Women who want to select their baby’s sex undergo the costly and cumbersome process of in vitro fertilization (IVF) to create embryos that are also genetically tested before being implanted. Although the testing, broadly referred to as preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD, is often used to test for genetic diseases, it can also identify the sex of the embryos. The IVF/PGD process can cost as much as $15,000 to $20,000 a cycle and isn’t covered by many insurance plans.
Category: Fertility Clock Headlines
Does Stress Play a Role in Infertility
More than 7 million women are unable to conceive each year, with doctors citing stress as a possible underlying factor.
Study Says Quitting Smoking Can Reduce Hot Flashes in Menopausal Women
Health researchers have recently discerned that women of a particular age who choose to give up smoking can actually get the added benefit of experience fewer hot flashes if they succeed.
Infertility Treatments not Associated with Increased Short-term Cancer Risk
Compared to the general population, women who underwent assisted reproductive technologies (ART) treatments were not at increased risk for developing cancer after approximately 5 years of follow-up.
Experts Call for Greater Scrutiny of Egg Donation Practices
A new report calls for professional societies to develop guidelines specifically addressing conflicts of interest in oocyte donation and to adopt tougher reporting and advertising standards
Parents Sue Doctors for Deciding Their Kid is A Girl
In a first of its kind lawsuit, Greenville, S.C., residents Pam and Mark Crawford are suing the doctors who gave their adopted son sex assignment surgery while in foster care. MC, who had been deemed a female by doctors, had surgery at 16 months to “correct” his status as intersex (having both male and female genitalia), but is struggling with this assigned identity now at 10 years old. His parents are grieving that such a decision was made for him before he was able to make it himself.
CT Removes Age Limit for Infertility Treatment Coverage Mandate
Health insurance plans sold in Connecticut will no longer be allowed to limit coverage of medically necessary infertility treatment to people under 40, according to new guidance issued by the Connecticut Insurance Department Thursday.
Are Vasectomies Reversible? 5 Facts You Should Know About The Form of Male Birth Control
It is true that a vasectomy procedure is simpler than female sterilization surgery. It’s an outpatient surgery where a doctor blocks the vas deferens — the tubes that carry sperm from the testicles to other glands, where the sperm mixes with other fluids and become semen, the stuff that comes out when a man ejaculates. A man who has had a vasectomy still ejaculates, but because his vas deferens are blocked, his semen no longer contains sperm, and thus he can no longer get a partner pregnant. And vasectomies are indeed very effective — they have a failure rate of less than one percent.
6 Myths About Miscarriage
Miscarriage is a heartbreakingly common experience, ending 15 percent to 20 percent of confirmed pregnancies. Although many women experience miscarriage, this loss has often been shrouded in secrecy, and couples often grieve alone.
Defective Sperm ‘Rescued’ in Fertility Treatment Study
Researchers from Cardiff University have successfully demonstrated that a previously identified ‘kick-starter’ protein can ‘rescue’ defective sperm and be used to create healthy embryos in animal models.