The Berkley Center for Reproductive Wellness has scheduled a meet up to discuss how acupuncture and herbs, when combined with A.R.T. can significantly improve pregnancy rates and reduce miscarriage rates.
Click here to find out more information and to register.

http://meetu.ps/s/.0/lHQD8/f

Miscarriage Prevention: New Protocol Developed by Mike Berkley to Help Prevent Miscarriage

For many years I never needled the abdomen of a pregnant woman for fear of causing miscarriage. This method of behavior stems in part from fear of over-stimulating blood flow to the embryo or placenta. This thinking, as I have recently discovered, is incorrect. It has taken me ten years of study and research to enable me to fully understand what is happening in the uterus after a successful pregnancy and why abdominal acupuncture for the first three months of pregnancy is not only safe but serves significantly to prevent miscarriage.

photo via  jillstanek.com

At the luteal phase or secretory phase of the menstrual cycle the predominant hormone is progesterone. Progesterone is created from the follicle that has ovulated the mature egg. This follicle is now known as the 'yellow body' or corpus lutuem. The corpus luteum, under the influence of luteinizing hormone which emanates from the anterior pituitary in the brain secretes progesterone. This action is done to enable the uterine lining to be amenable to a successful embryo implantation and pregnancy. If pregnancy is not successful, the corpus luteum becomes atretic (dies) and progesterone levels diminish and menstruation starts.

When a woman does successfully become pregnant, the LH which is required to maintain high levels of progesterone (P) no longer comes from the anterior pituitary gland in the brain. It comes in fact, from the developing blastocyst itself. The blastocyst (developing baby), secretes HCG or Human Chorionic Gonadotropin which has a very similar molecular structure to LH. The HCG causes the corpus luteum to continue to secrete P (this is called corpus luteum- rescue), until the placenta is fully formed at which point the placenta itself secretes appropriate amounts of P to help maintain pregnancy.

So, if the developing blastocyst is responsible for secreting HCG to keep itself alive it made sense to me to use very few and well placed needles in the abdomen to gently stimulate blood flow to the blastocyst so that P would continue to be secreted from the corpus luteum. 

This, in my opinion is one of the major ways that miscarriage prevention can be achieved with acupuncture. I am the first one to arrive at this idea and have been using it with great success.  My protocol consists of using acupuncture twice weekly for 13 weeks after IUI, IVF or donor-egg or after a natural pregnancy is confirmed. The majority of miscarriages occur within the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. Our goal is to take the patient one week outside of the danger zone; this is why we treat for 13 weeks and not 12.

After 6 or 7 weeks the placenta is formed and it secretes P. The corpus luteum is no longer necessary. But, one of the major causes of miscarriage is inappropriate blood flow to the placenta. One of the causes of this is due to thrombophilic disorders (The tendency to form blood clots).  But clinically what does this mean? Blood carries oxygen, hormones and nutrients to the placenta and excretes dead cells from it.

These dead cells are called 'debris'. By continuing to use abdominal acupuncture, we continue to gently stimulate  blood flow to the placenta (reducing the effects of poor hemodynamics which can occur due to thrombophilic disorder or just poor circulation), maintaining its ability to secrete P, estrogen, human placental-lactogen, relaxin and other hormones necessary for the maintenance of a healthy pregnancy.

I am constantly studying Western reproductive medicine and translating my findings into a Chinese medical model which serves to increase a useful knowledge-base to help couples achieve pregnancy. However, achieving pregnancy is only half the battle. The other half is maintaining a healthy pregnancy.  The focus of many acupuncturists is to help their patients become pregnant. This too is my first goal, but only my first. My second goal is to maintain a viable pregnancy and this is where my research and studies are now taking me. 

This new Berkley Center protocol is working wonders for those suffering with repeated pregnancy loss, as well as those who have had difficulty in conceiving.

Acupuncture treatment for the infertile patient as well as the patient suffering with repeated pregnancy loss must be continued after pregnancy is achieved to increase the odds of a successful, full-term pregnancy.  Treatment should be continued for thirteen weeks, as 90% of miscarriages occur within the first trimester.

Mike Berkley, L.Ac., FABORM

212-685-0985

berkleycenter.com

Acupuncture in IVF Linked to Lower Miscarriage and Ectopic Rates

PHILADELPHIA — Women who receive acupuncture during the stimulation phase of an in vitro fertilization cycle and again immediately after embryo transfer have a higher live-birth rate than do controls, according to the first acupuncture study with this end point.

“Other studies have looked at pregnancy rates, but what is really important is whether or not there is a baby,” said Paul C. Magarelli, M.D., who reported his findings at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

The retrospective study included 131 women who were undergoing standard in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). All of these women were considered good prognosis candidates for IVF/ICSI and were given the choice of having acupuncture.

A total of 83 women declined (controls) and 48 accepted.

photo via todaysmama.com

There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of infertility diagnoses, demographics, and treatment protocols, except that sperm morphology was slightly better in the partners of women receiving acupuncture (7.3% vs. 5.9 % normal forms with strict criteria evaluation), and the average uterine artery pulsatility index was lower in the acupuncture group (1.57 vs. 1.72), said Dr. Magarelli of the department of ob.gyn. at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.

The study found that pregnancy rates per embryo transfer were not significantly different between the two groups (50% in the acupuncture group and 45% in controls).

The miscarriage rate was almost halved in the acupuncture group (8% vs. 14%).

In addition, the rate of ectopic pregnancies was significantly lower in the acupuncture group—0 of 24 pregnancies (0%) vs. 2 of 37 pregnancies (9%), said Dr. Magarelli, who is also in private practice in Colorado Springs and Albuquerque.

Thus, the live-birth rate per IVF/ICSI cycle was significantly higher in the acupuncture group than in controls (21% vs. 16%).

“The live-birth rate per pregnancy is an even more telling number, since some cycles get cancelled. There was a 42% live-birth rate per pregnancy in the acupuncture group, compared to a 35% rate in the nonacupuncture group,” Dr. Magarelli said in an interview with this newspaper.

“We believe that what we are doing is improving the uterine environment such that implantation is improved,” he added.

The study used two acupuncture protocols.

The Stener-Victorin electrostimulation protocol—which has been shown to reduce high uterine artery blood flow impedence, or pulsatility index (Hum. Reprod. 1996;11:1314-7)—was used for eight treatments during ovarian stimulation.

The second acupuncture technique—the Paulus protocol, which has been associated with improved pregnancy rates (Fertil. Steril. 2002;77:721-4)—was used within 24 hours before the embryo transfer and 1 hour after.

“This protocol has demonstrated reductions in uterine contractility, so by relaxing the uterus before the embryo transfer and immediately after, we felt we were setting up a better environment for implantation,” Dr. Magarelli said.

For more information on IVF and acupuncture, visit www.berkleycenter.com

212-685-0985

Acupuncture After IVF?

Acupuncture should be continued after embryo transfer and confirmed pregnancy at the frequency of two times weekly for 13 weeks to help reduce the chances of 1^st trimester miscarriage.

There are many causes of miscarriage. The most frequent cause is poor egg and/or sperm quality creating a chromosomally abnormal embryo. By order of natural selection and survival of the fittest, pregnancies that occur with these embryos frequently abort.

Photo via etsy.com

Another common cause of miscarriage is poor hemodynamics or blood flow. Strong blood flow is important throughout the entire pregnancy but poor blood flow at the beginning of a pregnancy often results in miscarriage as a result of initial lack of nutrient delivery to the implanted blastocyst and then, later  on, lack of nutrient delivery to the placenta.  Placentation typically occurs between weeks 5 and 9 during  an on-going pregnancy.

The job of the placenta is two-fold:  1) to transport nourishment to the developing fetus; 2) to excrete waste matter from the developing fetus.  If the placenta fails to maintain its functional integrity, a miscarriage will ensue. One of the reasons that placental demise occurs is because of poor blood-flow or inferior hemodynamics. Acupuncture improves blood-flow.

We know acupuncture improves blood-flow because when women have transvaginal ultrasound examinations with a color doppler before and after acupuncture treatment, there is frequently more blood available and visible at the level of the uterus after acupuncture intervention. A color doppler is a medical device which measures and visualizes blood flow.

The result of poor blood-flow to the placenta is intra-uterine-fetal-demise; the fetus stops developing and miscarriage manifests.

As 90 percent of miscarriages occur within the first trimester, I treat for 13 weeks or, one week past the first trimester to help ensure an on-going pregnancy.  Of course there are 2^nd and 3^rd trimester miscarriages, but most miscarriages are first trimester events.

Based on the above data, it is, in my clinical estimation, important to continue to receive acupuncture after an embryo transfer and when pregnancy is confirmed to help reduce first trimester miscarriages.

Acupuncture After IVF?

Acupuncture should be continued after embryo transfer and confirmed pregnancy at the frequency of two times weekly for 13 weeks to help reduce the chances of 1st trimester miscarriage.

There are many causes of miscarriage. The most frequent cause is poor egg and/or sperm quality creating a chromosomally abnormal embryo. By order of natural selection and survival of the fittest, pregnancies that occur with these embryos frequently abort.

Another common cause of miscarriage is poor hemodynamics or blood flow. Strong blood flow is important throughout the entire pregnancy but poor blood flow at the beginning of a pregnancy often results in miscarriage as a result of initial lack of nutrient delivery to the implanted blastocyst and then, later on, lack of nutrient delivery to the placenta. Placentation typically occurs between weeks 5 and 9 during an on-going pregnancy.

The job of the placenta is two-fold: 1) to transport nourishment to the developing fetus; 2) to excrete waste matter from the developing fetus. If the placenta fails to maintain its functional integrity, a miscarriage will ensue. One of the reasons that placental demise occurs is because of poor blood-flow or inferior hemodynamics. Acupuncture improves blood-flow.

We know acupuncture improves blood-flow because when women have transvaginal ultrasound examinations with a color doppler before and after acupuncture treatment, there is frequently more blood available and visible at the level of the uterus after acupuncture intervention. A color doppler is a medical device which measures and visualizes blood flow.

The result of poor blood-flow to the placenta is intra-uterine-fetal-demise; the fetus stops developing and miscarriage manifests.

As 90 percent of miscarriages occur within the first trimester, I treat for 13 weeks or, one week past the first trimester to help ensure an on-going pregnancy. Of course there are 2nd and 3rd trimester miscarriages, but most miscarriages are first trimester events.

Based on the above data, it is, in my clinical estimation, important to continue to receive acupuncture after an embryo transfer and when pregnancy is confirmed to help reduce first trimester miscarriages.



@Mike Berkley, L.Ac.
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Embryo Grading

I never understood the presumed science behind embryo grading. In fact the 'science of embryo grading' may be an oxymoron. Embryo grading is theoretical but not scientific. It is my experience that embryo grading gives patients fall hopes and also lowers hopes of patients inappropriately.  There have been many 4 cell embryos transferred on day two back in the 1980's in the U.S., which resulted in live births. There are many 6 cell embryos with up to 25% fragmentation which yield live births. There are countless grade A blastocysts which do not yeild a pregnancy or do, but with resultant miscarriage.  Yes, if an embryo has > 45 or 50% fragmentation it can be safely assumed that won't result in a pregnancy or live birth. But without such an extreme presentation, it is really not possible to predict an outcome.

I would rather the 'line' that reproductive endocrinologists offer their patients be "we have transferred 3 embryos successfully into your uterus. In 2 weeks we will know if you are pregnant. Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best."  This way the patient has no expectation other than the fact that she will or will not become pregnant.  This is an issue of 'patient management' and one, which in my opinion, should be adhered to.

It is possible to determine a poor embryo. For example a 3 cell embryo with 40% fragmentation probably won't yeild a pregnancy or a live birth. However, it is impossible to determine a good quality embryo if by good quality it means that a reasonable expectation of pregnancy can be expected.  The underpinnings of what makes a good embryo good have yet to be parsed out scientifically.  This is equivalent to an acupuncturist feeling a pulse and telling the patient that they are pregnant. The acuracy of this endeavor is rarely experienced. However, a very experience acupuncturist probably can tell by pulse palpation whether a patient is pregnant before a reproductive endocrinologist can prognosticate the outcome of an IFV ET based upon visual inspection of an embryo.

The take-home message is this: do not be excited when you have an IVF-ET and your doctor raves about the beauty of your embryos just transferred, nor be dismayed when you are told that they are a grade C. You must clear your mind of expectation and 'be' and wait. It is very difficult to go through the day without an expected outcome. Expected outcomes are derived from your output which typically yeilds a result. This is an example of 'control' which we all thrive on and feel so lost without.  In the case of IVF-ET your output nor that of your doctor has any prognostic value. You must 'be' and wait and have no expectation. You can hope; and that's it.

This is also the case of the endometrium. Your doctor will tell you that you have a "beautiful 10 millimeter lining." You are 30 years old and so is your husband. His sperm is healthy, you are hormonally within-normal-limts and both you and your husband are anatomically normal. You have tried to conceive for two years with intercourse, you have done 4 intrauterine inseminations and two invitro-fertilization-embryo-transfers and you have never gotten pregnant. There is a good possibility that your endometrium is defective and can only be properly diagnosed via an endometrial biopsy.  Remember the things needed for a successful pregnancy and a live-birth are good egg, good sperm, good lining, anatomic normalcy and absence of pathology which can mitigate conception. Pathology which can mitigate conception is often under-diagnosed.  A perfect example of this is endometriosis. The mean-time to diagnosis for endometriosis in 10.3 years. Imagine this: a couple is idiopathic meaning that there is no known casue for their inability to conceive. After multiple attemps via assisted-reproductive-technology-interventions the reproductive endocrinologist states "it's time for you to consider using a donor egg" You are devastated, but you MUST HAVE THAT BABY! So you proceed and the transfer is negative. Then, after six years of trying, a doctor recommends a diagnostic laparoscopy to rule out endometriosis and you are found to have stage four endometriosis which is why, all along, you have not been able to conceive. But now you're forty-years old. So even though the endometriosis has been resceted, you have 40 year old eggs and your chances of conceiving with your own eggs are about 8-10%.  You were robbed of your opportunity to conceive becasue of the ultra-conservitism, ignorance or ego of your doctor.  I am not suggesting that at the drop of a hat a diagnostic laparscopy should be scheduled. What I am suggesting is that many reproductive endocrinologists (just as is the case with acupuncturists and every other type of health-care-provider) are too conservative and think-out-of-the-box when it's too late.

I had a doctor tell me recently that mild endometriosis doesn't interfere with conception. This is not true; it does. "Endometriosis is likely the most the common cause of endometrial receptivity defects, especially in cases of minimal or mild disease for which mechanical reasons do not explain the loss of fertility." This is from the September, 2011 issue of Fertility & Sterility, Vol 96, No 3, page 524.  When I brought this to the attention of the doctor, he replied with "Fertility & Sterility is a lousy journal." It is not. In fact, most American reproductive endocrinologists read it and respect it.

It is very difficult to find a good doctor in any field.  I know most of them, especially in New York City. If you would like guidance in finding one with an open mind, an agressive outlook and that has you in mind rather than protecting his or her ego I wouuld be happy to offer it to you.

Mike Berkley, L.Ac., FABORM
http://www.berkleycenter.com/
212-685-0985

Supplement could be key to pregnancy for older women

Co-enzyme Q10 results in healthier eggs, delays onset of menopause during experiments on mice

By Sharon Kirkey, Postmedia News September 22, 2011 Canadian scientists are working on a way to make older human eggs young again - and maybe even slow menopause - experiments that could make it easier for women in their 40s and perhaps beyond to have babies.



The answer may lie in a single vitamin.



Toronto fertility doctors say their experiments in mice show that co-enzyme Q10 makes older mice produce more and healthier eggs. The doctors are now preparing to test the supplement on women aged 35 and older undergoing fertility treatments.



The work comes as women are pushing back motherhood ever later in life.



Across Canada, pregnancies in women over 35 are increasing, and fertility clinics are seeing more women over 40.



"Our mean age for patients first coming to see us is now 37," said Dr. Robert Casper, medical director of the Toronto Centre for Advanced Reproductive Technology.



Five years ago, it was 33.



Not only do older women find it more difficult to get pregnant, they run an elevated risk of miscarrying or of conceiving embryos with chromosomal abnormalities that cause conditions such as Down syndrome.



A woman is born with all the eggs she will ever have, and by the time she reaches her late 30s, the quality of those eggs begins an irreversible slide. They have less chance of leading to a normal live birth.



Eggs have 46 chromosomes to begin with, but they undergo a change when a woman ovulates. Each egg discards 23 of its own chromosomes and, if it's fertilized, takes in 23 from the sperm cell to replace them. But this takes a lot of energy.



The energy in eggs, and essentially in all human cells, is produced by mitochondria, little power packs inside all our cells. But these weaken with age so that they don't produce as much energy, resulting in a steady decline in tissue and organ function.



"Somebody who is 20 will have eggs with 20-year-old mitochondria in them, and somebody who's 40 will have 40-year-old mitochondria that will produce less energy," said Casper, professor in the division of reproductive sciences at the University of Toronto and a senior scientist at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital.



If there isn't enough energy to separate the chromosomes properly, some get left behind.



"They don't get pulled out," Casper explains.



Extra chromosomes can lead to aneuploidy, an abnormal number of chromosomes, the stringlike structures that carry our genetic material.



"That's why Down syndrome increases with age - it's all an energy issue," Casper said.



"It's not that there is anything wrong with the eggs, it's just that the batteries have run down."



Casper's team has been studying mitochondria for years, trying to understand whether it's possible to boost energy production in human eggs.



Together with Dr. Andrea Jurisicova, an associate professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Toronto, the researchers originally tried injecting young mitochondria into old mouse eggs, using a preparation made from cordblood stem cells, which are fetal cells, so that the old eggs would have young, healthy mitochondria.



The technique worked - it improved the quality of the eggs and the embryos. The problem was, the embryos had two different mitochondrial DNA - essentially, two different mothers. When Canada's Assisted Human Reproduction Act outlawed mitochondrial gene replacement in 2004, Casper's team abandoned that avenue of research.



Now they're taking a different tack, using co-enzyme Q10.



Mitochondria need co-enzyme Q10 to make energy.



The vitamin is also a powerful anti-oxidant that may prevent mitochondrial DNA damage, Casper said. Co-enzyme Q10's production by the body also decreases as we get older, starting around age 25.



"One of the theories about why we get old and die in the first place is that our cells just run out of energy - the mitochondria stop working properly and there's just not enough energy for cellular function so organs start to fail," Casper said. "A simple explanation could be that there's not enough fuel from the co-Q10 around."



In a pilot study using 52-week-old mice - mid-life for a mouse, and the equivalent of 40 to 50 for a human - Casper's team gave half the group co-enzyme Q10, and the other half a placebo. Next they compared eggs retrieved from both groups of mice with eggs from 10-week-old mice.



"What we found was that just treating the mice with co-Q10 we got more eggs than when we gave them fertility drugs," Casper said. The nuclear spindles that pull the chromosomes apart were more like those in young eggs. The litter size was bigger, and the eggs from the vitamin-treated mice had improved mitochondrial function.



Even more surprising, when the researchers examined the mouse ovaries, there were significantly more egg follicles in the old mice treated with the co-Q10 - suggesting, Casper said, "that we actually were able to delay the onset of the equivalent of menopause in the mice."



The glitch is that the mice were pre-treated for 18 weeks - the equivalent of 10 years or so relative to a human lifespan.



"We might be able to delay menopause, but it might take a decade of pre-treatment," Casper said. The more immediate application might be in improving an older woman's fertility by improving her egg quality. When word got out about his early research on the Internet, women undergoing fertility treatments began taking co-enzyme Q10.



Casper is now trying to recruit women over 35 for a study testing whether taking 600 mg daily of the supplement can lead to a higher number of chromosomally normal eggs.



The rub is that, as soon as the researchers explain the mouse results, none of the women want to be randomized to the placebo group, "especially if they're 40."



The Toronto researchers need 50 women for their study; they're up to 25 so far, after a year-and-a-half of trying.



If the mice experiments hold up in the clinical trials, the implications would be significant, Casper said. "Women could get pregnant easier when they're older."



It also could buoy calls for more single-embryo transfers. For years, fertility clinics have been putting three, four or more embryos back into women over 40 in the hope that at least one would implant and a baby would result.



"If we could improve the percentage of normal eggs, you wouldn't have to put back so many embryos."



The other hope is that, "if we can increase the energy for chromosome separation, then we could eliminate Down syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities," said Casper.



© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun



Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Supplement+could+pregnancy+older+women/5440917/story.html#ixzz1ZFGGXaek

New Protocols for Pregnant Patients

You’re Pregnant. Congratulations! Now What?

I have developed three separate protocols for women who are pregnant.

The first thing to be aware of is that any pregnant patient is always at risk for miscarriage.

The Miscarriage Prevention Protocol
I treat my pregnant patients’ twice weekly with acupuncture. Additionally, I prescribe special miscarriage prevention herbs. You are under my care for thirteen weeks. The reasoning behind this is statistically sound: 90% of miscarriages occur within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

The use of acupuncture and herbal medicine assists in preventing miscarriage that is not due to chromosomal anomalies. One reason for miscarriage other than aneuploidy (chromosomal problems), is lack of blood flow to the embryo and then, later on, to the placenta. Acupuncture and herbal medicine addresses this issue by stimulating blood flow first to the embryo, and then, later on, to the placenta, ensuring proper delivery of oxygen and nutrition to the developing fetus.

Another reason for miscarriage is that sometimes the body attacks the embryo or the placenta. This occurs when women have certain types of autoimmune disorders. As acupuncture and herbal medicine are frequently able to regulate immune function, these women’s pregnancies are often saved due to the inclusion of acupuncture and herbs.

The Healthy Mom/Healthy Baby Protocol
Under this method of care you are treated throughout your entire pregnancy at the frequency of once weekly and you will also take herbs. The purpose of this protocol is to help maintain your health during pregnancy and to assist in avoidance of possible complications such as pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, gestational diabetes, hyperemesis gravidarum (severe vomiting), etc. Further, the acupuncture and herbal medicine will serve to deliver more blood and more oxygen to your growing baby helping to ensure a beautiful, healthy and well developed child.

The Recovery Protocol
Post partum bleeding, swelling (edema) sweating, lack of energy, depression, weight gain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and lower back pain are not uncommon after delivery.

Through the proper use of acupuncture and herbal medicine, relief may frequently be found for these issues. I typically treat post-partum patients with any of these complaints for a period of two to four months at the frequency of two treatments per week.

Cigarette Smoking Contributes to Infertility and Miscarriage

Cigarette Smoking linked to Infertility and Miscarriage

Reproductive cells are vulnerable to genetic damage from smoking, but can be repaired.

In ejaculated spermatozoa, repair capacity declines drastically. This means that that repair is necessary at the time sperm is growing and developing in the testicles.

Smoking leads to chromosome errors which affect reproductive outcomes.
Smoking is associated with reduced numbers of eggs leading to early menopause.

Smoking inhibits embryo fragmentation; inhibition may confer survival advantage to embryos genetically altered. This can lead to pregnancy with impending miscarriage, or children born with cancer or born with genetic defects.

Smoking is associated with low sperm quality. Cadmium (a heavy metal), nicotine (a toxic alkaloid), and its metabolite cotinine, are detectable in testicular and ovarian tissue tissues and fluids in association with smoking. Cotinine incorporates into ovarian granulosa–lutein cells, compromising the developmental potential of follicles. Benzo[a]pyrene is a carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon resulting from cigarette combustion.

Smoking-related cellular products were detectable in ovarian granulosa–lutein cells, eggs, sperm and embryos. Transmission of altered DNA from smoking by sperm was demonstrated in embryos and in association with increased risk of childhood cancer.

We know that cigarette smoking stems in part from anxiety. The satisfaction derived from cigarette smoking is complicated and manifold but nonetheless stems from the need to reduce anxiety.

In 1999, clinical researchers reported that inserting acupuncture needles into specific body points triggers the production of endorphins. In another study, higher levels of endorphins were found in cerebrospinal fluid after patients underwent acupuncture. Endorphins have been shown to reduce anxiety.

Based upon my clinical experience, acupuncture can aid in the cessation of cigarette smoking and thereby serve two purposes: 1) improve the health of the individual and, 2) improve the quality of egg and/or sperm and increase pregnancy outcomes and reduce miscarriage rates as well as aid in the health of the newborn.

If you and your partner are trying to conceive, the cessation of cigarette smoking is of the utmost importance.

At the Berkley Center for Reproductive Wellness, a leading fertility center in New York City, we have devised a protocol which confers an approximate 50% cure to cigarette smoking without drugs, nicotine, or other chemicals.