Many women begin their reproductive journey with a visit to a fertility clinic. In fact, according to the Infertility Awareness Association of Canada, about one in six Canadian couples face fertility challenges, a situation that can cause immense stress and leave couples emotionally devastated.

That’s where Mount Sinai Hospital can help. In the summer of 2009, the Hospital will consolidate its fertility programs into one centre and move into a brand new, 14,500-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility at 250 Dundas Street West.

“This Centre is unique because of our multi-disciplinary approach to fertility,” says Dr. Ellen Greenblatt, Medical Director of Mount Sinai’s Centre for Fertility and Reproductive Health. Fertility Centre staff regularly collaborate with Mount Sinai’s Urologists, the Prenatal Diagnosis and Medical Genetics Program, the Rehab and Wellbeing Centre, the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinic, the Special Pregnancy Program, Social Work, Oncology, and many other specialty areas within the Hospital.

The Centre benefits from Mount Sinai’s world-class administrative structure, quality assurance standards, sophisticated technologies and outstanding researchers and physicians. It is also the base for what is considered Canada’s best Royal College of Surgeons accredited University of Toronto fellowship program in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility.

Like any health-care advances, progress in fertility treatment is made possible by research. Many advances related to In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) happen at Mount Sinai’s Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, where scientists collaborate with doctors on a regular basis.

For instance, when undergoing IVF treatment, patients are at a higher risk of having twins or triplets. And while the prospect of multiples may thrill hopeful parents, the associated health risks are considerable. The pregnant woman is at risk of pre-term labour, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, placental problems and fetal growth problems. The babies’ health can become compromised, and the risk of premature labour increases several fold. The deliveries are often very stressful.

That’s why Dr. Ted Brown, associate scientist at the Lunenfeld, works with Dr. Greenblatt to research ways to select the single best embryo to transfer. Together, they are finding genetic biomarkers (molecular indicators of disease) that will hopefully improve the ability to select a single “best” embryo for transfer, and therefore avoid multiple pregnancies.

According to Statistics Canada, the proportion of Canadian women giving birth for the first time at age 35 or older has risen, while research also shows that the incidence of infertility increases dramatically after age 35. In couples in which the woman is between the ages of 40 and 44, one quarter cannot conceive. Dr. Andrea Jurisicova, associate scientist at the Lunenfeld, is researching the genetics of infertility. She is working at the leading edge of genomic medicine to uncover the relationship between maternal age and genetic predisposition to infertility, in hopes of someday helping women over the age of 35 conceive with greater ease.

“What sets Mount Sinai apart is the synergy and collaborations that we’ve attained between clinicians and researchers, and the great access that we have to providing the best in healthcare,” says Dr. Jurisicova.