"My husband and I
would like to thank
Dr. Chetkowski and his staff for our twin pregnancy."

—M.B and R.S.

  Read M.B. and R.S.'s Story

Egg Factors

Eggs are essential to the success of any reproductive treatment because they make such a disproportionately large contribution to the developing embryo by comparison with sperm. Women are born with all the eggs they will ever have. Of the approximately half a million eggs in the ovaries of a newborn female, only about 300-400 will be ovulated during a woman’s reproductive lifespan of about 30 years from puberty to menopause. The vast majority of eggs undergo degeneration through a process known as atresia which occurs regardless of pregnancy, breastfeeding or the use of hormonal contraceptives.

The three major areas of egg dysfunction are:

1. aging which lowers egg viability (What is Age Factor?)
   
   
2. diminished ovarian reserve which reflects low number of eggs in the ovaries (How Do We Test for Ovarian Reserve?)
   
   
3. irregular ovulation which is the hallmark of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)