What Can I do in 2012 to Have my Baby?

Congratulations to all of you that that were faced with fertility challenges in 2011 and had babies. As for the rest of you still TTC,  all is not lost;  you do have a chance to conceive in 2012.

The question you should be asking yourselves is "what can I do to help get pregnant that I haven't already done?"  This doesn't only refer to protocols such as IUI, IVF, donor-egg, acupuncture and herbal medicine, but choosing the right reproductive endocrinologist and acupuncturist to create a winning team.

Many couples will go to an RE (reproductive endocrinologist) because of a gynecologist's recommendation or the recommendation of a friend. This is not a bad policy and often yields excellent results. But after several failed attempts with an RE and the support of an acupuncturist perhaps it might be prudent to consider a new team.

I work closely with several reproductive endocrinologists and I think they are wonderful. They have a great bed-side manner; they listen, they answer questions, they don't rush, they respond quickly to your calls and emails and they are seasoned, high level doctors; they also support acupuncture and recommend it to their patients; in other words - they are well informed about other modalities of medical intervention other than their own which have been shown to be effective in increasing positive outcomes.  And they have high success rates not only in getting women pregnant, but more importantly  - in take home babies!

  These are the RE's that I recommend:
1. Joel Batzofin, M.D., of New York Fertility Services http://www.batzofinfertilityservices.com
2. Tanmoy Mukherjee, M.D., of RMA-NY http://www.rmany.com
3. Dan Stein, M.D., of St. Luke's-Roosevelt http://www.infertilityspecialistnewyork.com
4. Glenn Schattman, M.D., of New York Cornell http://www.ivf.org
5. Dan Levine, M.D., of  Hudson Valley Fertility http://www.hudsonvalleyfertility.com
6. Robert Kiltz, M.D., CNY Fertility  http://www.cnyfertility.com

A Little Data About Each of These Great Docs!

Dr. Batzofin is an expert on immunological causes of infertility and chronic repeated miscarriage. These causes are often overlooked and take many years typically to diagnose. And by that time you've lost precious time and more eggs. Dr. Batzofin does so after the first couple of visits!  He is a brilliant investigator, diagnostician, and reproductive specialist.  Dr. Batzofin always elicits a smile from his patients even in their darkest moments. He is a man of great humor, high integrity and excellence in medicine. I am proud to call him a friend.

Dr. Mukherjee is a great and seasoned reproductive endocrinologist who has the advantage of working with a seasoned team of seasoned pros including Drs. Ben Sandler, Lawrence Grunfeld and the medical director, Alan Copperman. Complicated cases get discussed and analyzed by the 'team' so a clearer picture of the case may be arrived at. So you as a patient have the advantage of having many doctors working on your case but enjoying the benefit having a wonderful relationship with just one- Dr. Mukherjee.

Dr. Stein is one of the few real competitors of Dr. Zhang of New Hope Fertility. He offers a similar but better protocol. What makes it better in my opinion is that Dr. Stein, after a single egg retrieval transfers a single 'fresh' embryo unlike Dr. Zhang who first freezes, then thaws, then transfers. Fresh transfers  statistically have better outcomes than frozen.  Dr. Stein is a truly compassionate man who works slowly, carefully and attentively with each and every patient - you are never rushed when you are with him. In fact when you sit across his desk you really feel like you're at his home, in his living room having an important dialogue - about you and your needs.

Dr. Schattman works under the aegis of medical director, Zev Rosenwaks, M.D., and has an excellent team of doctors, nurses and state-of-the-art facilities behind him to help ensure that your IVF procedure yields the result you want -  a baby. Dr. Schattman is also a brilliant surgeon and a great guy.

Dr. Dan Levine of Hudson Valley Fertility is one of the most caring, loving and compassionate doctors I have ever met. And he takes all comers. He treated a woman with an fsh of 100 and she got pregnant and delivered a healthy baby. His wife Debbie is an expert on natural foods for fertility enhancement. They are a great team, delivering big results from a small, warm, homey, and wonderful practice.

Dr. Kiltz is a story unto himself. He is a most unique gentleman. He is a brilliant diagnostician and amazing reproductive endocrinologist. He has offices in Albany and Syracuse. He cooks organic food, practices Tai Chi, meditates, takes beautiful photographs, hikes the wondrous mountains of upstate New York and creates babies. He writes poetry. He has been an inspiration to hundreds of patients and is certainly an inspiration to me. I have met his parents and brothers - he comes from a tight knit, loving family - all of whom have open arms for friends and patients alike - these two distinct entities are usually indistinguishable.  Dr. Kiltz is responsible for helping thousands of couple have babies. He is the 'guru' of reproductive medicine.

Regarding acupuncturists: most of them treat various pathologies from insomnia to infertility. You wouldn't go to an RE that treats infertility and asthma would you? You'd want to be cared for by a specialist -  a doctor who knows a lot about a little - not a little about a lot.

One of the reasons to consider having a consultation with me is because I am the first acupuncturist in the United States to completely devote a complementary wellness practice to the care and treatment of those faced with fertility challenges. I am licensed and board certified in acupuncture and I am board certified in herbal medicine.

I have been treating infertility for fourteen years and nothing but infertility.  Of course I highly recommend that you also consult with several acupuncturists so you can get a good 'gut' feeling about the one you choose to work with.  If you'd like to find out more about me and The Berkley Center for Reproductive Wellness please visit our site http://www.berkleycenter.com.  Other highly qualified acupuncturists who specialize in treating those with fertility challenges may be found at http://www.aborm.org.

Remember, at The Berkley Center for Reproductive Wellness we offer a 100% money back guarantee and free mini consultations. We want to be 100% certain that you have had every opportunity to have your questions answered and to feel totally comfortable with the team at The Berkley Center before your become a patient.   Make sure that the acupuncturists you visit are willing to give you your money back if you are not satisfied and be certain to ask them if they will see you - free - for a brief consultation -  we do and we always will.  Be sure to call us at 212-685-0985 to learn about our money back guarantee and to schedule your free mini consultation.

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanuka, Happy Kwanza, Happy Life, and best wishes on your journey to family.

Love and Blessings...

Mike Berkley, L.Ac., FABORM
212-685-0985

What is the Berkley Method?

The Berkley Method represents an integrative approach to the diagnosis and treatment of the infertile patient.

This is unique within the community of most acupuncturists treating infertility.

Most acupuncturists in the U.S. diagnose and treat strictly from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine. While this method of treatment is rather romantic it does not represent an East meets West approach to care which is the standard currently used in China.

The East meets West approach is the more scientific approach; one which combines traditional Chinese medical applications such as acupuncture and herbal medicine along with scientific and medical approaches to care. For example, we are one of the few acupuncture centers that knows how to utilize herbal medicine in conjunction with clomid or gonadotropins and other medications such as dexamethasone, Lupron, Antigon, Tamoxofin, Letrazole, Naltrexone, etc. We also have extensive knowledge in treating disorders of pregnancy with herbal medicine such as sub chorionic hematoma and placenta previa. Most practitioners are not comfortable treating pregnant patients with herbal medicine because of their lack of clinical experience with herbs. We have saved many impending miscarriages with the use of herbs.

Integrative means that we combine both Western medical findings and traditional Chinese medicine findings when performing a diagnostic evaluation and creating a treatment plan. For example, a patient with endometriosis will be treated very differently than a patient with PCOS. A patient with high FSH will get very different treatment than one with high LH. A patient with low estrogen levels will get treated very differently than a patient with low FSH. These distinctions are very important when diagnosing and treating patients. You’ll want to know if your acupuncturist can make these distinctions and treat based upon them.

We are one of the few if not the only acupuncture center in NY that treats in this manner. We request and review the semen analysis, day 3 blood work, and thryroid findings. We also request testing for immunological factors and blood clotting (thrombophilic disorders) when necessary. We also request testing in some cases which may reveal a ‘hidden’ pathology of sperm which the typical semen analysis does not do.

We are probably the only acupuncture center that knows when to request certain tests and importantly how to interpret the results of these tests.

We are also the only fertility acupuncture center in Manhattan that has a Board of Advisors composed of some of the finest reproductive endocrinologists in NY State ( see our website to view our Board of Advisors).

The Berkley Center for Reproductive Wellness is the first acupuncture fertility center in New York City to specialize in infertility treatment. As the leader in our field we feel that we have learned to successfully integrate ancient and modern medicine. This gives our patients the best environment for care with the greatest chance of pregnancy and live births. We strongly believe that the best outcome for successful pregnancy and live birth is to be treated by a reproductive endocrinologist as well as an acupuncturist/herbalist who truly specializes in this field.

We are pleased to offer free mini consultations so that your questions may be answered and your concerns addressed. Bring in your reproductive medical findings and be prepared to have an active, interesting and informative conversation about your case. Hopefully, at the end of this lively dialogue you will have a lot more information than you had before you came in. This consultation in no way obligates you to be under our care. We offer this free mini consultation to help you make an informed decision when choosing your acupuncturist. In fact, you should have at least three FREE consultations with three separate practitioners – this way you can really have an informed opinion as to which practitioner is most suited to meet your needs.

We maintain relationships with many fantastic reproductive endocrinologists such as Drs. Alan Copperman, Tanmoy Mukherjee, Dan Stein, Dan Levine, Joel Batzofin, Glen Schattman, Robert Kiltz, Owen Davis, Sami David, Jonathan Scher, and many others.

These relationships make it easier for us to coordinate care with your reproductive endocrinologist providing you with a well rounded and highly coordinated patient centric-approach to care.

You should also know that we are available 24/7/365 for pre and post embryo transfer acupuncture treatment.

We are the first and the most experienced acupuncture clinic specializing in the field of oriental reproductive medicine in the United States.

Call us for excellence in care. 212-685-0985

The best of the best in complementary reproductive medicine

I was invited to speak on the Chinese medcial approach to the treatment of endometriosis in New Mexico by the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.

I had an opportunity to mingle with the best-of-the-best in modern day practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine experts-in-reproductive disorders.

These elite group included: Ray Rubio, Stuart Zoll, Sadhna Singh, Dagmar Ehling, Diane Cridenda, Gerald Williams, Kirstin Karchmer and Caylie See. Paul Magarelli, M.D., Reproductive Endocrinologist was also very much there and participating in educating, supporting and facilitating. I also met Sabine Wilms, scholar and translator of Classical Chinese medicine works. Her most recent contribution is a translation of 3 volumes of gynecological writings the famous doctor by Sun Si Miao. I have already purchased this tome. It is available from CM-DB.Com.

Being with this group of wonderful 'Fellows' is always inspiring; this is the crem-de-la-crem of TCM reproductive medicine practitioners currently practicing in the U.S.

It was an honor for me to be counted among them.

If you want more information on any of these brilliant practitioners, please visit www.aborm.org

Warmest wishes and love to all my ABORM colleagues and thank you all for your amazing and never-ending contribution to this field.

PS: If I left out any names above, please forgive me; you know how I drink!

Love and best wishes.
Mike Berkley, L.Ac.
Founder and Director, The Berkley Center for Reproductive Wellness
212-685-0985
berkleycenter.com