Who are the women sitting in the waiting room with faraway eyes and brochures about egg freezing in their hands?It’s easiest to categorize them into two strikingly different groups. One group is made up of women who face illnesses that impact fertility, including endometriosis and cancer. On the advice of their doctors and supported by families and sometimes a husband, they’re making this choice to ensure that one day, following surgery or chemo, they still have the chance to mother their own biological children. The other group includes women who hurriedly speak about jobs with late hours and business trips and little time to meet guys. Even though it seems impossible within their current, busy lives, these women hold on to the hope that some far off day in the future they will have the option to have their own children should they wish to do so.
Month: March 2016
Fertility Benefit coming to Active-Duty Personnel Oct. 1
Active-duty military personnel will be able to freeze their eggs or sperm under a fertility pilot program beginning Oct. 1, a senior defense official said earlier this month.
Endometriosis May Raise Women’s Heart Disease Risk
Women’s risk for heart disease may be increased if they have endometriosis. This is the conclusion of a new study published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
A Puzzling Order in a U.S. Supreme Court Case on Obamacare
Something strange is afoot at the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices issued a highly unusual order Tuesday for the parties in Zubik v. Burwell, one of this term’s most-watched cases. Here’s the abridged version of the dispute: The Affordable Care Act’s regulations require virtually all employers to provide health insurance to their employees. They also require health-insurance companies to include contraceptive coverage for women in their plans at no additional cost. Religious nonprofits that object to contraception may file a one-page form with the federal government, at which point the insurance company will directly provide the coverage to their employees without further involvement from the nonprofit.
The FDA Just Removed One Of Anti-Abortion Lawmakers’ Favorite Talking Points
Thanks to a policy change from the Food and Drug Administration announced on Wednesday, it may get harder for anti-choice lawmakers to rely on unscientific information to restrict women’s access to the abortion pill.
Early Fetal Abnormalities May Correct Themselves in Time
Abnormal cells in the early embryo may not necessarily mean that a baby will be born with a birth defect such as Down’s syndrome. Research published in Nature Communications suggests that abnormal cells can be eliminated and replaced by healthy cells, potentially leading to complete repair.
The Quest for a Family
For those who want children and can’t have them on their own, time is the enemy. But so is cancer. And money. And war. For those who fear an imperfect genetic history, it seems they must forge the steeliest of nerves in order to be successful. So many things can go wrong in the quest for a family, despite the high-tech world of fertility treatments and genetic counseling that hold promise for those who have been disappointed by old-fashioned measures.
Individual Cells in Four-Cell Embryos Chase Different Fates
To reveal new details of preimplantation development in mammals, scientists based at the University of Cambridge and European Bioinformatics Institute of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL-EBI) tracked gene expression in mouse embryos. These scientists found that divergent developmental paths emerge as early as the second day after conception, when embryos consist of no more than four cells.
Metformin Linked to Improved Metabolic Profile in Teens With PCOS
Metformin, a therapy generally used in adults with type 2 diabetes, was linked to short-term improvements in the cardiometabolic health of teenagers with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a small evidence review found.
Designer Babies: The Truth Behind Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis
The fear of designer babies may be real, but not everything people believe about them is true. Even the term designer baby insinuates vanity, suggesting a process in which couples can pick out traits for their child as easily as if they were choosing fabric samples for their home and removing entire traits or disabilities from the population. The reality behind such children is far from that flippant scenario, however: Here are four of the most common beliefs about designer babies, and how accurate they actually are.