From frozen ovaries to lab-grown babies: the future of childbirth
It is almost 40 years since the first IVF baby, Louise Brown, was born. While this amazing breakthrough was highly controversial at the time, IVF is today commonplace. So how is conception and childbirth likely to change over the next 40 years and beyond? The rapid pace of research in the areas of fertility and reproduction raises some mind-boggling questions about the future. Will we conceive and grow babies entirely in laboratories – making sex and pregnancy a thing of the
Study: For Obese Women Trying to Conceive, Infertility Treatment Is Best - Weight loss failed to hel
A lifestyle intervention for obese women struggling with infertility did not improve their chances of getting pregnant compared with a control group treated only for infertility, a small Dutch randomized trial found. An intent-to-treat analysis found that 24 months after randomization, a smaller portion of obese women with a BMI >29 who received lifestyle intervention had a vaginal birth of a healthy infant compared with a control group who received fertility treatments (27.1
Fertility Information Lacking for Young Women Who Beat Cancer
Many young female cancer survivors say they don't receive enough information about preserving their fertility, a new study finds. These women are at risk for early menopause because of their cancer treatment. If they want to have children but are not yet ready to start a family, they may be able to freeze their eggs or embryos after treatment, researchers explained. "The potential loss of fertility has been described in the literature as being almost as painful, if not more s
The ethically and legally fraught world of post-mortem sperm donation
There is a man waiting for the doctor and his time is running out. It is late evening, just over an hour after the doctor first groped for his ringing phone. “Can you help us?” the woman on the other end had asked, her voice breaking. Now, preparing for the procedure, the doctor is alert. He moves quickly. He scrubs his hands and arms with soap and snaps on his gloves. His assistant clinks down sterilised instruments onto a stainless steel table. The air is cool and heavy wit
Many Fertility Apps & Websites Get It Wrong -- Study finds only 4 of 53 online calculators accur
Websites and apps that promise to calculate a woman's most fertile days may often be off base, a new study suggests. When doctors put 53 fertility calculators to the test, they found that only four accurately predicted a hypothetical woman's "precise fertile window." "I'd recommend that consumers be cautious, and not completely rely on these sites and apps," said lead researcher Dr. Robert Setton. He is an obstetrics and gynecology resident at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/W
Vets Groups Rally Behind Bill to Let VA Provide In Vitro Fertilization
A dozen veterans groups and support organizations are rallying behind legislation that would enable the Veterans Affairs Department to offer in vitro fertilization services to veterans with wounds and injuries prevent them from fathering children. The measure, which has been championed for years by Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee last month and is now part of the omnibus veterans and military construction bill
Embryo protein may warn before miscarriage and pre-eclampsia
It’s a sticky business. Scientists have uncovered how embryos stick to the uterus in the first week of life. The discovery might one day help improve treatments for recurrent miscarriages and pre-eclampsia, a life-threatening elevation of maternal blood pressure. After a human egg is fertilised, it tumbles down the mother’s fallopian tubes and into her uterus. There it makes itself comfy by sticking to the wall of the uterus, then burying itself under the wall’s lining. Now,
IVF treatments drop dramatically since Quebec funding cut 6 months ago
After six failed attempts to get pregnant using artificial insemination, Léa's doctor said her chances of conceiving without in-vitro fertilization are zero. But since last fall, the Quebec government no longer pays for the full cost of the procedure, leaving Léa and her boyfriend scrambling to find the money. Couples now have to pay about $10,000 up front for the procedure. They will get some money back, based on a sliding scale of tax credits, but regardless, it's a big in
