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Advances in IVF helping more Massachusetts women get pregnant

BOSTON — A Boston fertility clinic has just put the finishing touches on renovations that include monitoring embryos by video 24/7.

Boston IVF said its new technology will help provide doctors the information about the best embryos and when they should be implanted.

"That's helped us a lot in terms of having higher success rates and more patients are getting pregnant in a shorter course of time,” said Dr. Rita Sneeringer, a doctor at Boston IVF.

There have been many advances when it comes to infertility in the last decade, including freezing techniques and genetic testing. It means more couples are becoming families, and with one in eight struggling with infertility in Massachusetts, the new technology makes a big difference.

"I had tried everything that I could come up with,” said Cambridge's Janine Sirignano.

She eventually went to Boston IVF for treatment, seeing Sneeringer.

“Each person has a different situation that brings them here, and I think of it like a puzzle. And each person's infertility is a puzzle that their doctor tries to solve,” said Sirignano.

About 2 percent of Massachusetts babies are born via IVF, or in-vitro fertilization. That equals about one student in every Massachusetts classroom.

“There is more hope, and even in the last three or four years,” said Dr. Denny Sakkas with Boston IVF.

Sirignano is now the mother of an 18-month old and she's pregnant again. With recent advancements, she says women who want help, should seek it out.

“I think it's absolutely worth trying, and…there's no shame in it,” she said.

Dr. Sneeringer says Massachusetts is one of the few states in the country to mandate insurance coverage for treating infertility. She said women who have tried to conceive for six months to a year unsuccessfully, should see their doctor.