IVF practice. [Although I am an IVF doctor as well, my wife demanded (rightfully) that I take my doctor cap off and put on my “dutiful husband” hat. I obeyed without protest!]
According to an online article, researchers at Boston IVF announced that they have developed a saliva test to replace the daily blood draws that are usually drawn during infertility treatments to monitor hormone levels. The article states, “Women can now spit into a container, seal it and drop it off to be analyzed.”
It would be wonderful to replace the frequent blood draws for my patients. To feel less like a pin-cushion and more like a person would have a positive impact on my patients’ stress levels. I cannot wait to be able to offer this to my patients.
Despite all the needle sticks my wife endured in our past IVF cycles, when I look at my children’s smiling faces, I am so glad that we didn’t let needle sticks stop us from trying IVF again.
Hopefully this saliva test will be available to everyone in the near future!
Source: Article on Saliva Test
Dr. Lowell T. Ku, M.D. is an award winning and leading Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility specialist at Dallas IVF, one the nation’s premiere infertility centers. Doctor Ku clarifies the many confusing terms used in the world of Infertility using straightforward explanations.
