India, the world's second most populous country, has been experiencing a rise in infertility in recent years. According to statistics shared by the Indian Society of Assisted Reproduction, currently 10 to 14 percent of the Indian population is affected by infertility. One out of six couples in urban areas is impacted by this problem. The growth and progress of IVF technology over the years has come as a boon for individuals suffering from sub infertility and treatment like IVF is an incredible gift to them  as it ignites a couple's hopefulness for revived parenthood miraculously. However, the right guidance and genuine treatment in IVF and infertility is still unable to reach the masses, causing them not to achieve the desired outcome sometimes. There also exists a paucity of highly trained IVF specialists who are skilled enough to give good pregnancy rates to couples with their own gametes and major focus rests on third party reproduction or donor cycles to give success to couples in majority of the clinics.

On the other hand, there's a positive competition thriving in the industry led by a few specialized infertility professionals who have been diligently striving to help patients by rendering exemplarily fertility healthcare services around the country & worldwide. Dr. Richa Singh, Director & Founder of Urvara Fertility Centre is one such celebrated name that stands eminent in the infertility & IVF industry. She is a well-known infertility & IVF consultant and reproductive endocrinologist based in Lucknow. Dr. Richa brings with her an extensive experience of a decade into obstetrics gynaecology and infertility practice and has been bringing hopes to many childless couples in the country and from across the globe as well. She has served various prestigious institutions including Max Group of Hospitals, New Delhi as senior consultant IVF & Reproductive medicine before shifting to Lucknow to help the couples struggling with infertility in this region. Having proven a great asset to India and Lucknow's infertility care and IVF sector, this trailblazer has been setting new benchmarks amidst the IVF care industry, converting the most challenging IVF treatment cases into success stories.

In a detailed interview with Women Entrepreneur magazine, she speaks to us about the advanced IVF services she has been rendering at Urvara, while also taking us through her inspirational journey in the IVF space.

What motivated you to venture into the field of healthcare and specialize in fertility & IVF?

Ever since I can remember, I had always dreamt of becoming a doctor. Hence after I pursued MBBS, I chose my specialization as Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Also, to do it in the best way, I completed my DNB, Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency program from Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Delhi and then served as an Obstetrician for three to four years. By then my desire to foray into the Infertility & IVF space grew stronger as I always had the fervour and instinct to become an Infertility Specialist; more than anything else, it was my passion, hence I pursued my fellowship & training in Reproductive medicine from Gujarat followed by a Diploma in Reproductive Medicine & Embryology, Kiel, Germany.

Upon my return to Delhi after extensive training I began working as a Consultant IVF at various hospitals, one of which one was Medicover -a European healthcare. I was blessed to be giving good success rates in IVF but my professional success never stopped my zeal to learn new things and gain expertise that could help me serve my patients better. Hence, I went to AIIMS Delhi to train in Laparoscopy, followed by British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy (BSGE), IBC Dubai where I trained in Hysteroscopy. Later the journey took me to Max Group of Hospitals, Delhi where there was a shift in paradigm and we were now treating patients across the globe from various countries and difficult cases of PGS/PGD, ERA and low AMH and severe cases of male infertility with TESA and micro-TESE and  the similar success rates at international level too kept the motivation high to be doing more and more in the journey forward.

“In hindsight, i always had the fervour and instinct to become an infertility specialist; more than anything else, it was my passion”

Shed some light on your expertise as an IVF Consultant. What are some of the techniques and procedures that patients suffering from infertility can leverage from your treatment?

Here in Lucknow since there was a trend of third party reproduction in terms of parenthood services to couples who had problems of low AMH or male infertility, I wanted to change that by being `The IVF centre for self-cycles' for patients. Hence, we've brought with us the latest technologies of genetic testing of embryos like PGS & PGD that effectively help with the elder women >35 years to brace this joy of parenthood with her own eggs instead of opting for donor eggs due to high chances of chromosomal problems in the baby and not only this to help couples who have genetic disorders in the family and want a healthy child, in cases of recurrent pregnancy failures, IVF failures, abortions etc. We have also brought in the Endometrial Receptivity Testing (ERA) to help improve the results of IVF treatment by giving our patients personalized embryo transfers as per their window of implantation. Additionally, our service also focuses on male infertility with an aim to help them brace the joys of fatherhood with their own sperm. To achieve this we have introduced the TESA and micro-TESE treatments to help couples with even nil sperm counts. We are one of the most advanced centres across UP and the country to be providing such services and bringing success to many challenging cases where couples had lost hopes.

As the Founder & Medical Director at Urvara, what are the various roles and responsibilities that you have been shouldering?

Being the Medical Director at Urvara, the first and foremost thing is  my role as a doctor and treating my patients the best way by creating an efficient individualized treatment plan for optimum success, be it less sperm reserve or low ovarian reserve case . We have established one of the most advanced laboratories of the country where we conduct advanced procedures, keeping a check on the respective lab processes and its infrastructure conditions such as temperature monitoring, humidity levels of the lab, the VOCs, the particle counts and many more. The quality of our lab and our treatment is top notch, and we ensure it by going through regular monthly checks and timely validations and use of best international standard medications and media to serve our patients the best results and bring smiles to those struggling from problems of conception.

Being the Founder comes with great responsibility soI also keep a watch on each and every aspect of patient care and personally supervise the patient hospitality experience too, keeping a close watch on every small parameter at every level at our centre. We believe in bringing excellent care at every level to every patient so we also look into the perfect skilling of our staff through proper counselling and training at regular intervals.

Mention us about your most significant milestones that you have achieved so far.

As an IVF Consultant,  every challenging case we bring success to is our milestone .We have given results to patients with very low AMH or poor ovarian reserves  with their own eggs ,very poor sperm quality and yet results from own sperms and small sized uterus conceiving on self uterus. So creating little miracles every day is our mission and motto. However, it's rewarding when we get recognized on several platforms for the work we do. Apart from other accolades for best infertility practices in Delhi NCR and best obstetrics and gynaecologist in Delhi, we have continued our excellence after coming to Lucknow and some recent feathers of recognition that have been adorned on our cap is by Ayushman India award 2020 and Woman of the Future Awards 2021, amongst the list of Top 50 Women across the country.

How do you stay abreast with the various evolutions & changes taking place within the industry and the technology world?

For medical alignment, I keep myself updated by going through journals, latest researchers and the publications to know about the trends and what's successful. I also participate in CME, conferences, webinars, and lectures that happen at the country & international level, and try to stay updated. Of course there are new and upcoming technologies along with new ways to improve and update lab results etc, so we look forward to adopting these new technologies that can make us more efficient.

Dr.Richa Singh, Founder & Medical Director, Urvara Fertility Centre

Dr. Richa acknowledgeable IVF specialist helping numerous national & international families conceive IVF babies through advanced IVF treatment and care.