Fertility Glossary of Terms
Common Fertility Terms

Glossary of Terms

Please see below for a list of common terms used in fertility assessments and treatments and their definitions.

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Artificial Insemination
Assisted Hatching
Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART)
Blastocyst
Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation
Corpus Luteum
Cryopreservation
Day-3 Hormones
Diminished Ovarian Reserve
Donor-Egg IVF
Ectopic Pregnancy
Egg Collection
Embryo Biopsy
Embryo Transfer
Embryologist
Endometrial Receptivity Assay
Estrogen
Fallopian Tube
Fertilization
Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH)
Follicles
Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET)
Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH) Analog
Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH) Antagonist
Gonadotropins
Heparin
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG)
Hydrosalpinx
Hysterosalpingogram (HSG)
IVF
Infertility
Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection
Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)
Laparoscopy
Laparotomy
Luteal Suppression
Luteinizing Hormone (LH)
Menopause
Morula
Oligospermia
Oral Contraceptive Pills
Ovarian Reserve
Ovary
Ovulation
Ovulation Induction
Perimenopause
Personalized Embryo Transfer
Pituitary Gland
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)
Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT)
Premature Ovarian Failure (POF)
Progesterone
Reproductive Endocrinologist
Semen Analysis
Vitrification

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Hear from our happy families

My husband and I came to Dominion Fertility due to our reoccurring miscarriages. We knew our doctor was the doctor for us. He was very friendly and immediately put us at ease. He’s very knowledgeable on the subject of miscarriage among other things and answered all our questions in detail. What I liked most was his confidence in helping us with our problem. He never gave up on us. I also appreciated the time he spent with us at every appointment. I never felt rushed or pressured during appointments. The nurses and office staff are also very friendly. The wait time to be seen what very short if not at all. There were a couple visits in fact where they saw me ahead of schedule if I arrived early. I would absolutely recommend Dominion Fertility to others.

Diane B

I just wanted to drop a quick note to talk about the wonderful experience we have had at Dominion through 2 natural cycle IVF treatments. My husband had sold medical equipment to almost every fertility center in the area, and chose Dominion based on the fact that they seemed the most professional and treated him the best, had a great lab and great people. We investigated natural cycle after reading about it, and after meeting with Dr. D. The first attempt we had success and now have a wonderful 19 month old. :-) started at age 36.We went back (at age 38) and I am turning 39 soon and got a successful embryo transplant the 3rd time. The first two we didn't make it to the transfer process. They treated us with alot of understanding and kindness and encouragement. I love the entire staff there, the entire place is filled with very loving kind people. I actually am just about to get released totally from blood monitoring at 9 weeks pregnant and I will miss them!! I brought my 19 month old in a few times with me so they could see the miracle they had a great hand in making! Thanks Dr D and everyone at Dom Fert!!

JM

5 Stars! They treated us very well, and helped us bring our son into the world.

Anonymous

The whole process is incredibly stressful and expensive, but if you want results Dr DiMattina is the best doctor. Initially I found his style difficult but he knows what he is doing and the results speak for themselves.

CS

Everyone I ever dealt with at Dominion was very professional, knowledgable, and caring. If someone did not know the answer to a question, they told me they would ask, they did, and they delivered an answer within a reasonable amount of time. Having everything in house was also a great convenience. After four FETs I had a baby. Unfortunately, I moved across the country and now I am dealing with a fertility clinic that is not very professional, not very knowledgable, and not very caring. I ask questions but get other non-applicable information in reply. Its frustrating as hell dealing with these new people (not all clinics will take embryos from another clinic so my hands are tied) and it only makes me miss Dominion Fertility even more. Dr. D is the best. He is no-nonsense and tells you like it is. I appreciated that so much! He knows his stuff and he gets the intended result. If you are a competent professional and you want to deal with other competent professionals this is the place.

Rachel W

My story is unusual since I have secondary infertility, and my age was seemingly the only issue. We did 2 rounds of DE with 1 clinic because they offered the best price, but both fresh and frozen cycles failed. We moved to another clinic and did a DE cycle which failed as well. We took a short break then decided to see Dr. DiMattina for 1 last try. He suggested we add genetic testing for the embryos and turns out only a couple were normal despite a young proven donor. We transferred 1 healthy embryo and I'm 10 weeks pregnant. Thank YOU!!!

Kelli M

In 2010, I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. My GYN at the time told me that it would be likely I would never be able to have children because of this condition. The thought that my life would never see motherhood was heartbreaking, and even more so when I married my husband in 2011. At the time of my marriage my mother was dying from lung cancer, and we felt more compelled than ever to try to have a baby before she passed away. Well, she died just two short months after my wedding, and we still had not had any luck conceiving. So, we decided to hold off on getting pregnant for a short time. After about 6 months, I went to my GYN and she put me on Clomid. 6 months of Clomid still didn’t do the trick. Again, we decided that if it was going to happen, it would happen in its own time, but that is a hard resolution to live with. Almost three years passed with no luck. Finally, we came to Dominion Fertility. Our very first visit with them we felt reassured and confident that they could help us. They immediately scheduled initial tests to try to determine the source of our infertility. They knew I had PCOS, but they also told us that plenty of women who have POCS are able to have children and that there were ways to treat PCOS that would allow us to conceive. After the initial testing, we came back to see them and they reassured us that everything came back great. Just hearing them tell us that it should not be a problem to get us pregnant, took a huge burden off my shoulders. We immediately began treatment using ovulation induction and timed intercourse. Within one cycle we were pregnant! While I know these results may be uncommon, I also know that the Doctors knowledge, experience and attention to detail helped us get pregnant. Throughout the entire process, we knew we could count on them for this honest, professional opinion. We knew we could count on them to stay within the confines of our beliefs and speak candidly with us about expectations. We always felt reassured and informed with them. The nurses and staff are so friendly and understanding. They truly make you feel that you are important and that you are not just another patient coming through their door. The Doctors and nurses took the time to explain everything to us and to answer any questions we had. They provided us with lots of information on infertility treatments and what was available to us. I cannot thank Dominion Fertility enough for helping us to get pregnant. For so long I thought I was broken until I met them. I felt like I have to resolve myself to not being a mother. That feeling for a woman is probably one of the worst. Thank you, Dominion Fertility. We really appreciate your knowledge, honestly, friendliness, and hard work throughout this process, and we know that if we ever need you in the future, we can count on you.

Malinda K.

We are so grateful to Dominion and their Doctors. The staff was very responsive to my numerous questions and we felt comfortable with our treatment cycle. I'm due in a couple of weeks with a baby girl!

Ana

IVF is not easy but now that we have a beautiful baby boy we are so grateful.

Neeta

We went to DF after many failed attempts at another clinic. At first I didn't think the cycle recommended was going to work because my previous called for high doses of meds, and I thought we needed more eggs to be successful. Our situation proves quality is better than quantity, just entered my second trimester!

Carolina

We are so happy and grateful to Dominion Fertility for helping us have our baby. They are kind, patient, and very knowledgeable.

Brooke Z

I normally don't write reviews, but I felt it was necessary considering the bizarre negative ones I've seen on Yelp. DF is world's apart from any other fertility clinic we have worked with. We have been on this journey for 7 years so we have unfortunately had a lot of experience. I could write a book detailing how good our experience has been compared to the biggest clinic in DC area. Do thorough research and you will decide for yourself not to waste time and money elsewhere and just go directly to the best.

Wazma