Currently, women who want to both avoid an unplanned pregnancy and prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have no choices other than the male or female condom. But there are new forms of female-focused methods in development that combine contraception with the prevention of STIs – including HIV – and they’re called Multipurpose Prevention Technologies (MPTs). Public health leaders expect that they will change the face of women’s global health.
Month: December 2014
Why Have More Men Chosen to Freeze Their Sperm?
Facebook and Apple recently announced they would cover the $10,000 cost for egg harvesting and freezing for any female employees who wish to delay child-bearing for years or decades, but the cheaper perk of sperm banking isn’t offered to male workers who want to put off fatherhood. Reproductive health specialists have debated whether young men really benefit from freezing youthful sperm to use later on, but some men have decided to shell out the money after hearing about research suggesting that sperm from a 40-year-old man could have DNA defects.
Twins: The Fetal Paradox
The risk of multiples has long been an unfortunate cost of IVF. Since the first test-tube baby in 1978, doctors have been transferring multiple embryos to a mother’s uterus in hopes of achieving one healthy fetus. Back then, doctors had no way of knowing which embryo would be the one, so “people were hedging their bets,” says Dr. Robert Stillman, medical director emeritus at Shady Grove Fertility Center, the largest fertility program in the country. But thanks to improvements in technology, fertility doctors today are much better at selecting healthy embryos to transfer.
Sperm Quality Declines with Age
Men’s sperm quality declines with age, likely lowering their fertility, a review of 90 studies has confirmed.
New Male Contraceptive is Expected to Hit the Market in 2017
Aside from having a vasectomy, wearing a condom or simply just abstaining from having sexual intercourse, men do not have many options for birth control. Parsemus Foundation, a group that works on neglected medical research, is working on a male version of the pill named Vasalgel that is expected to hit the market in 2017.
Boxer Rebellion: A Pocketed Cellphone May Be Behind Your Infertility
As soon as they buy a new cellphone, most people tend to ravenously rip the device from its wrapping, cast the accessories and directions aside and begin getting to know the gadget that will never leave their side. But within that discarded handbook lurks some important information. For instance, in the iPhone 5 manual it reads, “carry iPhone at least 10mm (about 0.39 inches) away from your body to ensure exposure levels [to radio frequency] remain at or below the as-tested levels.”
Sperm Can Carry Ebola for 82 Days: WHO
Sperm can carry the Ebola virus for at least 82 days and the World Health Organization is urging men recovering from the disease to use condoms for three months after the onset of symptoms.
Researchers Identify Factors That May Boost Success of Artificial Insemination
During in vitro fertilization, uterine contractions can reduce a woman’s chance of becoming pregnant. A new study published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, however, finds the opposite is true during artificial insemination.