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For a while, it looked as though Bonnie Lomasney's desire to have children would be forever unfulfilled.
But thanks to the marvels of Western medicine and Dr. Bruce Shapiro, Lomasney has been blessed not once but thrice with the joys of motherhood.

Shapiro is the founder of the Fertility Center of Las Vegas, an internationally recognized reproductive endocrinology practice. In other words, Shapiro helps make babies.

Demand for his services has increased so much that Shapiro recently took on a new associate, Dr. Said Daneshmand, and will soon open a satellite office in Green Valley.

Lomasney knows why Shapiro is so busy: He's good. The first time she saw Shapiro, Lomasney knew immediately that he would help fulfill her wish for a baby. "He's very reassuring," said Lomasney, a Sunrise resident. "(He's) so professional; he made us feel very good."
In the past 10 years, Shapiro has spent the majority of his time treating women who, like Lomasney, want to get pregnant but can't for some reason.

Hundreds of mothers in Southern Nevada are thankful that Shapiro decided to hang his shingle in Las Vegas. Since opening in 1989, the center, located at 8851 W. Sahara Ave., has had 900 deliveries in Southern Nevada alone.

Shapiro, a 1982 graduate of the University of Nevada School of Medicine, moved to Las Vegas after completing a residency in reproductive endocrinology at Yale University in 1988. He was invited to start the reproductive endocrinology department at the School of Medicine. He still teaches, but his practice is now his main focus.
"When it works, it is a pleasing profession," Shapiro said. When it doesn't it can be discouraging. "Of course, you're always disappointed when it doesn't (work)," Shapiro said. "(But) it's very, very rewarding. I look forward to it every day."

Since Shapiro first started his practice, advancements in fertility procedures have increased pregnancy rates.
"Our breakthroughs are very exciting for us," said Shapiro, who now has a staff of 20, including an embryologist and two nurse practitioners. "It's been like night and day."
Shapiro also conducts research on fertility methods within his practice and received the Practicing Physician Award in April from the Pacific Coast Reproductive Society for a fertility study he conducted.
Shapiro left for Toronto on Friday to deliver a talk to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine about the results of his latest research involving in-vitro, or test tube, fertilization. With in-vitro fertilization, Shapiro discovered that a woman has a better chance of becoming pregnant if an embryo is implanted six days after its creation, as opposed to the previous standard of two days. The results suggest to Shapiro that their procedures are almost as effective as nature's process.

"What we're doing in the lab probably parallels what's going on inside the uterus (during pregnancy)," Shapiro explained.
Infertility affects an estimated 6 million people nationwide and the causes range from the simple to the complex.
Before he can help a couple, Shapiro has to determine why a woman can't get pregnant. Often, a couple can be helped by instructing them on the best times to try to conceive, Shapiro said.
Lomasney and husband John had for years tried to get pregnant with no luck. She attempted to ease her yearning for a child by throwing herself into the time consuming task of dog breeding.
"I had seven dogs because I couldn't have kids," Lomasney said. "You put it somewhere else."

Finally, she saw a doctor who sent her to Shapiro.
"As a woman, you feel like you can have a baby at any time you want," Lomasney said. "Then you try and you can't. It was devastating."
If she hadn't been able to have children, Lomasney believes she would have always felt incomplete, because being pregnant was very important to her. "I think I would have fallen apart," Lomasney said. "I have a friend who says, to her, children are the icing on the cake. Well, to me they are the cake."

It took four in-vitro implants before Lomasney became pregnant with her now 3-year-old daughter, Skyler Chance. A year after Lomasney gave birth, she underwent in-vitro fertilization again and had twins Dakota and Daria; they're now 14 months old.
Lomasney said she feels as though her family is finally complete.
Hearing such comments is beyond description for Shapiro.
"It's the most wonderful feeling in the world," Shapiro said. "You've helped another couple attain something they really wanted, you've helped create a new family. It's hard to imagine something nicer."
On Sept. 18, parents brought their children to the Fertility Center's annual "birthday party" to celebrate children as "the gifts of life." In keeping with tradition, guests were asked to bring an unwrapped gift to donate to St. Jude's Ranch for Children.

"My patients have a hard-earned appreciation for parenthood because they've battled infertility," Shapiro said. "That's why when we celebrate these reunions, we celebrate the sanctity of all children."
Lomasney celebrates her children every day, and feels an affinity for other couples who can't conceive, she said.
That's why Lomasney will help a good friend realize her dream of having a baby by performing the ultimate act of friendship: becoming a surrogate mother.
An embryo from the couple will be implanted into Lomasney; she will carry and give birth to the child, but genetically it will not be related to her.

Lomasney is aware of the potential risks of pregnancy but she's willing to take them for her friend.
"I know where she's at," she said. "I tell her I know how she's feeling. No one can take that feeling away."