Mosquitoes bearing Zika — a virus that can cause birth defects when contracted by pregnant women — are expected to reach the United States as soon as this summer, with Florida and Texas likely to be among the hardest-hit states.
Tag: United States
Rethinking Embryo Research Rules
For more than 35 years, there has been broad international agreement that no scientist can experiment on an embryo that is more than 14 days old. This red line was established as scientific guidance in the United States in 1979, and it was incorporated into British law after the 1984 Warnock inquiry into in vitro fertilization. Other nations, including Australia, Sweden and China, have since adopted the same limit, either in law or through scientific regulation.
Greater Fertility Care Options Becoming Available for US Veterans
Historically, men and women who are currently serving or who have previously served in the United States military have limited treatment options when it comes to infertility resulting from service-related injury. Several organizations, including CNY Fertility Centers and Congress, have been pushing for new, free care options for men and women seeking infertility care.
How Zika Is Making Couples Question Their Pregnancy Timelines
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently monitoring nearly 300 pregnant women in the United States and its territories who have tested positive for Zika. To date, there has not been a single case of the virus that has been contracted in this country (that is not true of Puerto Rico), but many experts believe it’s only a matter of time before there are pockets of the disease that originate here. All of which means that many women and their partners have begun to grapple with the possibility of Zika, and whether it means they should change their plans for pregnancy in any way.
1 in 7: Infertility a Harsh Reality for Many Couples
Infertility. It’s a common problem that impacts one in seven couples in the United States. Infertility is defined as “a couple trying to get pregnant for a year and not being successful,” according to Dr. George Hill with the Nashville Fertility Center.
More Babies, Fewer Multiple Births, Are Resulting From Assisted Reproduction
2014 saw the birth of more babies than ever who got their start in the petri dish of a fertility clinic in the United States. In its yearly review, the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology reported a total of 65,175 live births resulting from a variety of procedures — up from 63,286 in 2013.
NBC News exclusive: Uterine transplant couple speaks out
A Texas couple hoped to make history by delivering the first baby in the United States using a donor uterus. The procedure was part of an experimental program at the Cleveland Clinic. But a common fungal infection caused the surgery to fail unexpectedly only a few hours after Lindsey McFarland was introduced as the patient.
Infertility Linked to Higher Birth Defect Risk
As assisted reproductive technologies (ART) treatments have developed, treatments like in vitro fertilization (IVF) have become more accessible to a wider population. Accordingly, the number of women using fertility treatments to conceive has increased such that in 2012, roughly 1.5 percent of all liveborn infants in the United States were conceived using some method of ART.
Unintended Pregnancy Rate in U.S. is High, But Falling
The high rate of unintended pregnancies in the United States could be on the decline for the first time in decades, according to a new study.
What Should Be the Fate of a Spare Frozen Embryo?
There are more than 600,000 embryos frozen solid in clinics and labs across the United States, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. These excess embryos are a necessary byproduct of in vitro fertilization. For people who believe that life begins at conception, these embryos raise complex questions of logistics, priorities, and ethical consistency.