Oluyemisi (Yemi) Famuyiwa is a double board-certified reproductive endocrinologist, infertility specialist, and obstetrician-gynecologist, and the founder and medical director of Montgomery Fertility Center in Rockville, Maryland. There she provides personalized fertility care and advanced reproductive treatments, including IVF, fertility preservation, donor egg IVF, recurrent implantation failure management, and male fertility services.
She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Georgetown University Hospital and her fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the National Institutes of Health. She serves as an associate clinical professor at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences and is an attending physician at Holy Cross Hospital.
A nationally recognized fertility expert, educator, and advocate, Famuyiwa is dedicated to advancing reproductive health through patient care, research, public education, and mentorship. She hosts the Fertile Talks podcast, where she explores fertility, women's health, lifestyle medicine, and reproductive wellness with experts and patients alike, and she is a frequent speaker on fertility, nutrition, epigenetics, environmental health, and reproductive longevity. She is the author of The Quest for Fertility: A Comprehensive Approach to Fertility Preparation, an evidence-based guide that empowers individuals and couples to optimize their reproductive health and navigate their fertility journey with confidence. Her research includes work in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism examining the role of insulin-like growth factors and sex steroid regulation in reproductive tissues.
Famuyiwa has been recognized as a Castle Connolly Top Doctor, one of America's Most Honored Doctors, a Top Black Doctor, and an Exceptional Woman in Medicine. She shares updates on Linktree, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Her articles on fertility, women's health, and reproductive medicine can be found on KevinMD.
The name polycystic ovary syndrome may have unintentionally narrowed how medicine understood one of the most common endocrine disorders affecting women. The ovaries were visible. The deeper physiology was not.
For decades, the syndrome was largely framed around irregular ovulation, infertility, excess androgen symptoms, and the characteristic “string of pearls” appearance seen on ultrasound. Yet many patients experienced something far broader long before medicine fully acknowledged it. They struggled not only …
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Polycystic ovary syndrome is more than ovarian
An excerpt from The Quest for Fertility.
Prologue: a quiet place of hope
Even in the stillness, life is quietly unfolding.
There’s a small butterfly garden tucked away in Wheaton Regional Park, a place I’ve long considered sacred. It isn’t grand or loud; it doesn’t demand attention. You step into a soft netted enclosure surrounded by blooms so vivid they almost seem unreal. Inside, monarchs and swallowtails drift lazily through the air, …
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What no one tells you about fertility, from a doctor
Long before in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics, fertility apps, hormone testing, or egg freezing, women understood that fertility carried social meaning far beyond biology.
In 19th-century Yorubaland, a woman named Efunsetan Aniwura rose to become one of the most powerful figures in Ibadan history. She was wealthy, influential, politically connected, and held the prestigious title of Iyalode, a leadership position reserved for prominent women in society. Yet historical accounts and Yoruba …
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The emotional impact of infertility is grief unspoken
Most clinicians know that eggs age. Fewer acknowledge that the uterus ages too.
In reproductive medicine, we often rely on the seed-and-soil analogy. The seed is the embryo. The soil is the endometrium, the inner lining of the uterus where implantation occurs.
Here is the part that deserves more explicit counseling and strategic planning: Even when embryo quality is controlled, uterine age can independently influence implantation, miscarriage risk, and live birth rates. …
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Uterine aging in IVF: Why the “soil” matters as much as the seed
Infertility affects one in six people of reproductive age worldwide, yet it remains one of the most overlooked public health challenges of our time. For decades, millions of individuals and couples have navigated this journey in silence, carrying grief, stigma, financial strain, and deep uncertainty about their reproductive futures. Despite its prevalence, infertility has rarely been treated as a global health priority.
That changed this year when the World Health Organization …
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Infertility public health: the WHO’s new global guideline
Carrier screening has outgrown the language we still use to explain it. The rapid expansion of genetic testing has uncovered new layers of complexity in how conditions present, how results should be interpreted, and how patients experience and act on genetic information. To practice responsibly in this era of Genetic Carrier Screening 3.0, clinicians must understand not only what we are testing for, but how and why the results look …
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Why carrier screening results are complex
Carrier screening has outgrown the language we still use to explain it.
For years, clinicians told patients they were either “a carrier” or “not a carrier.” But as the science has evolved, this binary approach is not only outdated; it is increasingly misleading.
Genetic carrier screening has entered a new era, and our counseling must evolve alongside it.
For decades, carrier screening was offered selectively based on ethnicity. Ashkenazi Jewish individuals were screened …
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Carrier screening counseling must evolve
As physicians, we’re used to thinking about dose (how much medication, how often, and for how long). But there’s another dimension that’s often overlooked: time. For decades, we’ve known that the body processes medicines differently depending on the time of day. A blood pressure pill or chemotherapy drug can have markedly different effects depending on when it’s taken. This field, known as chronopharmacology, has transformed how we think about drug …
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How timing affects chemical exposure risks
A young woman in her late twenties came to me after surgery for extensive endometriosis. The procedure had given her relief; her pain was gone. Her follow-up testing looked reassuring: her fallopian tubes were open on hysterosalpingogram (HSG), and her anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) level was above 4 ng/mL, which is considered normal. Her question was straightforward: “If my AMH is good and my tubes are open, doesn’t that mean everything …
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Endometriosis, AMH, and your fertility
As a reproductive endocrinologist, I see countless patients who walk through my doors with quiet stories of loss—sometimes the loss of hope, sometimes the loss of time. But every year, there’s a particular group of gentlemen who share a strikingly similar history.
They come from different countries. Many grew up in regions where the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine was unavailable or inconsistently administered. They had mumps as children, recovered, and thought nothing …
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Mumps orchitis still causes infertility years after childhood
Von Willebrand disease (VWD) is the most common inherited bleeding disorder, affecting approximately 1 percent of the population, though clinically significant symptoms occur in about 1 in 10,000 individuals. It is caused by a deficiency or dysfunction of von Willebrand factor (VWF), a protein critical for blood clotting. For women, VWD poses unique challenges during reproductive years, particularly in the context of fertility and assisted reproductive technologies like in vitro …
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When bleeding disorders meet IVF: Navigating von Willebrand disease in fertility treatment
Introduction
Endometriosis is a chronic, estrogen-dependent inflammatory disease affecting approximately 10 percent of reproductive-age women and is a leading cause of infertility. Despite its significant impact, it remains underdiagnosed and inadequately managed. This review examines the pathophysiological mechanisms linking endometriosis and infertility, current treatment strategies, and the role of dietary and lifestyle interventions in optimizing reproductive outcomes.
Endometriosis is characterized by the presence of endometrial-like tissue outside the …
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Endometriosis and fertility: What every woman should know
At-home hormone testing kits have surged in popularity, offering individuals unprecedented access to tools they believe will help them understand their bodies. Marketed as convenient, empowering solutions to monitor fertility and general hormone health, these tests may seem like a valuable resource at first glance. However, the reality is far more complex. In many cases, these kits create confusion, unnecessary stress, and even lead to harmful interventions.
While the promise of …
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The rise of at-home hormone tests: a double-edged sword for patients
The growing concern
In the age of marijuana legalization, a troubling health concern is emerging—its impact on fertility. While cannabis enjoys increased social acceptance, its unintended consequences on reproductive health are often overlooked. Daily marijuana use now surpasses high-frequency alcohol consumption, marking a cultural shift that demands urgent attention. Yet, despite accumulating evidence, why does it feel like no one is listening?
As fertility specialists, we are witnessing an alarming trend: couples …
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Why is no one listening? The urgent impact of marijuana on fertility
Introduction
Sleep is not just a luxury; it is essential for maintaining health, and its role in fertility is particularly profound. From regulating reproductive hormones to protecting egg and sperm quality, sleep impacts every stage of the reproductive process. Yet, sleep disturbances—such as insomnia, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and irregular schedules—are often overlooked in fertility discussions. Recent research highlights how poor sleep affects fertility in men and women, influencing natural conception …
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The impact of sleep on fertility: Why rest matters for reproductive health
Epigenetics has revolutionized our understanding of how lifestyle factors—such as diet, stress, exercise, and environmental exposures—affect fertility. Unlike genetic mutations, which change the DNA sequence, epigenetic changes modify how genes are expressed without altering the DNA itself. These changes occur through mechanisms such as DNA methylation and histone modifications, and they play a critical role in fertility. Even more intriguing, these epigenetic changes can be passed down to future generations …
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The role of epigenetics in fertility: Can lifestyle choices affect future generations?
In recent years, e-cigarettes have emerged as a popular alternative to traditional cigarettes, often marketed as a safer choice. However, accumulating evidence reveals that e-cigarettes pose significant risks, particularly to reproductive health. This concern is especially urgent given the ongoing decline in fertility rates across the United States, which have reached historic lows in recent years. As a reproductive specialist, I find it crucial to address these risks and emphasize …
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Are e-cigarettes harming your reproductive health?
Fertility treatments are a challenging journey filled with emotional highs and lows. For many, these treatments represent the hope of starting or growing a family. However, one of the less obvious but critical aspects of this journey involves pharmacy benefit companies (PBCs). These companies play a significant role in determining access to fertility medications, and their influence can create unexpected barriers for patients and health care providers alike.
Pharmacy benefit companies …
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The hidden impact of pharmacy benefit companies on fertility treatments
Microplastics, tiny plastic particles less than 5 mm in size, have permeated our environment, showing up in oceans, air, and even our food. These particles are a growing concern due to their potential impact on human health and fertility. Recent studies, including one by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), have highlighted the risks associated with microplastic exposure. This article delves into what microplastics are, how they affect …
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Microplastics and fertility: Uncovering the hidden risks to reproductive health
