Infertility and Reproductive Care

The path to parenthood can have unexpected turns. Atrium Health Fertility Center (formerly CMC Women’s Institute), a facility of Carolinas Medical Center, is here to help you navigate all aspects of infertility and reproduction – whether your goal is to become pregnant now or sometime in the future.

We offer comprehensive care and fertility evaluation to help individuals and couples build their families. Our doctors are reproductive endocrinologists who provide the latest treatments and services related to infertility and issues surrounding the reproductive organs.

Whether your infertility or reproductive issue is simple or complex, our team will provide the highest level of care to help you achieve your dream of having a baby.

Patient care – what to expect

Patients choose Atrium Health Fertility Center for infertility and reproductive care because we provide:

• Leading expertise. Our doctors are board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and are fellowship trained in reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI). We’re also members of the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (SREI), which means we have extensive training and experience, allowing us to treat infertility at the highest level.
• High-quality care and success rates. We’re proud members of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) and have received their Platinum Award, which is earned by fewer than 10% of all SART IVF centers in the U.S. See our latest success rates.
• Personalized care. We create a treatment plan for each patient, tailored to your unique circumstances regarding fertility. From your initial consultation through the entire process, we’re here to help you every step of the way.
• Full line of reproductive services. From ovulation induction to in vitro fertilization (IVF) to third party reproduction, including use of donor sperm, donor eggs and gestational carriers, our team provides a full line of reproductive services.
• One convenient location for care. You don’t need to travel to different locations to receive our care. We have an IVF lab and all the equipment needed to provide our full array of services and treatments at one location.
• State-of-the-art IVF lab. You receive the latest in assisted reproductive technology through our IVF lab and the region's top embryology team.
• Virtual consultations. We offer virtual options for your first consultation as well as follow-ups – making it easier for you to start the process as soon as you’re ready. During your first consultation we’ll discuss your goals and medical and family history. We’ll also develop a treatment plan just for you.
• Added support. We offer resources for a variety of services to assist individuals and couples along their fertility journey, including psychological counseling for mental and emotional support, dietary counseling and acupuncture.
• Care across specialties. We work closely with other specialists at our center, and throughout Atrium Health, so you can get the care that’s best for you. From board-certified urologists, who specialize in male fertility, to our world-renowned minimally invasive gynecologic surgery team.
• Leading research. We’re a National Institutes of Health (NIH) supported clinical research site, offering access to the latest cutting-edge research to improve patient care.

Conditions we treat

We offer a full spectrum of fertility and reproductive care and evaluation to support your needs. We see people with the following conditions:

• Endometrial polyps
• Endometriosis
• Hirsutism (excessive hair growth caused by hormones)
• Infertility (male or female)
• Müllerian anomalies (malformation of the uterus or vagina)
• Polycystic ovarian syndrome
• Premature ovarian insufficiency
• Recurrent pregnancy loss
• Uterine scarring

Infertility and reproductive treatments and services

In addition to services related to women’s reproductive health, we offer comprehensive care and fertility evaluation to help individuals and couples build their families. Our treatments and services include:

• Care for recurrent pregnancy loss. If you’ve struggled with multiple pregnancy losses (miscarriages), we will help you evaluate all the possible causes, explore treatment options and prepare for your next pregnancy.
• Fertility preservation (including cancer fertility preservation). This is a way to save your eggs, sperm or embryos until you’re ready to start a family. This can be done electively at any time or prior to starting certain medical treatments that require chemotherapy and/or radiation that can be toxic to the ovaries and testes. These services include egg freezing, sperm banking, embryo freezing and in vitro fertilization (IVF) with embryo freezing. Cancer fertility preservations cases go through our REhope fertility assistance program.
• Fertility screenings and tests. To better understand which treatments and/or services are right for you, we offer semen analysis, ovarian reserve screening, hormonal testing, imaging studies, including hysterosalpingogram (HSG) and karyotype analysis (or chromosome analysis). Additional advanced fertility testing is also offered and tailored to your reproductive needs. 
• Genetic testing. We routinely offer expanded genetic carrier screening for all individuals or couples contemplating pregnancy. Additionally, IVF genetic testing can be performed to screen embryos for potential issues, including aneuploidy (abnormal number of chromosomes) and specific genetic diseases. We also have onsite genetic counselors for those who need comprehensive genetic counseling. 
• In vitro fertilization (IVF). This is a type of treatment for infertility where the eggs (oocytes) are surgically retrieved from the ovaries and combined with sperm in vitro (outside the body in our IVF lab). Eggs that are fertilized become embryos and are transferred into the uterus or cryopreserved (frozen) for later use. Fertility medications are used during the process to recruit follicles and trigger egg maturation. Patients may go through more than one round of IVF before becoming pregnant.
• LGBTQIA family building. Every individual and couple seeking to build their family has unique needs. Our goal is to provide all the information and available options for family building, including donor egg, donor sperm, donor embryo, gestational carrier and reciprocal IVF to help you make an informed decision that’s best for you.
• Ovulation induction with intrauterine insemination (IUI). In this procedure medications are typically used to boost ovulation and sperm are inserted directly into the uterus. The goal of IUI is to increase the number of sperm that reach the egg and facilitate fertilization. 
• Third-party reproduction. We offer services for donor egg, donor sperm, donor embryo and gestational carrier to provide all options for an individual or couple’s unique needs.

Your expanded care team

Our infertility and reproductive doctors work closely with many other specialists to help you throughout your journey. Your care team may include:

• Andrology lab staff who count and process sperm for testing and treatment of infertility
• Certified embryology lab staff who do a range of tasks critical to IVF and fertility preservation in our state-of-the-art IVF lab
• Financial counselors who help you understand costs related to treatment
• Genetic counselors who provide information regarding the role genetics plays in making the best decision for you and your future family
• IVF nurses who help you every step of the way through the IVF process, providing guidance and support and coordinating treatment schedules
• Ovulation induction nurses who guide patients through the ovulation induction process, including IUI procedures and medication use
• Reproductive endocrinologists who work with women and men to diagnose and treat infertility and reproductive issues
• Reproductive endocrinologist certified medical assistants who prepare you for exams, take vital signs and help with other aspects of patient care
• Ultrasonographers who ­­use a high level of skill to obtain high-quality ultrasound images

Frequently asked questions

When should I seek treatment for infertility?

If you’ve been unable to conceive (become pregnant), you should seek treatment if you:

• Are younger than 35 and have been having regular unprotected intercourse for at least 12 months
• Are 35 or older and have been having regular unprotected intercourse for at least 6 months
• Have irregular menstrual cycles (periods) or other conditions that can affect your fertility, such as endometriosis or uterine fibroids
• Have any conditions that affect male fertility or the quality and/or quantity of sperm

What can I do to boost my fertility?

There are many lifestyle factors that influence fertility and are within your control. To optimize your fertility, you should:

• Stay active and maintain a healthy weight (or BMI)
• Eat a Mediterranean-type diet rich in fruits and vegetables, plant-based proteins, healthy fats, and high-quality carbohydrates, like whole grains
• Stop smoking

What is a reproductive endocrinologist?

A reproductive endocrinologist (or fertility doctor) is an obstetrician/gynecologist doctor who has also completed a fellowship of specialized training in various aspects of endocrine disorders related to the reproductive system in both males and females. Additionally, they focus on the diagnosis and treatment of infertility using a variety of assisted reproductive technologies.

Why is it important that your fertility doctor be a SREI doctor?

Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (SREI) doctors have the training, experience and resources to provide you with the highest level of care for your reproductive health. SREI members must devote at least 13 years of medical training and patient care before achieving subspecialty certification. 

Membership in the SREI is strictly limited to doctors who have been certified in the subspecialty of reproductive endocrinology and infertility by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Although many doctors may provide care for infertility, fewer than 1,000 doctors have achieved the very special distinction of SREI membership. 

All of our infertility and reproductive doctors are SREI members.