LilSugar

European Doctors Could Limit Parenting Rights Based on Lifestyle

TresSugar — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:00:44 PST

Do you drink? Smoke? Are you severely overweight? If so, you soon might not be able to access in vitro fertilization services if you live in Europe. Newly proposed guidelines from the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology suggest fertility doctors require a "special justification" before helping women who are severely obese, or those who drink and smoke beyond moderation.

While many of us would agree that it was irresponsible for a fertility doctor to help Nadya Suleman, who was already a mother of six, rise to Octomom fame, where do we draw the line? Should fertility doctors act as gatekeepers, preventing would-be mothers from having children based on their lifestyles?

Source: Flickr User davhor

New Regimen May Reduce Infertility Costs

LilSugar — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:00:39 PDT

Good news for couples faced with undergoing fertility treatments in hopes of conceiving a child. Though the cost of assisted reproduction can exceed $100,000, a new study shows that a faster treatment regimen may help women conceive in a shorter amount of time, and reduce their overall costs.

The study, just published in the journal of Fertility and Sterility, followed two groups of women. Those who used the traditional fertility path of three cycles of pills combined with intra-uterine insemination (IUI) and three cycles of injections with IUI before moving on to up to six cycles of in-vitro fertilization (IVF), and those who eliminated the use of injections and went straight from the three cycles of pills and IUI to IVF.

Those who followed the shorter regimen had an implantation rate of 37.5 percent, while those who used the traditional path had an implantation rate of 27.6 percent. Participants in the shorter regimen also conceived in three fewer months than the others. The cost savings of such a faster plan are significant totaling more than $2,000

What Would You Do With Frozen Embryos?

babysugar — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:00:21 PDT

For many couples with fertility problems, in vitro fertilization is sometimes the answer to their prayers. Often, the "farming" procedure leaves hopeful partners with more than one viable embryo for implantation. If a successful pregnancy is achieved, the parents-to-be must decide what to do with those that were not used. Couples can choose to keep them frozen in case they decide to reproduce again or donate them to other people or to research.

Actor Michael J. Fox, a proponent of stem cell research, is on a mission to encourage those couples to donate their embryos in hopes of saving or changing future lives. An emotionally charged topic, opponents worry that the embryo would be sacrificed in a similar fashion as abortion. To that point, the stem cell champions argue they would never come to fruition in any case and if used for research, they would actually be bettering life for countless others by potentially curing ailments and preventing disease.

What do you think people should do with their unwanted frozen embryos?
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Infertile Men May Pass an Infertility Gene Onto Their Sons

DearSugar — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:00:00 PDT

About 15 years ago, fertility specialists figured out how to extract sperm from individuals who had an unbelievably low sperm count in an effort to help them to become parents. This process is called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) - where they inject a single sperm into an egg to make an embryo outside a woman's body. The embryo is then placed in the mother's womb (known as in vitro fertilization, or IVF), and nine months later, a baby is born. This new technology is no doubt considered a miracle, but now there are concerns about whether infertility will be passed on to those children who are born with the help of ICSI and IVF.

As for the daughters, there appears to be fewer problems since female infertility usually stems from a physical issue, such as a blocked fallopian tube. The cause of male infertility, on the other hand, is not so clear cut; it could be genetic, making it possible that this new generation that scientists helped to create might actually be infertile too.

Right now, one out of every eight couples is affected by fertility issues, and 40 percent of the time, the problem lies with the man. Of the 52,000 babies that are born using IVF, between 8,000 to 9,000 of the babies' fathers had help through ICSI. Both ICSI and IVF are thought to be safe, but scientists say there just isn't enough information to be sure, and with concerns about creating an infertile generation, this issue definitely needs further exploration.

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When You Hear Multiple Pregnancy Do You Assume In Vitro?

babysugar — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 04:30:53 PDT

Often times when parents announce they are pregnant with twins, whispers abound, "Do you think they did IVF"? Already US magazine is claiming, "It was In Vitro" in reference to Angelina and Brad's newest double addition. Next to join the dynamic duo parenting club, the expecting Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell. According to some reports, sources close to the couple are already debunking the inevitable suspicions of fertility aids like Clomid and IVF.

Methods of conceiving are really nobody's business but I wonder if hearing double pregnancy news automatically sparks the IVF question in your head. Do tell.

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Parents of Twins More Likely To Suffer Mental Illness

LilSugar — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 04:01:00 PDT

Parents of twins are more likely to have mental health issues than those who have single born children, according to a recent report.

Finnish researchers tracked parents of about 100 twins and more than 700 single born babies and found the parents of twins had more depression, anxiety and other problems than parents of single born babies. Dr. Laurence Shaw, who worked on the study, didn't seem surprised by the results. He said:

"It's stressful to have a baby, and even more stressful to have more babies...The message is not that parents of twins are nutters.

Shaw added that with the increase of twin births due to artificial reproduction techniques (such as In Vitro Fertilization) he thinks doctors and parents need to be more conscious of the costs of having twins. Sounds like the doc should call Jon and Kate Plus 8 - they know a thing or two about trying to stay sane while raising multiples!

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Indian Woman Becomes Oldest Woman to Give Birth at Age 70

babysugar — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 04:01:00 PDT

In a world where science has made nearly anything possible, I shouldn't be surprised to learn about a 70–year–old woman who gave birth to twins in India this past weekend.
No proof of her age exists but there is no doubt that Omkari Panwar is older than most new mothers. Omkari and her husband, Charam Singh, are already parents to two daughters and five grandchildren, but wanted to have a son to maintain their family property.

IVF helped the couple accomplish their dreams by giving them twins - one boy and one girl. The babies were born via Cesarean section, weighing two pounds each.

What are your thoughts on the couples decision to have a child so late in life?

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Would You Freeze Your Dying Husband's Sperm to Use Later?

babysugar — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:53:56 PDT

Lisa Roberts, a 34–year–old British woman, lost her husband, James a few years ago to a devastating bone cancer.

Already a mother to seven–year–old son Cameron, the couple chose to freeze James' sperm before he started his cancer treatments.

Hoping he would fight off the illness, they were prepared to use the frozen sperm for future fertilization to grow their family. Sadly, things didn't turn out that way and the father died.

As he laid in hospice during his last days, he asked his wife if she would ever use the sperm, to which she replied, "Definitely." Taking a couple of years to grieve and pick up the pieces, Lisa couldn't fathom pregnancy again without her spouse. But as she pulled her life back together, she knew it was time to welcome James's second child into the world.

After calling various IVF units, Lisa found one that would help her fulfill her wish. Pregnant on the first try, the mum was thrilled and excited to welcome a baby girl into her life with James watching from above. As fate would have it, she swears Jaimie–Rose (named after her father) looks like him, too.

If you knew your spouse was going to die, would you freeze his sperm for future use?
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Fifty–Seven–Year–Old British Woman Expecting Baby

babysugar — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 09:00:02 PDT

Many mature women dream of retirement, spontaneous vacations, grandchildren and a life of leisure. Susan Tollefsen has something else in store for her golden years.

As a lump grew in her belly, she feared cancer until an ultrasound technician performed a sonogram and told her she was nearly 30 weeks pregnant. To see how she came across this miracle baby,

Susan and her boyfriend, Nick (who is 11 years her junior) were desperately trying to have a child of their own. The mum–to–be told the Daily Mail:

I contacted fertility clinics in Britain but all of them refused to treat me because of my age. But there are no such age limits in some foreign clinics.

Limited by their homeland, the couple underwent treatments in Russia where Susan unknowingly became pregnant. Puzzled about how she missed the signs? After her last round of IVF, Susan had severe bleeding, which she now believes was a miscarriage of another baby (potentially a twin.) Having never been pregnant before, she was unaware of pregnancy symptoms.

Beyond excited for the bouncing baby girl to arrive, the pair are rushing to get the house ready. They plan to name her Freya, the goddess of fertility and birth.

Do you think you'd notice if you were 30 weeks pregnant?
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Talking to Tots About Egg Donors

Natasha Dantzig — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 03:15:13 PST

What's an egg between friends? Conception is no simple matter of wham, bam, thank you ma'am. With the numerous ways to conceive a child these days (in vitro fertilization (IVF), artificial insemination, and fertility drugs to name a few), there are new issues accompanying these medical and scientific advances. Just as the story of the sperm donor with 150 biological offspring prompted discussion of how to talk to kids who were conceived with donor sperm, a new study published in Reproductive BioMedicine Online, takes on the sometimes tricky topic of talking to kids about their egg donor - especially when that person is someone they may know very well.

The study followed women who received eggs from friends or relatives, nothing anonymous about the process, and no money was exchanged in these so-called altruistic arrangements. At first, everyone is fixated on getting pregnant, but issues tend to arise later, when the child is older and there isn't clear consensus on what to tell the child. Typically, the donor wants to tell the child about the arrangement at some point, but often the recipient does not, making for some very awkward soccer games and birthday parties.

Would you ever take part in an arrangement like this? Or do you think it's just too complicated?