The use of the new IVF procedure has doubled in prevalence over the past decade without evidence of reproductive outcome.
Tag: ivf
When Conception Is Not Reality: 1 in 8 Couples Struggles to Get and Stay Pregnant
Thirty-six years ago, Louise Brown became the first baby born from a new experimental reproductive procedure called in vitro fertilization (IVF). Her British parents had been trying to conceive for nine years, but they struggled with infertility due to the mother’s blocked fallopian tubes.IVF seemed like science fiction to many observers at the time. But the birth of a healthy “test tube baby” gave hope to millions of others around the world battling infertility. IVF launched a revolution in the field of reproductive medicine that continues today, with new advancements helping women conceive.
What Problem Is Quebec’s IVF Bill Trying to Solve?
Discussions surrounding Quebec’s proposed reforms to its laws relating to assisted procreation have focused on its decision to eliminate its program of funding three cycles of in vitro fertilization (IVF). But this narrow focus ignores other significant changes in Bill 20: notably, its decision to prohibit women over the age of 42 from using IVF and the requirement that Quebeckers using donated sperm or eggs undergo a psychosocial assessment prior to accessing treatment.
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.
Experimental Infertility Treatment Seems Effective, Cheaper
A crucial part of conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF) — the incubation of embryos in a laboratory dish — can instead take place in a device inside the vagina, new research suggests.
Children Born From Frozen Embryos are ‘More Sociable’ Than Those Born From Fresh Ones
A study found that boys and girls born through IVF were just as chatty and independent as those whose mothers conceived naturally.
Black Women Fare Worse with Fertility Treatments
Black women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) are only about half as likely as white women to become pregnant using the popular assisted reproduction technique, new research indicates, and the racial disparity persists even when donor eggs are used.
Coffee Consumption Linked to Male Infertility, U.S. Study Suggests
Men who drank two or more cups of strong coffee a day had just a one in five chance of becoming fathers through IVF. However, for those who drank less than a cup, the chance of having a child rose to nearly 52%.
Praying for a Child: The Catholic Church Makes Life Impossible for Infertile Women
The Catholic Church’s rigid stance against abortion and contraception is well known. In Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI described the “transmission of human life” as a “sacred duty.” In Catholic thought, it is incumbent upon us to create life, not to prevent or destroy it. What is less well known is that this same logic is arrayed against women who seek to become pregnant through certain reproductive technologies such as IVF, in which a significant number of embryos are fertilized, many of which are then typically destroyed. Embryo destruction in the course of fertility treatments is, like abortion, murder in the eyes of the church.
My Journey to Motherhood: What I Always Thought…….
By Becky Fawcett
It was ten years ago that my quest to have a biological child came to an end.
I had given it my all. Five rounds of IVF, three pregnancies, three miscarriages and $82,000 in non-insurance covered medical bills.
Why did I stop …