North Carolina Courage Partners With US Fertility And Shady Grove Fertility (SGF)
Shady Grove Fertility (SGF), a founding partner of US Fertility, is now the official fertility partner of the North Carolina Courage professional women’s soccer team.
CARY, NC [May 26, 2022] – Today, the North Carolina Courage announced that Shady Grove Fertility (SGF), a founding partner of US Fertility, is now its official fertility partner.
SGF will support NC Courage players by providing them with options so that they do not have to choose between their careers and their future families. SGF will provide NC Courage players complimentary fertility physician consultations in addition to offering fertility evaluations, egg retrieval and freezing, educational events led by SGF physicians, and other fertility planning resources.
“Shady Grove Fertility’s track record speaks for itself, and we are thrilled to be able to offer their services to our athletes,” North Carolina Football Club President Francie Gottsegen shares. “At NC Courage, we strive to support our players in every way possible and are excited to provide them with tools that can empower and encourage them. When we learned that this type of benefit was of importance to our players, we immediately leaped into action and reached out to partner with a national leader.”
Age is the single most important factor affecting fertility for females, as conception becomes more difficult with age, and the chances of a chromosomal abnormality, miscarriage, or pregnancy complication become more common as eggs diminish in quality and quantity. The good news is that egg freezing, or oocyte cryopreservation, helps preserve future fertility all while leaving current fertility intact. By offering egg freezing to NC Courage players, SGF can help players safeguard their future fertility options, while still allowing them to continue their roles as professional athletes.
“As female athletes, we are often asked to choose between the sport that we love and the families we desire,” NC Courage forward, Rylee Baisden, shares. “It is incredibly empowering to now have access to best-in-class fertility specialists who understand our needs and have a 30-year track record of helping build families.”
US Fertility is the largest physician-led integrated network of top-tier fertility practices in the United States. The network completes more than 29,000 IVF cycles annually and performs 1,000+ elective and donor egg freezing cycles annually. SGF, which is part of the US Fertility partnership, is home to 100,000 babies born from 30 years of continuous innovation, a commitment to research, and patient-centered care.
“My North Carolina roots run deep, and I have a great affinity for the NC Courage team and what they represent – excellence, dedication, and opportunity. I look forward to working alongside NC Courage’s incredible athletes and coaching staff as they make important and timely decisions about their family-building options,” shares SGF reproductive endocrinologist and former Medical Director, Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Wake Forest School of Medicine, Erika B. Johnston-MacAnanny, M.D. “Through SGF’s partnership with NC Courage, we put time back on their side, as the younger a woman freezes her eggs, the higher chance of a successful outcome should she choose to use those eggs to achieve a pregnancy in the future.”
SGF, once referred to by Washingtonian as the country’s biggest babymaker, holds the spot as one of the top five egg freezing programs in the U.S., with the number of women choosing egg freezing at SGF continuing to rise at an unprecedented rate. In fact, SGF has seen a 50 percent increase in women freezing their eggs since 2019. In addition, SGF is one of only a few centers in the nation with published success rates for women who return to use their frozen eggs.
ABOUT US FERTILITY
US Fertility, the nation’s largest partnership of physician-owned and physician-led top-tier fertility practices, along with Ovation Fertility, a national network of premier IVF laboratories, are united under a shared mission to deliver the joy of parenthood through advanced reproductive medicine and innovative science. To date, US Fertility and Ovation Fertility practices have helped more than 225,000 individuals and couples build their families using assisted reproductive technology. US Fertility supports over 200 physicians by leveraging collective expertise, driving innovation, and by providing advanced business and digital solutions that streamline and enhance the delivery of exceptional patient care. Together with a growing suite of life science services, US Fertility is expanding access to the highest quality reproductive health care across over 100 clinic locations and 32 IVF laboratories. https://www.usfertility.com
ABOUT SHADY GROVE FERTILITY
SGF is a leading fertility and IVF center of excellence with more than 100,000 babies born from 30+ years of continuous innovation and patient-centered fertility care. With 46 locations, including new locations in Texas, as well as throughout CO, FL, GA, MD, NY, PA, TX, VA, D.C., and Santiago, Chile, SGF offers patients in-person and virtual physician consults, delivers individualized care, accepts most insurance plans, and makes treatment affordable through innovative financial options, including 100% refund guarantees. SGF is among the founding partner practices of US Fertility, the largest physician-led partnership of top-tier fertility practices in the U.S. Call 1-888-761-1967 to schedule a new patient appointment or visit ShadyGroveFertility.com for more information.
ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA COURAGE
The North Carolina Courage are a Division I professional women’s soccer team that play in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). The NC Courage play home games at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC. The team was established in January 2017 after owner Steve Malik acquired the Western New York Flash following their 2016 NWSL Championship Season and moved the team to North Carolina. Since relocating to Raleigh, the NC Courage have won three consecutive NWSL Shields, the inaugural Women’s ICC Championship, the 2018 and 2019 NWSL Championships and the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup Championship.