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Dr. Serena Chen

Reproductive endocrinology and infertility
Clark, NJ
35 years experience female

Locations

IRMS at Clark

Clark, NJ

Address

100 Walnut Avenue, (Just off Garden State Parkway exit 135), Clark, NJ
Directions

My office hours

Thursday: 9:00am - 3:00pm
Show more

Practice website

IRMS at Saint Barnabas

Livingston, NJ

About

Bio

Serena H. Chen, MD, FACOG, is Director of Reproductive Medicine and Third Party Reproduction at IRMS: the Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science, Department of Ob/Gyn, Saint Barnabas Medical Center. She is Board certified in Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. She specializes in treating infertility, hysteroscopic surgery, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), recurrent miscarriage, preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), egg and sperm donation, egg freezing for fertility preservation, gestational surrogacy, IVF, ICSI and LGBT family building. She received her undergraduate degree from Brown University, and her MD from Duke University. She completed her residency in Gynecology and Obstetrics, and a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr Chen is a Clinical Associate Professor at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School. She has published multiple papers, and has been named by her colleagues as a Top Doctor by US News and World Report in 2012-2014 and NJ Monthly 8 years in a row: 2007-14. She is a Yankees fan, loves yoga, and is trying to learn golf. She is very excited about HealthTap and using the internet and social media to raise public awareness about health issues. She believes knowledge is power and empowering, especially when it comes to your health. Please follow her on Twitter @DrSerenaHChen

Specialties
Doctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.

Reproductive endocrinology and infertility

Fertility Medicine

Gynecology

Obstetrics and Gynecology

Licenses

United States: New Jersey

Doctor Q&A

175 Answers
256 Agrees
The number of answers this doctor has agreed with.
A 30-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Seek expert advice: An 18 week stillbirth is unusual and your cousin should have a thorough evaluation with either a reputable reproductive endocrinologist and/or a mater... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 31-year-old member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Usually not: Semen is usually not allergenic under normal circumstances. It is rare to see allergies. Semen is highly allergenic when it is exposed to the bloodst... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 47-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Hormonal control: You may have adenomyosis. Continuous birth control pills or a strong Progesterone such as high dose Norethindrone to completely stop your periods is ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
You are pregnant!: Clomid (clomiphene) can interfere with home ovulation kits which measure lh. It is not known to interfere with a home pregnancy test. However, you s... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 40-year-old member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Vaccinate!: Ivf patients should treat their bodies as if they are already pregnant. During flu season this means getting a flu shot. If you already have the flu,... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 34-year-old member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Possibly: Couples struggling to conceive are under tremendous amounts of stress - similar to the levels experienced when a loved one dies. Infertility, however... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Low Glycemic Index!: A low glycemic index diet is a healthy one. Ask your doctor for a good nutritionist or some guidelines that fit your situation. If you need to lose we... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 44-year-old member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Age, Obesity: There can be multiple causes for female infertility. Two of the most common in the usa today are age and obesity. Other common causes are pcos, endome... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 28-year-old member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Perhaps: Excessive heat is not a good thing for eggs and sperm. However it takes a lot to heat them up and a laptop does not generate enough heat under normal... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 35-year-old member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Counting your period: Great question! a lot of women (and doctors!) get confused about this one. You should count the first day of full flow as day 1 of your cycle. The ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 25-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Yes: Pregnancy is possible. Sperm can live in the female reproductive tract for days. So the fertile window is open quite wide. This is why the rhythm met... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 36-year-old member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Common problem: Pcos or polycystic ovarian syndrome is a common cause for irregular periods, affecting up to 10% of women. It appears to be a disorder of Insulin that... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 33-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Likely OK: Most patients with pcos can get pregnant with some help to ovulate. An fsh of 4 is most likely fine but hard to analyze in isolation. The critical iss... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 43-year-old member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Likely normal: Most likely this is a little bit of blood in the vagina from the egg retrieval and can be completely normal if you are otherwise feeling fine. Let you... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 38-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
See a doctor: This could be normal but if you are concerned you should see your gynecologist. Since you are over 35 years old, if you have not conceived after 6 mon... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 20-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
See a Gyn : 12 days is too long. A normal period should last no more than 7 days. Please make an appointment to be evaluated by a gynecologist. This is a common... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 21-year-old male asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Depends: Infertility is not usually so black and white. Severe bilateral chronic epididymitis will certainly increase your risk for infertility above the usual... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 52-year-old member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
It depends: If you have a completely normal pregnancy and a vaginal delivery, then 6 months is the minimum waiting time. If you have a cesarean section then 9 to... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 24-year-old member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Perhaps: Check out the the fertility diet by 2 smart harvard guys named chavarro and willet. According to their research healthy eating and certain foods may ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 21-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
See a doctor: You should see a reproductive endocrinologist for diagnosis and treatment. Pcos or polycystic ovarian syndrome is the most common cause for irregular ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 29-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Uncertain: It is not clear that embryo glue is definitely helpful. Some studies demonstrate a benefit while others do not. Embryo glue has the downside of being... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 46-year-old member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
No: The Mirena (levonorgestrel) is a very effective reversible contraceptive. It is an iud that releases low doses of progesterone. Once Mirena (levonorge... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 48-year-old member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Low risk: Ivf is relatively low risk for most people. It is much less risky than pregnancy itself. At age 42, the biggest risk is failure. Pregnancy rates drop ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 35-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Likely: Sorry about the bad news. Yes. Most likely this was a problem with the embryo and not with you. It is good that you got pregnant. This often bodes wel... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 35-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Not necessarily : Every person's situation is different so you should sit down and discuss details with your doctor, but from what you are telling me you should have an... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 47-year-old member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Call your doctor: Abnormal bleeding can sometimes be dangerous for your health. It is important to see your doctor. You could be pregnant, have cancer, an infection or ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 18-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
See a doctor: This can happen to anyone every once in awhile. If it happens more than once it would be a good idea to see your gynecologist for a check up. Sometime... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 34-year-old male asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Repeat: There is a lot of variability between labs in terms of semen analysis. A lab that specializes in fertility testing will do a more thorough and accura... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 38-year-old member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Maybe: Lupron (leuprolide) will not help you to conceive, so if that is the top priority, then Lupron (leuprolide) is not recommended unless it is used as pa... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 18-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Possibly: Each person is different. Some people have no symptoms at all. Some people have multiple symptoms.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 36-year-old member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Yes reliable: Egg freezing technology is advancing rapidly and in the best ivf centers pregnancy rates are now approaching fresh egg pregnancy rates. At age 38, man... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 30-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
It depends: The short answer is you should wait at least 6 months after an uncomplicated vaginal delivery and 9 to 12 months after an uncomplicated cesarean secti... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 39-year-old member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
May be helpful: A sex therapist can be very helpful for couples struggling with having sex. Sometimes couples have infertility because they have trouble having sex. ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Hard to tell: You could be pregnant but these types of symptoms are very non-specific, and despite what the package label says, home pregnancy testing is not as rel... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 25-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
0.4-2.5: The normal range for TSH for most labs is around 0.4-4.5. However there are some studies demonstrating that if your TSH is over 2.5 while pregnant, yo... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 41-year-old member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Yes: Assisted hatching is an ivf procedure that is done after fertilization to improve implantation of the embryo into the uterus. It is controversial and... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 22-year-old male asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
No: No - fertility drugs do not cause cancer. Pregnancy is actually much riskier than any fertility drugs or fertility treatment. The biggest risk of fert... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 21-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Infertility : If you have unprotected sex for a year (or 6 months if you are 35 years old or older) without having a baby, you have met the definition for the diagn... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 32-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
See a Gyn: Termination of pregnancy or abortion should not cause infertility if there were no complications. Please have a check up with your gynecologist to ass... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 25-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Good question!: Eggs and embryos seem to do best with a process called vitrification which causes such a dramatic and rapid plunge in temperature that ice crystals do... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 36-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
5 to 15 thousand: Around 5 to 15 thousand dollars. Many insurance companies in the usa provide some coverage but most do not cover all expenses. Make sure you speak wit... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 34-year-old male asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
FSH Injections, IVF : If Clomid (clomiphene) alone does not work, adding IUI (intrauterine insemination) can improve Clomid (clomiphene) pregnancy rates. The next step afte... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 38-year-old member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
None: Usually at 5 weeks of pregnancy or 3 weeks after your egg retrieval you may not have any symptoms at all from the pregnancy itself. Most symptoms at t... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 38-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Low Glycemic Index: Great question! while there are no magic foods, normal weight and a healthy, low glycemic index diet are associated with higher fertility, while exces... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 32-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Tubal pregnancy: You could be pregnant. A tubal ligation does not always work. Please see a doctor right away and get a blood pregnancy test. You may have an ectopic o... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 42-year-old male asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Call the doctor: Sounds like your wife may be pregnant after ivf? Not enough information for me to shed any light on these numbers. Please call your doctor or nurse i... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 40-year-old member asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Not clear : Levitra (vardenafil) is usually used by men for erectile dysfunction. If this is how it is being used: by the male partner for erectile dysfunction a... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 22-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Seek expert advice: A stroke is a potentially deadly but unusual complication of pregnancy. I would strongly recommend that you not conceive again until you have had a c... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 30-year-old female asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Diet!: There are no easy answers. A healthy low-glycemic index diet and exercise is the best option for losing weight. Weight watchers has been shown to be e... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
A 36-year-old male asked:
Dr. Serena Chen
Reproductive endocrinology and infertility 35 years experience
Take: Take your vitamins! folic acid, a b vitamin, can lower the risk for birth defects.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.

Testimonials
Recommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.

5
Recommendations
689
Thank you notes
I have personally known Dr Chen for over18 years and is an outstanding fertility specialist in the NJ area, I would endorse her without hesitation
Apr 20, 2015
Great doctor. Consistently gives thoughtful, insightful and expert advice.
Dec 6, 2012
Excellent physician
HealthTap member
Thanks for your quick reply! Has been trying for just one more daughter.i already have 4daughrters and nine sons.do h think i could do it one mire time at age 46
HealthTap member
Thanks for your quick reply!..But if all of that is normal and i was told to keep trying then is it anything i can take to better my chances
HealthTap member
Scan showed its a subchorionic hematoma, but the fetus is growing on schedule and has a strong heartbeat. Thank you for your response.

Education & Training

Medical/Graduate school

Duke University School of Medicine, NC
Graduated 1988MD

Residency

JOHNS HOPKINS HOSPITAL, THE

Awards

US News and World Report Top Doctor 2012-2014
NJ Monthly Top Doctor 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Best doctors, NY Magazine 2013, 2014

Affiliations

ACOG
ASRM
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