Midwest Center for Reproductive Health

08/03/2025

I have been asked by many people to share my thoughts on how to best advise couples who are wanting to improve their chances of conceiving.

Well, here goes with a guide for “Non-IVF conceptions”… Please feel free to send this to friends or family members who are thinking of starting a family...it may be very helpful!

First, here goes with some “facts” to consider.

The biggest reason for difficulty conceiving, imho, is ovulation problems and timing.

Here are some things to consider...

1. S***m last 72 hours in the cervical mucous, on average. The s***m knows where to go. The cervical mucous, however, is “open” to let s***m through for a relatively narrow period. When is that window open? Around the time the “egg” (oocyte) is released from the o***y. What can screw that up, in terms of cervical mucous? Lubricants. Astroglide, saliva, baby oil, most Pure Romance massage oils…they all tend to kill s***m deader than a door nail, so if you find that “things” are a bit dry, why not put some oil on “things” to help reduce friction? Try Canola oil or mineral oil. We found that mineral oil was pretty nice for s***m and we actually use it for s***m preps in our IVF labs.

a. What does that mean for you? Well, the average guy with a normal s***m count requires two days…48 hours…for the s***m count to return to “preejaculatory” levels. Yeah, even Superman. So, give your man a chance to recover. In*******se every other day is just the ticket around the time that “ovulation” occurs.

2. When do you, as the woman, ovulate? Ovulation is defined as “the release of a fertilizable egg from the o***y”. Q: When does that happen? It depends upon your hormone levels…

a. Your o***y contains a “follicle”, a cyst with an egg within. The follicle begins as a really small cyst early in the menstrual cycle (day one of a menstrual cycle is the first day of me**es) and enlarges exponentially, while cells within the follicle make estrogen. Your hypothalamus (deep within your brain) measures the estrogen and when it achieves a magical level the brain releases the ovulation hormone, LH, which does a number of things to help release a mature egg from the o***y, and to make changes in the egg to make it fertilizable, should the s***m be around to fertilize the egg. How can you know when that signal is sent? Ovulation (LH) predictor tests….Ovukit, etc. Start these on cycle day 10, and record when it turns positive!

b. How can you take advantage of your local pharmacy to know when your brain has released the signal…the LH surge? OVULATION PREDICTOR KITS! Yes, you can prepare for detecting the “fertile” time by running down to the pharmacy and picking up a test kit which will determine the appearance of LH in your urine, Ladies! Typically, you should begin testing on cycle day 10 (remember, day one is the first day of me**es!) and when the kit changes colors it means your brain is working well, your o***y is likely preparing a follicle for ovulation, and the egg is soon to be released!

c. So, what do you do when the test kit turns positive? Call your guy and plan for a romantic evening that day, and plan to do so again two days later (remember, gals, it takes two days for the s***m count for a guy to return to “normal”! Also, remember that if you think you need a little “moisture”, saliva, baby oil, or KY jelly isn’t going to make the s***m happy. In that case Canola oil/mineral oil might be just the ticket!

d. What does that mean for the rest of the month? The s*x you have those other nights are just for enjoyment! Enjoy yourselves!

3. What if your LH testing kit doesn’t turn positive, what might that mean? Maybe nothing, but you should use it again next month and see when it turns positive. If you go a couple of months without a LH surge, something is amiss with your ovulation, dear future Mom, and you need to see a doc who understands ovulation!

4. Does position matter…well, is it necessary for you to lie on your back, or in some “different” position after your partner has ej******ed? Nope. Those s***m know where to go, and the cervical mucous knows when it is OK to let the s***m through (it is under the control of the estrogen and progesterone levels!).

5. Now, here is a pretty frustrating fact… The best time for conception-inducing s*x is the night before the LH surge happens. Yeah, it is like a government test…The test turns “positive” and you are supposed to have s*x the night before it turns positive! Bummer! So, what do you do? Write down the menstrual cycle day at which the ovulation predictor test turns positive, and next month have in*******se EVERY OTHER DAY beginning the day before the ovulation test (LH test) turns positive, then every other day for 3 times! I know, I know, there may be groans from some of you, and happy faces from others, but given that the s***m last 72 hours in the cervical mucous, on the average, in*******se every other day will ensure that Mr. S***m will be around at the critical time! You don't need to do the ovulation predictor kits each month, but rather do so for 2-3 months to gain an understanding as to when you are having the LH surge and simply plan to have romance every other night for 2-3 days around the day the LH surge has been happening. This optimizes s***m being present and ready to do their thing when the right egg comes along.

6. Here are some things that will compromise your odds of conceiving: smoking/vaping/chewing to***co products; obesity. You want to optimize things working? Optimize ovulation and s***m production!

7. If you follow this protocol, and your ovulation predictor kits are NOT showing a signal for 3 consecutive months, go see your Doc and let them know! Since ovulation controls EVERYTHING, you may need some help in achieving a healthy ovulation! If they ARE showing a signal, you should consider having your guy getting a semen analysis ( yeah, a lot of fun) 72 hours or so after his last ej*******on.

8. Your Doc wants to operate on you, the gal, to see if all is OK? Go see another Doc.

10. What about in*******se the rest of the month? Recreational and intimacy, folks, pure intimacy! Please don’t let the every other night mid cycle mess up your s*xual relationship!

11. There are a surprisingly high percentage of eggs that are not likely to work well, and that percentage is affected by age of the female. Smokers and to***co users have a higher percentage of abnormal eggs than non-smokers, so lifestyle can play a negative role here.

12. If you follow these suggestions you will have optimized the chances of conception, and I hope you will have taken some of the stress out of your lives.

I hope this helps!

Doc C

06/15/2025

Wishing all Dads and Grandpas a Happy Father’s Day!

❤️

Dr C

05/11/2025

Happy Mother’s Day to each of you who we helped make this day a very special one. This also includes Happy Grandmother’s Day for those who supported their daughters as they were facing the challenges of difficulty conceiving. We are so happy for those of you who have become mothers and for those who decided to become really good aunts.

Dr C

03/24/2025

Dr. Corfman to be inducted into the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame!

Many of you are aware of the fact that many people were reached through the outreach program of the Midwest Center for Reproductive Health. A major mission of MCRH was always to emphasize care of those who do not live near the Twin Cities, and who were in need of infertility care. We were blessed to be able to use aviation as a means of reaching many in AK, MT, ND, SD, WI, MI and MN, using a modern "horse and buggy" in the form of a small airplane, flown by yours truly to see you in your local environment.

I am so fortunate to soon be inducted into the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame, in recognition of my career in medicine and aviation. I'm not sure if you would be interested, but the induction Banquet will be held on Saturday, April 12, 2025 at the Mystic Lake Center in Prior Lake, MN, with a meet and greet at 4:30 p.m. and dinner at 6:00 p.m., with induction ceremonies to follow.

You don't have to be a member of anything to attend, and you will see that some pretty darned cool people will also be inducted. You can register at www.mahof.org, click on banquet and view the bios of those who will be inducted at the bottom of the page. If you register by tomorrow, March 25, you can designate that you wish to be seated with others who support me. All general reservations must be made before April 6.

If you are able to attend, please reach out to me at rcorfman@mnpilots.org and let me know! I'll be looking for you. Children may also attend, but it will last 3 hours, so use your best judgement.

Doc C

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1ESgcvMCMs/

Since 1989, the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame has worked to honor the achievements of groundbreaking aviators though induction ceremonies and scholarships.

02/19/2025

A number of days ago I had the privilege and pleasure of speaking at an elite high school in Nuevo Vallarta…Harkness Institute. Julie and I have walked by this beautiful school for many years on our way to the market while vacationing in NV. The young people who attend are the best and the brightest from many countries, and I learned that the school is for sophomores, juniors and seniors. I reached out to the Principal, Diana Petras, a few weeks ago to learn more about the school and to see if there was any interest in having a two hour presentation on the biology of human reproduction…and the answer was an enthusiastic “Yes!” This led to an in person interview with Ms Petras and subsequently to being honored to speak to 90 juniors and seniors in a large classroom. Many who read this have been in advanced high school anatomy classes in which I have spoken.

It was a terrific experience for me. These young people were so interested, so willing to learn and so spot on with their questions! The time flew by. I left with the appreciation that these young people were the same as those I have shared knowledge with at the high school level in Minnesota (shout out to Buffalo High School, Park Rapids High School, New Ulm High School and others…and the teachers who have welcomed an outsider into their classrooms!). This experience leaves me with hope that responsible young people are still alive and well, and that educators can still make a difference!

Thanks to Harkness Institute and to Diana Petras!

02/19/2025

Today I saw a post on the page of a dear young woman who I helped come into this world over 20 years ago. I had the pleasure and privilege of meeting her in person when I was holding a clinic in a hospital in another city…where she was a medical assistant going into LPN school. She is delightful and beautiful inside and out.

She just posted the news that she just received her state license as a Registered Nurse, after transitioning from a LPN to an RN. I posted on her thread, and thought to share this with you, in honor of the LPNs and RNs who worked with us at Midwest Center and at our satellite clinics over the years. I hope you willl appreciate my observations…

“…congratulations! I am so proud of you, and so happy for you to experience both the perspectives of a LPN, and to bring with you those perspectives to your role as an RN. When I was an undergraduate premed I worked summers as an “orderly”…the equivalent of a “nursing assistant “ in a rural hospital in Kansas. I saw the hard work and caring that was exhibited by the LPNs, and how they were greatly appreciated by the RNs. I came away with many lessons, not the least of which was the philosophy held there that it was a level playing field when it came to providing compassionate care for our patients, when it came to giving bed baths, when it came to bedsore care, when it came to delivering meal trays. It was not beneath the dignity of RNs to chip in when needed, and for LPNs to do the same. I took that with me as a physician, approaching patient care with the same willingness to do what was needed. No task was “too low” for me to do in my practice. Hold those experiences close to your heart, dear Jenna, as you strive to make a difference. The rewards in doing so are great…the thankfulness your patients will show to you. So proud of you! Dr C ❤️

12/06/2024

One of the things that we enjoy most about the Holiday Season is going to the post office, checking the mail, and finding your holiday cards! They are so uplifting to us and we thank those of you who have taken time to keep us on your Christmas card list. It certainly is a magical time of the year, a time when we give thanks to those who have made a difference in our lives. I can assure you that you have made a huge difference in our lives.

For those of you who question as to where to send the cards, please send them to:

Dr and Mrs Randy Corfman
PO Box 635
Circle Pines MN 55014

We send you our most heartfelt thanks and Best Wishes for A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!❤️

Dr and Mrs C

11/29/2024

If you are able, please join in sharing Christmas Cheer and welcome Santa to Dr and Mrs C’s hangar! Please let us know if you might be attending!

11/05/2024

Get out and vote like your Children’s and Grandchildren’s lives depend upon it! Because they do! 🇺🇸❤️

Dr C

08/07/2024

Back to Walz's Yale comment...

I remember walking across the Yale campus to a seminar with my mentor, Alan DeCherney MD. While I am biased, he was the premier reproductive endocrinologist in the World at that time, an exceptionally bright person. He pointed out a building on the campus and pointed out that it was donated to the founder of S&H Green Stamps. He went on to point out that a daughter, or granddaughter, of that donor applied to Yale but was not accepted. His point was "it isn't about the money".

This memory adds further to my disdain for Walz's comment.
On that same walk I asked him how he had become so pre-eminent in this field of medicine. "I surrounded myself with people who were brighter than me". He was and is one of the brightest people I have known, so I know that his statement was hyperbole, but there is some significance to his response. I listened and was fortunate to be able to (easily) do just that!

Dr C

08/07/2024

“…like all the regular people I grew up with in the Heartland, (JD Vance) studied at Yale, had his career funded by Silicon Valley billionaires…”

Well, I grew up in the Heartland of Kansas, I studied at Yale, like JD Vance. I had great parents, unlike Mr Vance. I was taught the value of hard work, I was not expecting a fellowship at Yale to be handed to me. My career was not funded by billionaires , I refused to be a “hired gun” for the pharmaceutical industry, because my mentor at Yale discouraged that practice. Yet many of my colleagues at Yale have done just that. Not me.

Is there something wrong with that? I choose to think not. My career was determined by hard work, by taking care of people equally, regardless of their social status or professional status, or walk of life.

For Walz to imply that JD Vance was “gifted” admission to Yale is offensive. He had a harder time than did I…my parents were both good people. Walz spouts this bu****it to the roar of an admiring crowd, and they buy that. I do not. No one “gave” me anything, save for the love given by my Mom and Dad, farmers and awesome parents. JD Vance was not even given that, Tim Walz, you arrogant politician.

Tim Walz comments sicken me.

Randle S. Corfman
PhD, MD
Farmboy from Kansas

07/05/2024

I am very grateful for the honor of being inducted into the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame in April of 2025. Many thanks to those who, led by Elaine Morrow, wrote countless letters of support for this unexpected honor.

For many of you it was through aviation, and my many hours of flying out to see you in Great Falls MT, Minot ND, Fargo ND, Bismarck ND, Duluth MN, Wausay WI, Mankato MN, Aberdeen SD, Marquette MI, and Anchorage AK that made it possible for me to initiate compassionate care for you, and to introduce you to Team MCRH. We certainly had a wonderful team to assist you on your journey.