Ellen Goldstein, MD- Infertility and Egg Freezing

Check out my blog post for the amazing team at @fruitful_fertility. They gave me a platform to discuss my philosophy regarding the fertility doctor/patient relationship, including: "This is an intimate, emotional, arduous journey. You need to feel that your doctor is your partner in seeking the most successful, efficient, cost effective treatment for you. You should feel comfortable confiding all of your concerns. You deserve this kind of relationship." and... I think patients should vote with their feetget up and walk to a new practice if you are not happy with the care you are receiving. Check out their blog and my blog (link in bio) for more, as well as a little bit of my life story and how I chose my career path. If you don’t know anything about Fruitful, they are filling an incredibly innovative space in the fertility village fertility mentorship. Support groups can be tough for #fertilitywarriors, as it’s tough not to compare yourself and your journey to that of others. With a mentor, she’s been through it before but she’s made it to the other side. She can be a shoulder to cry on and a cheerleader through hard times. I applaud what they are doing and recommend them all the time to my patients. #infertility #infertilityjourney #ttc #ttccommunity #reproductiveendocrinologist #fertilitydocsofig #fertilitysupport

I’m thrilled to join a trusted colleague and professional in the field of third party reproduction, @parhamzar of @eggdonorandsurrogacy ! Tomorrow we will do a live at 12 pm PST to discuss questions including *what kind of patients use egg donors? *what kinds of screening and testing do we do for prospective egg donors? *how do intended parents make the decisions regarding which donor to pick? *can it be difficult to find a donor of a certain ethnicity? Please chime in with other questions and we will definitely answer them! #eggdonor #eggdonation #ivfjourney #eggdonorbaby #eggdonoragency #ttc #ttccommunity

Incredibly important research flash!! Please consider participating if you are pregnant. We desperately need information about covid in pregnancy.

Repost from @conception.losangeles. This was from our first week of Shady’s Egg Freezing Bootcamp! What is egg freezing ? . .... Egg freezing, also referred to as egg cryopreservation is a process in which a woman’s eggs (oocytes) are stimulated, extracted, frozen and stored for use at a later time . . . It’s important to make a careful personal decision about whether egg freezing is right for you. All women should be empowered with knowledge about basic ovarian physiology. Join us for our next egg freezing bootcamp to learn all you need to know about #eggfreezing. . . Click the link in the bio of @conception.losangeles to join our next bootcamp. . . #fertility #fertilitydoctor #fertilityawareness #reproductivehealth #women #womenempowerment #fertilitypreservation #bootcamp #eggfreezingbootcamp #cla #conceptionlosangeles #conceptionla #eggsnowkidslater

Repost from @conception.losangeles, from our first week of Shady’sEgg Freezing Bootcamp. See below to see her kind words about how she feels her relationship with her doctor (me) helped her get through the discomfort of egg freezing. Risks & Challenges... . .... Many women are understandably apprehensive about the egg freezing process. . . > First of all, it’s expensive. . > Second of all, it can be uncomfortable. . > Then, there are extremely rare (1 in 3000) more serious complications, like bleeding, infection, or ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome. . . Overall, I think you will find that any challenge can be easily overcome with a doctor you trust, who listens to you and explains everything properly. We discuss all of these challenges in detail in the Egg Freezing Boot Camp! Click the link in @conception.losangeles bio to book a spot in the next bootcamp! . . #challenge #risk #knowledge #educateyourself #eggfreezing #fertility #womenempowerment #ivf #women #conceptionla #cla #eggfreezingbootcamp #knowledgeispower #conceptionlosangeles #bootcamp #eggsnowkidslater #fertilitydocsofig #fertilitydoctor See more

This is from our series of posts during our first week of Shady’s Egg Creezing Bootcamp! Repost from @conception.losangeles Why do women their ? . .... The vast majority of women freeze their eggs because they do not have Mr. Right in their lives at the moment. . . Egg freezing technology has come a long way, and a good egg is a good egg, whether you freeze it as an egg or as a (fertilized) embryo. It doesn’t make any sense to fertilize your precious eggs with random donor sperm! . . We are doing this so you have time to look for Mr. Right. Egg freezing can help take pressure off of dating and allow you to date for the right reasons, not because of a ticking biological . Other women freeze eggs for career reasons or they are facing health challenges that could cause them to lose their eggs early. . . Want to learn if egg freezing is right for you? Click the link in the bio for @conception.losangeles to book your spot for the next egg freezing bootcamp. . . #bootcamp #women #career #family #eggfreezing #fertilityawareness #fertility #ivf #future #cancer #careerwoman #cla #technology #eggfreezingbootcamp #conceptionlosangeles #conceptionla #doctor #eggsnowkidslater See more

Repost from @conception.losangeles. This was from our first week of Shady’s Egg Freezing Bootcamp! What is egg freezing ? . .... Egg freezing, also referred to as egg cryopreservation is a process in which a woman’s eggs (oocytes) are stimulated, extracted, frozen and stored for use at a later time . . . It’s important to make a careful personal decision about whether egg freezing is right for you. All women should be empowered with knowledge about basic ovarian physiology. Join us for our next egg freezing bootcamp to learn all you need to know about #eggfreezing. . . Click the link in the bio of @conception.losangeles to join our next bootcamp. . . #fertility #fertilitydoctor #fertilityawareness #reproductivehealth #women #womenempowerment #fertilitypreservation #bootcamp #eggfreezingbootcamp #cla #conceptionlosangeles #conceptionla #eggsnowkidslater

Repost from @conception.losangeles Let’s talk about age . .... The best age to freeze your eggs is around age 32-33 if you are not planning to try to get pregnant in the near future. . . This is the age when the quality of eggs is still good and, for most women, the number of eggs is still high. However, not uncommonly, we see women whose egg number is already low at this age. For these women, the egg freezing process is less efficient and more frustrating. . . This is why it’s a good idea to speak with a reproductive endocrinologist when you are even younger, to make sure you have all the information you need about your ovaries to enable you to make the right decision for yourself at the right time. Sign up for the next egg freezing bootcamp to learn more. . . Follow @conception.losangeles, click the link in her bio, and book your spot. . . #fertility #fertilityjourney #fertilityawareness #eggfreezing #fertilitypreservation #cla #womenshealth #future #womenempowerment #women #conceptionlosangeles #conceptionla #fertilitydoctor #shadyseggfreezingbootcamp #fertilitydocsofig #eggsnowkidslater #fertilitydoctors See more

Meet my amazing friend and colleague Joey Coppedge. Joey is a nutritionist with a fertility focus. You are what you eat and your ovaries need healthy food and complete nutrition! I’ve been so impressed with Joey’s knowledge and intuition. Please give him a call if you are interested in learning more about working with him! #eggfreezingbootcamp #eggfreezing #fertilitynutrition

One little tidbit of information from my session last night at #eggfreezingbootcamp How long will the process of egg freezing take? Answer: not as long as you think! For more information ask questions below! - # #eggfreezingbootcamp #eggfreezing #fertilitydocsofig #eggsnowkidslater #empowerment #conceptionlosangeles #cla #fertilitydoctors

Announcing Egg Freezing [email protected], Thank you for inviting me to be the medical expert for your brainchild, the first ever Egg Freezing Bootcamp! In this course, I will join experts in nutrition, life coaching, acupuncture, financial planning and more to bring our campers to a place of knowledge, health, strength and empowerment so they can be in the best possible position to do egg freezing treatment. Please follow Shady @conception.losangeles for her... story full of strength, wisdom, and emotion. This video is the first of a series of posts for this week giving some of the highlights of my session for the group (which will be tonight!). For more detailed information join the next bootcamp session! - # #eggfreezingbootcamp #eggfreezing #fertilitydocsofig #eggsnowkidslater #empowerment #conceptionlosangeles #cla #fertilitydoctors See more

On Mother’s Day, a lot of fertility doctors and infertility warriors posted messages of support for women still on their journey toward motherhood. Today, I want to make sure that all the hopeful and future Dads hear a loud and clear shout of support and understanding as well. . The road toward parenthood, when it is difficult, stressful, and long, affects men too. Sometimes the underlying diagnosis is male factor infertility. Sometimes the problem is a combination of male ...and female factors. Sometimes it is unexplained. Even gay men, who go into fertility treatments assuming it will be easy, can be surprised by disappointing results and longer treatment paths. . My patients (male and female) are my family. I am here for the emotional needs of men, too. I wish I had a crystal ball so I could tell everyone when their first Father’s Day will be, even if it’s not this year. Because if you want to be a dad, there are always options. . Male factor infertility is usually easy to treat with insemination or IVF. Sometimes your fertility path involves donor eggs, donor sperm, or a gestational carrier. If you have to take a longer, more circuitous path to fatherhood, the end result is going to be an even stronger bond with your baby because you shared your love even before she existed. You can love that baby into existence #malefertility #malefertilityawarness #hopefuldad #gaydads #ttc #ttccommunity #fertilitydocs See more

Really excited to share this news from my friend Conception Los Angeles! She had this incredible novel idea to start an egg freezing preparation/education/support team-- Shady's Egg Freezing Bootcamp! This will be a recurring 8 week program featuring all you need to know to prepare mentally and physically to freeze your eggs, including sessions with me, a nutritionist, an acupuncturist, a life coach, a financial counselor and more. I can't wait to see how this course unfolds and grows, and I look forward to welcoming ever more prepared young women into my practice for their egg freezing treatments. #eggfreezing #infertility #fertilitydoc

How does fertility fit into your family story? * I married into the Persian Jewish community here in Los Angeles, and I’ve been so lucky to be welcomed warmly and lovingly. We sure know how to party! I really miss sushi bars and kabob. (stupid Covid) * I’ve noticed something interesting about my Persian friends and family that I think uniquely relates to the larger story of fertility and infertility in today’s society. My husband’s mother had her first child at age 19. He...r mother (for whom our daughter is named) had her first child at age 16. And her mother, age 15. But I was more than twice this age (33) when our first child was born! * Now it is extremely common for women to first be considering becoming moms in their 30s, or to be single and hope to keep this option open for the future. But is it any wonder that our mothers, aunts, and grandmothers just cannot fathom how common infertility is? They were just teenagers when they were conceiving! * Even though infertility can happen at any age, it certainly gets more common as we get older, both because of age-related decline in egg quality but also because more years have elapsed for other issues (endometriosis, tubal scarring, low sperm counts) to worsen. Yet many women feel stigma and shame from their families as they walk the road of fertility treatment. * It is so important to openly speak about fertility and infertility, and to abolish the shame and stigma. It is not your fault. And the faster we treat, the faster we bring babies into your loving family. Thank you to @conception.losangeles for everything you are doing to raise awareness for egg freezing in the Persian community, and to my clinic @reproductivefertility #1in8 #persianjewish #infertility #infertilityawareness #ttc @ Beverly Hills, California See more

You might be surprised that the first thing I will ask you at your egg freezing consult is to tell me about yourself. Not your medical history, but rather where you are in life, relationships, and career. This is because egg freezing is a personal, social, emotional decision. The medical details are just details. I will say it again: It is a Personal. Social. Emotional. Decision. However, you can’t make this decision without a strong understanding of your own reproductiv...e system, which is why it’s really important to have a discussion with a fertility physician. A lot of this is not intuitive and is very different from what you learned in high school health. My goal is to make sure that you have an opportunity to do something proactively if you think you might be a little older before you try to get pregnant. I want to make sure you have the information that you need to ask yourself the right personal questions for yourself. Those questions could include oHow strongly do I feel about having a family in my future? oAm I open to donor eggs in the future if I don’t freeze eggs now? oWill egg freezing bring me relief from some of the stress and pressure I feel while dating? Will it allow me to date for the right reasons? You should also ask some questions of your doctor: oPlease explain my ovarian reserve testing and what this will mean for my treatment oHow do you plan to individualize my treatment plan to get the best outcome for me? For more information and lots of nerdy ovarian physiology, please click link in my bio and check out my new blog post. And special thanks to my favorite egg freezing warrior future mama, @conception.losangeles. Check out her page for tons of content. #eggfreezing #fertilitypreservation #empoweringwomen #empoweredwomenempowerwomen #fertilityawareness #fertilitydoctor See more

New Blog Post! You might be surprised to hear that deciding to freeze your eggs is a personal, social, emotional decision. The medical details are just details. I am so lucky to meet so many strong accomplished women through my work, and I am privileged to help them take control of their reproductive health and future families. Please send any questions my way!