My Future Baby

Sperm banks, donors help single women become mothers

brigitte — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:30:17 +0000

More single women are taking matters into their own hands to start a family without a partner. They are part of a growing group called “Single Mothers by Choice.” Read full article.

Survey Says: Use Embryos for Research

brigitte — Thu, 17 May 2012 03:06:01 +0000

A survey found almost half of South Australians believe embryos left over from fertility treatments should be used for research. Of the 2693 surveyed, 21 percent said the leftover embryos should be donated to would-be parents. Just 6 per cent believed they should be discarded.

Read the full article….

Sperm Collide and Crawl the Walls in Chaotic Journey to Egg

brigitte — Thu, 17 May 2012 03:00:51 +0000

In sex education videos the race of sperm to egg is portrayed like an Olympic swimming final as sperm surge purposefully down the female reproductive tract to the finish line. The reality, however, may be rather less elegant.

Read the full article…

New WHO statistics report includes good news for women’s and children’s health

Maternal, newborn and child health — Wed, 16 May 2012 09:29:00 +0000

16 MAY 2012 | GENEVA – The World Health Statistics 2012 report puts the spotlight on the growing problem of the noncommunicable diseases burden, but also highlights progress in women’s and children’s health.

How Does Infertility Affect us When we Become Moms?

Blog — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:11:44 +0000

by Iris Waichler
Mother’s day is over now. For those who are still trying to become a parent it is an incredibly difficult day. I hope you were able to …

Because of Abstinence Education, 60 Percent of Young Adults Are Misinformed About Birth Control’s Effectiveness

ASRM News and Research — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

A new study from the Guttmacher Institute unsurprisingly finds that greater knowledge about contraceptive services is directly correlated to a decrease in young adults’ risky sexual behavior.

In Sperm Banks, a Roll of the Genetic Dice

ASRM News and Research — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

For more than a year, the Kretchmars carefully researched sperm banks and donors. The donor they chose was a family man, a Christian like them, they were told. Most important, he had a clean bill of health. His sperm was stored at the New England Cryogenic Center in Boston, and according to the laboratory’s Web site, all donors there were tested for various genetic conditions.

Conceiving a Child Can Be Emotional, Costly

ASRM News and Research — Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Three foster children came in and out of the lives of Heidi Sue and Annie Angueira before the couple could even begin the journey that finally brought them the infant they knew they’d be able to keep.

So Eager for Grandchildren, They’re Paying the Egg-Freezing Clinic

ASRM News and Research — Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

At the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine, a popular destination for women hoping to preserve their fertility by freezing their eggs, Dr. William Schoolcraft, the founder and medical director, has started to notice something different: more of the women are arriving with company.

Gender Selection – How and Why?

brigitte — Fri, 11 May 2012 01:35:22 +0000

Gender selection is a fairly new option in the field of fertility treatment. Patients undergoing IVF can now choose whether to use a male or female embryo. Here are some frequently asked questions about this process.

What Technology is Used?

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) is the only reliable method for selecting the gender of a child. Sperm sorting is sometimes used by couples in the hope of increasing the chances of conceiving a child of the desired sex. However, the effectiveness of this method is unproven lacking data from large, multicenter trials.

How Does PGD Work?

After an egg has been fertilized in an IVF dish, it is allowed to develop for 3 days. After this, a single cell is removed from the embryo. It is evaluated for Y chromosome (the male chromosome) markers. If these genetic markers are present, the embryo is male. If not, the embryo is female.

Is This Process Safe and Reliable?

The process of PGD does not prevent an embryo from developing normally. The results of the evaluation are available after about 2 days. This means the embryo is transferred to the mother’s womb on the 5th day instead of the 3rd day. This is still within the time frame for successful embryo transfer. This method of determining the sex of an embryo has been shown to be 99% accurate.

Why Might Patients Choose this Option?

Patients sometimes use gender selection if they already have children of one gender and wish to balance their family with a child of the opposite gender. Or, the family may have a history of genetic disorders that are passed down through the X chromosome. These recessive traits typically affect male children because they have only one X chromosome. Choosing to have a girl makes it unlikely that this disease will affect the child. Some patients simply prefer to have a child of a specific gender.

Are There Ethical Concerns about Gender Selection?

Some people feel that selection of non-essential characteristics like gender is not an appropriate use of medical technology. Others believe gender selection is an aspect of reproductive rights and parents should be allowed to make this decision. The use of this technology to prevent genetic disease or to provide family balancing is typically viewed as less controversial than other uses.