Women who smoke during pregnancy may affect their future grandchildren's health

Women who smoke while pregnant may not only cause health problems for their children – but also their children’s children. Research suggests the dangers can spill down the generations, with a smoker’s grandchildren also more likely to suffer from asthma. Experts believe the harm caused by smoking in pregnancy can ‘switch on’ bad genes, which are then passed on. During pregnancy, nicotine can affect a baby’s developing lungs, predisposing the infant to childhood asthma. Although this risk is well-known, researchers from Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in California in the US wanted to investigate the implications for future generations. They tested the effect of nicotine exposure during pregnancy on rats, looking not only at their pups, named F1, but also at second generation pups, F2. The researchers found exposure inside the womb resulted in F1 offspring having reduced lung function consistent with asthma. However, it also impaired lung function of F1’s offspring F2, even though the F1 rats were not exposed to nicotine once they were born. A gene function associated with normal lung development was also reduced in both generations of offspring, says a report published in the journal BMC Medicine. Dr Virender Rehan, who led the study, said: ‘When we looked at the effect of nicotine on DNA in the testes or ovaries of the rats they found that nicotine increased the level of methylation in the testes but reduced it in the ovaries. ‘Nicotine also altered methylation of histone proteins in a sex-dependent manner. ‘These epigenetic marks may be the mechanism behind how nicotine-induced asthma is transmitted from one generation to the next.’ He said asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood and while there are many factors which contribute to asthma, maternal smoking during pregnancy is an avoidable risk. ‘The effects of smoking during pregnancy are, it seems very long lasting’ he added. ‘Stop smoking education and intervention aimed at mothers-to-be and women planning pregnancy needs to take into account the fact that nicotine itself contains dangers to their children and their children’s children.’ Article: 30th October 2012 www.dailymail.co.uk

Americans come up with new ways to raise money for IVF

How far would you go to raise money for IVF treatment? It’s no surprise when insurance companies see the word infertility or in-vitro fertilization they run, not wanting to help cover some of the cost. However, about six years ago, Brandi and Shelton Koskie was diagnosed with infertility, and could pay up to $20,000 for in-vitro fertilization, which was not covered by insurance, ABC News reported today. After being told about this news, they came up with a plan, to build a website, and call it BabyorBust.com, and to ask visitors for $1 donations towards their IVF. Soon the couple were being invited to appear on national television and radio shows, raising $7,500 in small donations from all over the world. Through investing and saving money on their own, they did reach their goal of $20,000 within two years. Welcoming their daughter named Paisley on their first IVF attempt, who is now a toddler. “People look in all crazy ways to cover their infertility treatments" Said Ken Mosesian executive director of the American Fertility Association, a nonprofit group. Since health insurance doesn’t cover IVF in most states, couples have come up with new, aggressive ways to raise money, fast, because the more time passes, the less likely a couple is to conceive. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 6.3 million women between the ages of 15 and 45 have fertility issues, which is about 10.9 percent of them. However, only 15 states have laws that require insurance companies to cover infertility treatments, and seven of them specifically exclude IVF, according to the National Infertility Association. Barbara Collura, the president and CEO of Resolve The National Infertility Association, said that they hunt for IVF funds has changed drastically in recent years. Five years ago couples were taking out second mortgages on their homes, going into debt to pay for their IVF treatments, said Mosesian’s colleague, Patricia Mendell, a member of the AFA board of directors. Back then, Barbra’s organization would hold workshops on how hopeful parents could refinance their homes or get personal loans to pay for IVF. However new economic realities make it much harder in today’s world. “Think about how difficult it is now to get credit cards, a lot of things that people could access cash with are either gone or very, very different now. Instead, people are turning to social media to ask their friends, families and strangers for money, either by building a website or just using a Facebook page. One couple even put a valuable Barry Sanders football card for sale on eBay last week to pay for IVF. The positive aspect of this is that people are talking about infertility more than ever before, Collura said. That includes the Koskie's, who have been open about Shelton's birth defect, which prevents his sperm cells from getting into his semen. The couple receives one to two letters a day from couples struggling with infertility. The most interesting one she’s heard about is a San Francisco couple that hosted a political campaign style dinner, charging guests they invited on Facebook and Twitter $35 a plate. Things could get easier for parents struggling to pay for IVF. A bill called the Family Act of 2011 is making its way through Congress, and it would offer a tax credit to help couples with out of pocket costs. Until then, couples like the Koskie's, and others like the Kassebaum’s of Palm Coast, Florida who struggle with infertility will just have to come up with new ways, since insurance companies will not recognize infertility. Article: 29th October 2012 www.examiner.com Photo source: ABC news

Surrogate mothers - Should they have the right to change their minds?

Natalie has written a comment piece for Bionews criticising the unchallengeable position surrogate mothers are currently given by UK surrogacy law. The law in the UK has long provided that the woman who gives birth is the legal mother. In surrogacy cases, the intended parents (one or both of whom must be the biological parents) can apply to the family court to have parenthood reassigned to them, but they are entirely dependent on the surrogate and her husband/civil partner giving their consent. If it is withheld, they cannot become the legal parents. Conversely, if the intended parents do not take responsibility, the surrogate has no means of holding them both legally responsible for the life they have created. Natalie criticises the law as being outdated in a modern age in which surrogacy is becoming more common. Very few arrangements do go wrong (a proportion of roughly 0.02%) and where things run to plan, the current law means that parental responsibility is left in the wrong hands for far too long, contrary to everyone’s wishes and the best interests of the child. In the rare cases where things go wrong, the courts in practice decide care arrangements flexibly on a best interests basis, but legal parentage can remain unresolved forever. It is time for us to introduce law which deals with surrogacy in a much more sophisticated way, understanding that it is a collaborative process in which the rights and responsibilities of everyone involved – the surrogate, her partner, the intended parents and the child – all need to be carefully balanced. This is what both surrogates and parents want, and what is in the best interests of children born through surrogacy. You can read Natalie’s comment piece Should surrogate mothers still have an absolute right to change their minds? or find out more about surrogacy law from our website. Article: 23rd October 2012 www.nataliegambleassociates.co.uk

Mother speaks out about her pioneering drug-free fertility treatment

The mother of the first babies born in Britain using a pioneering drug-free fertility treatment has spoken exclusively to The Independent on Sunday to urge others to follow in her footsteps. Tina Milkovic, 34, a project manager from Oxford, lifted a media blackout on her family to offer hope to thousands of women who may have abandoned their dream of having a child. Mrs Milkovic and her husband, Joe, 48, an administrator at Oxford University, became the first Britons to conceive using IVM – in vitro maturation – a technique that involves removing eggs from a mother's ovaries and maturing them in a laboratory. The family initially wished the twins to remain anonymous, only releasing pictures of the boy and girl, but not their names. But as Ilya and Isabella celebrated their fifth birthday last week, their parents decided to talk about their treatment and encourage others to use IVM, a safer alternative to IVF for the millions of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). IVF can be fatal for these women if they react badly to the drugs used during IVF treatment to stimulate the ovaries. The couple's decision to speak out, and the success their twins represent, will provide a big boost for IVM. Rachel Hawkes, chair of the PCOS charity Verity, said: "A safer treatment could be a help to many women with PCOS. It could be a viable option for thousands of women. One in 10 women have PCOS and around 40 per cent will need assisted conception." IVF uses high does of fertility drugs to mature eggs within the ovaries' follicles, later taking them out to be fertilised with sperm. In IVM, immature eggs are collected from unstimulated ovaries and then matured in a laboratory for up to 48 hours before being fertilised. Mrs Milkovic said: "We were trying [to have children] for two years, but, with me having PCOS, we always knew there was a slim chance of falling pregnant naturally. I was already going down the IVF route. We'd bought the drugs and were all set to start treatment, but in the back of our minds was always the risk with IVF for women with polycystic ovaries. I had read about IVM, but it was new and, I thought, not available in the UK. "The night before we were due to start IVF, we just Googled IVM and, by chance, our consultant's name, Tim Child, came up saying he'd just been licensed for it. We decided to call him the next morning to see if it was an option. It feels like fate. I just happened to Google it that night and there in front of me it said the UK had just been granted its licence. "I don't think any of us expected the pregnancy to happen because it was the first cycle. Two weeks afterwards, I was asked to go back in. I had some bleeding so I was convinced it hadn't worked. Then, when he checked the scan, I could see he was excited and he said we had twins. We were in shock. I remember sitting in the car in the car park and thinking, 'My God, it's worked'. "When the twins were born, I asked to remain anonymous so I could bond with them. The pregnancy went fantastically and the babies were a really good weight." Last month, the pair started at school. "I'm so proud of them," she said. "They have an amazing bond together. Ilya is very sporty, he loves football and tennis; and Isabella is a very girly girl, she does ballet and likes fairies and things like that." Though they don't appear any different, the twins do have an inkling of their special status. "On the internet, if you type 'IVM twins' on Google, a photo of them that comes up," their mother explains. "They love seeing themselves and say, 'Oh, that's me'." Mrs Milkovic said she feels lucky she didn't try IVF, "I'm so glad I didn't have to take that risk. I imagine there are lots of women out there who don't know that IVM is available in the UK. It's really important for this to get out so women can know." According to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, a relatively small number of patients have had IVM because the treatment is still in its early stages and is not offered widely. Dr Child, the Milkovics's gynaecologist at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, who pioneered the treatment in the UK after it had been used only a handful of times in countries such as South Korea and Canada, said IVF is risky for those with PCOS. "Women who have ovaries that look polycystic on a scan, which is about 25 per cent of women at reproductive age, are at a greater risk from ovarian hyperstimulation. It has been fatal. It's hard to say how many [have died] because it's under-reported, but in general, women who undergo ovarian hyperstimulation can develop abdominal pain and bloating and are at increased risk of blood clotting. About 1 per cent who use IVF could end up in hospital because of it." Many women with PCOS still take the risk with IVF because the chances of becoming pregnant are higher. "We've done 180 IVM cycles since we started five years ago and we've really been the only clinic doing it," said Dr Child. "In that same time we've done about 8,000 IVF cycles, which is driven by the patients. From their point of view, because their main driver is getting pregnant, they tend to choose IVF as the chances of conceiving are higher." IVM costs around £2,100 per cycle compared with around £4,000 for IVF, but it is only half as effective. How IVM offers hope In vitro maturation (IVM) is a safer fertility treatment for women who have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). When undergoing other fertility treatments, women with PCOS are at an increased risk of their ovaries becoming hyperstimulated by the drugs used to help eggs reach maturity before fertilisation. IVM takes eggs from the ovaries earlier than IVF and matures them in a laboratory, thus cutting out the need for fertility drugs. Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, a side effect of IVF for some patients with PCOS, can cause bloating, blood-clotting and, in some cases, it can be fatal. IVM is most suitable for women under 38 with polycystic ovary syndrome. IVM is cheaper than IVF because it does not require drugs, but its success rate is currently a little over half that of IVF. Article: 21st October 2012 www.independent.co.uk

Why women donate their eggs? - we want your views

Charlotte Bailey a third year student from Nottingham Trent University studying Broadcast Journalism would like to talk to anyone who has donated eggs or is thinking about donating. Charlotte says 'I have just started my final year in which I am required to create an 8-10 minute documentary for TV, to hand in as part of my dissertation'. 'I have decided to focus my documentary on egg donation for IVF. I have been researching this topic for several months now and during this time my knowledge and interest in the subject has greatly increased. I particularly wish to focus on the reasons why women donate their eggs and whether the increase in expenses that women can now receive, has persuaded more women to donate'. 'I am hoping to speak to someone who has donated their eggs to find out the reasons why they donate, for example whether it is for altruistic or financial reasons. I also wish to talk to a couple who have conceived a child or who are currently undergoing IVF to learn about the emotional side of the procedure and what it has meant to them'. 'If anyone would be willing to speak to me and be filmed for my documentary, I would be more than happy to meet with you beforehand. I understand that this is an extremely sensitive issue and a very private period of your lives, therefore, I want you to feel comfortable talking to me about your experience. I am planning on filming the documentary between January and April next year, during this time I will probably visit you on 3-4 occasions for filming'. Please feel free to contact Charlotte at Charlotte.bailey2010@my.ntu.ac.uk or Pride Angel if you wish to know any more about what it is about or if you wish to be involved in the documentary. Article: 23rd October 2012 by Charlotte

HIV related Fertility Treatment and Child Adoption Study UK.

Parenting options: Fertility treatment or adoption? Be part of an important HIV research study looking into parenthood. - Are you HIV positive and receiving antiretroviral treatment? - Are you above the reproductive age of 21 years and above? - Have you considered parenthood and tried to access fertility treatment or child adoption services? If you answered YES to these questions, you may be eligible to participate in a parenthood research study. The purpose of this research is to explore the experiences of people living with HIV in accessing fertility treatment services or adoption services. Whilst this study may not provide direct benefits to you, it is hoped that your experiences will help inform and influence future policies in the way services are planned and provided to people living with HIV, trying to have children using non biological means. This study is being conducted in collaboration with Terrence Higgins Trust for Doctorate research at the University of Surrey. The research will take place at Terrence Higgins Trust offices or at a venue suitable for you, telephone interview may also be arrange. It does not matter about what your background or sexuality is and couples interested may contact Tam Chipawe on t.chipawe@surrey.ac.uk / 07547453600 or Blake Smith at Terrence Higgins Trust on 020 7812 1813 or for more information. Confidentiality will be maintained at all times. This study has received a favourable ethical opinion from the University of Surrey Ethics Committee. Article: 21st October 2012

Big Gay Lifestyle Show - London Saturday 20th October 2012

WHEN AND WHERE? Free entry with registration Time: 11am-6pm Date: Saturday 20 October Where: Grand Connaught Rooms 61 - 65 Great Queen Street London, England, WC2B 5DA Entry to the Gay Lifestyle Show is free, but a quick sign-up is required online to guarantee a place and to manage numbers. People interested in attending the event must register online and then get ready to have a fun day out at the UK’s biggest indoor lifestyle show of its kind, the alternative to the usual scene. There’s plenty of live entertainment with Mollyhaus, Pink Singers, Marcus Reeves, Matthew Vankan, FTW, AJ, Red, and also a bit of literature for those who love to read, featuring Polari and Paul Burston’s literary salon. There will be arts exhibitions and sports will not be forgotten too; London 2018, Out for Sport and other UK based sports groups will be there as well for the fun. The highlights, however, belong to Venture Photography, which will be offering a free portrait session to everyone who attends the Big Gay Lifestyle show. The Chelsea and Westminster Hospital will also be there with a mobile sexual health clinic and Professor G. Nargund will address people on a seminar entitled ‘Natural and Safe Options for Fertility Including Natural IVF’. Also leading fertility website Pride Angel will be exhibiting and able to answer all your questions about become a parent, including co-parenting and using a known donor, so why not pop along for a chat. Erika founder of Pride Angel will also be holding a seminar about 'Co-parenting'. To finish off the wonderful and cultured weekend, what’s better than another freebie – entry plus welcome drink – this time at Shadow Lounge for the official afterparty? All you need to do is pick up your wristband at the show.

Sperm from a Celebrity Dad could be on offer by new Fertility website

You’ll probably never actually get to the chance to spend a night with a film star or pro athlete, but a new fertility service is offering the opportunity make a baby with one. It sounds like it could be a hoax designed to prank die-hard celebrity hounds, but Fame Daddy, which claims it expects to launch next year, promises to match hopeful mothers with sperm donated by “a top class portfolio of donors from across the celebrity world,” according to the Fame Daddy website. It encourages women to seek a private consultation, “and you could soon be enjoying the ultimate intimate VIP access.” According to the Telegraph, the sperm donors’ identities will not be revealed, but the service will allow women to choose from various areas of achievement and physical attributes. However, while the website’s list of “sample profiles” include an Oscar-winning actor, an Olympic gold medalist and a particle physicist, it remains to be seen whether clients will actually receive genetic material from donors of the highest calibre. Chief executive Dan Richards told the Telegraph that the clinic doesn’t actually have any real sperm samples yet, and the profiles advertised online are merely examples of the types of donors the company “intends to attract.” Richards did say, however, that a list of about 40 interested donors in its registry includes retired English cricket players and a multi-platinum recording artist. “Whether it is talent on the stage or pitch, having a world-beating voice, or just being very beautiful, Fame Daddy will have the perfect celebrity surrogate daddy,” he told the newspaper. Using the service will cost £15,000 ($24,000) or more. But it sounds as though it could an expensive gamble: What if the anonymous “television star” donor you pick turns out not to be MadMen’s hunky Jon Hamm as you’d hoped, but, say, Jersey Shore’s chiselled mess Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino? Maybe it’s best you don’t get a chance to procreate with them after all. Article: 17th October 2012 www.theglobeandmail.com

New iPad/iPhone App helps Navigate the Adoption Process

The Adoption App was created by Sharon Simons, an Adoptive Mom who, after successfully navigating the rigors and challenges of the adoption process, decided to craft an app to make the adoption process much easier for others. This comprehensive, yet easy to use iPad/iPhone application, is a practical working guide – a step-by-step roadmap - to lead you through the many steps & tasks that need to be complete before your Domestic or International Adoption can be approved. The Adoption App: - Offers detailed information & documentation on the Home Study Process for both Domestic and International Adoption - Helps organize the process with detailed checklists of tasks and documentation that needs to be completed - Documentation for Domestic and International Adoptions that you are able to email to yourself through the app, download it to your computer, print, & fill out each document - Identifies and offer quick access to a myriad of adoption resources - Contains a calendar that syncs with your existing calendar to keep you on time for all of your adoption related meetings & appointments - Links to articles & success stories on adoption, motherhood & more - A Share your Story with us feature which allows you to participate in the Mom at Last Community Website - And much more. In 2012 alone, Americans adopted 11,059 children through the use of International Adoptions. Domestic Adoptions totaled in the hundreds of thousands, and these numbers are growing every day. The Adoption App was developed by Sharon Simons. The Adoption App can be viewed and used on all iPads/iPhones including the New iPhone 5. The program lists for $4.99 and is available at the Apple Store. Link: www.itunes.com/apps/theadoptionapp For more information visit www.theadoptionapp.com or Sharon Simons Mom At Last website at www.momatlast.com About the Creator At the age of 39, Sharon Simons fell in love, got married, and tried to have children naturally, but she was unsuccessful in her attempts. She underwent three in vitro fertilization procedures, experienced the elation of pregnancy, the devastation of a late term miscarriage, and suffered an ectopic pregnancy. Sharon and her husband decided to adopt and successfully navigated the emotionally fraught waters of International Adoption to bring home two precious little boys. Her story is the subject of the upcoming book titled Mom At Last. Article: 16th October 2012 www.momatlast.com

Mum's story of buying her 7 year old gay son an 'I like boys' t-shirt

My oldest son has always been into fashion. When he was only five years old he already had a love of fedoras and "close-pants" (known to the rest of us as skinny jeans). When he started paying attention to what people were wearing on television shows, he would occasionally request something he saw on the small screen. And then he watched Glee and met Blaine Anderson. The uniform Blaine wore to his school on the show was much like the uniform my son wore to school everyday. It was only a matter of time before a "Blaine tie" was requested and procured. In fact, we bought two, because it was suddenly the only tie he wanted to wear to school. And when Blaine stopped wearing his school uniform and started wearing bow ties instead, a number of those entered his wardrobe. My best friend found a secondhand sweater that looked just like one Kurt, Blaine's boyfriend, wore in an episode. My son was thrilled and wore his "Kurt sweater" at every available opportunity all winter. Now, not every request was granted. After watching the Glee movie, he became obsessed with the shoes Blaine wore. I, of course, hadn't even noticed the young man's shoes at all. But my boy didn't stop asking for them, so I looked online and found a website that tracked Glee's costumes (of all things) and located them. I have to admit they are pretty cool shoes. But I have a kid who doesn't wear the same size shoes for more than six months before he's grown into the next size, and spending $70 on a pair that he couldn't even wear to school didn't make a lot of sense. I explained the economic reality of said shoes to him. My son didn't really care about the money, but eventually accepted his defeat because I wouldn't budge. (I am such a mean mom.) Then a little while ago he asked for another Glee fashion item. This time it was a t-shirt, worn by Kurt, while the show's ensemble sang "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga. It is a very simple white t-shirt with the words "Likes Boys" in bold black letters. Like most kids, my son asks for things all the time that he forgets about 10 minutes later, but this shirt wasn't one of those. He brought it up again and again, and even explained to my husband and I that he liked boys the same way Kurt liked boys. And he even liked the same boy Kurt liked, so he really needed that shirt. It should have been very simple. My son liked the shirt. We buy the shirt. And in truth, that's exactly what happened, but first my husband and I had to talk. While we want our son to be open, honest and comfortable about his orientation, we are also parents and we worry. The statement "Like Boys" should be fine. My son likes Blaine, calls him is boyfriend, and openly identifies as gay. That might seem a little unusual for a seven year old but that is our kid, and we think who he is is awesome. It doesn't say "Wants to Fuck Boys", but we both knew that's what a lot of people would read when they saw it. Others would put their own interpretation of what "gay" means, exclusively men who have anal sex with other men, and put that on our kid. It doesn't mean that to our kid or my husband and I. Gay to us means someone who is attracted to and falls in love (even puppy love) with members of the same sex. It's about emotions, and how people feel inside. It's not only about activities restricted to porn. But that's not the society we live in. Buying him this shirt felt like the equivalent of putting a huge target on our kid, along with a neon sign over his head saying "Hey Homophobes! Look Here!" Since our son announced he was gay, we have been fighting for his right to be himself. We make sure those in our life and his are on board, and he's never given the message that something is wrong with him. And this t-shirt made us wonder if all of that was just talk. This was taking it to the next level. Our son, who was never in any closet, was going to be "out" in a whole new way. Our kid isn't a "princess boy" or a boy who likes traditional girls' toys or fashions. In most ways he's a very stereotypical boy: one who loves football, ninjas and monster trucks. Many people are surprised to find out he identifies as gay, because he's not what they think a gay little boy would be. This shirt would put his orientation out in open, out there for all to read. But we can't be all talk. It's not ok for us to be fine with him being gay as long as it is convenient. So when his birthday rolls around soon, we know he will be thrilled to open a brightly wrapped present from his mom and dad with the t-shirt he has so coveted inside. But we also aren't willing to take risks with his safety. He won't be able to wear his shirt to school, because it is not part of his uniform. It won't be a shirt he's wears when we're out camping in a much more rural and conservative area, away from our urban home. But it is a shirt he will wear to our breakfast cafe on weekends, to the park, and running errands with my husband and I. And while he will only wearing what we know will become his favorite t-shirt, his father and I will have our eyes and ears open and be prepared. We will let our kiddo be his amazing self, and we will be there to defend him should anyone else be offended by who he is. And isn't it just so ridiculous that something as small as a t-shirt should be this big deal? Isn't it ridiculous that our son wanting to wear something he so strongly identifies with be such a controversy? Yes, it is. And it's infuriating. But no one is allowed to make my son feel like there is something wrong with him without consequences. Not even me. Article: October 2012 www.huffingtonpost.com

More time is needed to make decision about sperm and egg donor annoymity in Australia

THE state government says it needs another six months to decide whether children of sperm and egg donors promised anonymity before 1988 should be able to know the identity of their biological parents. A recommendation that the government change the law to allow for the information's release was made by Parliament's cross-party law-reform committee in March, which found the rights of children should prevail over concerns about donor privacy. The government was due to respond by the end of last month but yesterday released a statement saying it needed further time to consult donors about the proposed change, which raised ''significant legal and practical challenges''. Noting that the committee's inquiry had heard from only nine donors, the government said it would ask the Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority to canvass donor views over the next six months before finalising its response. The deferral was met with dismay by donor-conceived children yesterday, including Melbourne social worker Narelle Grech, 30, who was diagnosed with late-stage bowel cancer last year. She wants to warn eight half-siblings conceived through the same donor to a possible genetic risk of bowel cancer, and to meet her biological family. ''On Monday I got CT-scan results to suggest that my tumours have grown. My prognosis isn't great and I don't know if I have the time the government is taking. It's eating me up … I'm working so hard to get well and overcome this illness, but having this hanging over my head is really not helping.'' A spokeswoman for support group Tangled Webs, Lauren Burns, said the response failed to give ''even in-principle support'' for the committee's recommendations, or to acknowledge the rights and needs of donor-conceived children. Australian Medical Association Victoria president Stephen Parnis said he welcomed the government's decision to conduct further consultation on an important, complex and emotionally charged issue. He said disregarding assurances of anonymity given to donors before 1988 had the potential to seriously undermine the public's trust in the medical profession. The proposed law change would bring the rights of several thousand children born before 1988 - who are not entitled to identifying information - in line with those born following the introduction of laws to regulate assisted reproduction. Currently the law varies depending on when the donation was made. Victorians conceived using sperm donated after 1998 have unconditional access to information about their donors. Those conceived between July 1, 1988, and the end of 1997 can access information if their donor consents. VARTA chief Louise Johnston said the authority would conduct a range of focus groups and individual interviews with donors to ''support the government to make sensitive decisions to meet the needs of all parties involved''. Article: 12th October 2012 www.theage.com.au

Want to have a child? French TV producers want to speak to you

My name’s Agnès, a French journalist, in charge of a TV documentary, whose topic is: "The will of having a child". In other words: I have to tell the story of different couples or single « future parents », who didn't have a chance to have kids « naturally ». In France, as you might know, people making rules for all of us ( !) are not the most... how to put that... let's say "open minded" about helping people to have children. Especially if you are a single woman. Or a single dad. Or a gay couple. So, once I filmed French people trying to have kids through the "French way" (=being mainly medical assistance for hetero couples, and adoption), I decided to widen my search and look towards UK, USA and Canada to try to get in touch with future parents (single or in couple, french speakers, or not) about to give birth in october or november, and whose journey they chose can be: - Co-parenting - Sperm insemination for single mum by choice - Surrogacy I know it is extremely touchy to ask you to share a period so intimate, so private of your lives. But I really can not avoid those crucial topics (co-parenting, single mum by choice, and surrogacy) in this documentary, and I need you to help me talk about it. We would film you, future parents, 5 to 8 days, during the main steps of the end of your « journey ». The timeline of the shooting has to fit between this month and the next one. The documentary will be edited in 6 episodes of 85 minutes each. It will be on air, weekly, first semester of 2013, at 8:50 pm, on the French TV Channel called NRJ12. It is a channel mainly directed to young people, but that recently decided to extend its viewers range, by broadcasting a collection of documentaries called "Les grandes histoires". Please, feel free to look at the link Under. It is one of the 6 episodes of another serie of the same collection. I was not the director of it, but the main spirit remains the same. The topic of this one was : « inside different maternity hospitals » : www.youtube.com We’ll be happy, with my team, to hear your story and answer any of your questions. Please feel free to e-mail or call me anytime soon! (soon being the "key word"!) Article:by Agnès Buthion TV director

68 year old mum of twins says she was too old to have IVF

Janet Maslin-Bosher’s twins turned ten a fortnight ago and the celebrations were predictably lively. She bought them matching scooters, chased along beside them as they rode them, prepared a birthday tea and took them to the theatre. The festivities would have taxed the most youthful of parents — but at 68, Janet was exhausted. As the oldest first-time mother of twins in Britain — she was drawing a pension when her children Sarah and James were just toddlers — you might imagine she would be a resolute defender of late-life parenthood. But, surprisingly, she now concedes that she was too old to become a mother. ‘The children are my life and of course I wouldn’t be without them. But 58 is old to become a mum. There should be a cut-off age for IVF treatment and 50 is sensible,’ she says. Janet compares her own story to that of Spain’s Maria del Carmen Bousada de Lara, a single mother who had twins by IVF at 66. ‘I felt she was selfish. She died of cancer within two years and her children were orphaned.’ When Janet became pregnant with her own twins following her first IVF attempt, with embryos donated by an anonymous couple, she was nine years younger than Miss Bousada de Lara. Even so, critics of post-menopausal motherhood argued that she, too, could not bank on being around to guide her twins into adulthood. Indeed, Janet’s partner Martin Maslin died unexpectedly, aged 64, of a heart attack when James and Sarah were just five months old, leaving her to raise her children alone on a pension. Is she, too, not open to the charge of folly, if not selfishness? ‘I’d like to have had my twins earlier. Absolutely,’ she acknowledges when we meet. ‘But we’re in the here and now. I can’t change things. My world revolves round them. I’m very happy to be a mum and to have two such contented, well-mannered children. ‘I’m very fortunate, too, that I’m fit, but it’s true: you don’t realise what’s involved until you have them. It’s hard work. You don’t have a social life outside them; I’d like to join the church choir but I can’t. ‘But I think back. I’ve lived. I’ve done a lot. Many people who have children young feel they’ve missed out on their youth. Some young mums are not ready for parenthood; I’ve got vast experience of life, I have patience — and most importantly of all, I have time for them.’ Time, of course, is the commodity that is in short supply for older parents. When Janet gave birth to her twins at 58 after paying for IVF treatment at a private clinic, she was accused of being irresponsible. This week, the Government introduced a new law allowing women over 40 to sue if they are refused fertility treatment, paving the way for more older mums to get IVF. Current rules restrict treatment to women aged between 23 and 39. Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk

What are your chances of getting pregnant? New formula predicts

A formula that predicts a woman’s chances of pregnancy has been devised by scientists. It combines information about how fertility drops with age with the length of time a woman has been trying to start a family, to come up with their odds of conceiving. For example, they have worked out that the average 25-year-old who has been trying to get pregnant for six months has a 15 per cent chance of doing so in the following month. By the age of 30, her odds are 13 per cent and, at 35, they have dropped below 10 per cent. The speeding up of the biological clock mean the chances of pregnancy plummet after 35. The average 40-year-old who has been trying for six months has just a 5 per cent chance of getting pregnant in the next month – or odds of one in 20. The calculations also show that when a woman is 25, it will take 13 months for her odds of conceiving quickly to fall below ten per cent. But a 35-year-old woman has just six months before her chances are so slim. The long-standing rule of thumb is that those trying for a family should wait a year before seeking help, although doctors are increasingly acknowledging the impact of age. The researchers, from the University of Warwick and the London School of Economics, say that more detailed information could make it easier for couples to discuss fertility issues with their GP. Professor Geraldine Hartshorne said: ‘People feel embarrassed and upset and don’t want to go to the doctor. Men, in particular, can be a little bit reluctant. ‘As time goes by and people have been trying for a while, they start to get stressed and upset and that can affect their chances of having sex and then becoming pregnant. Approaching a doctor about a personal matter is daunting, so knowing the right time to start investigations would be a useful step forward.’ Writing in the journal PLoS One, she also warns that taking too long to conceive could indicate that the resulting pregnancy might be risky. The work could help doctors to decide whether to refer patients for costly and uncomfortable tests or advise them to keep trying for a baby a little longer. The researchers have passed their work to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, which formulates health guidelines. In future, it may be possible to create an online calculator that provides couples with a personalised prediction. Professor Hartshorne added that factors such as smoking or being fat are ‘not the most important things’ when it comes to conceiving. However, a healthy lifestyle will boost the odds of a healthy baby. She said: ‘If your tubes are blocked, giving up smoking really isn’t going to make a difference, but things like smoking and obesity do have important effects when you do get pregnant and in that respect they should be addressed as soon as possible.’ Article: 6th October 2012 www.dailymail.co.uk

Judge awards parenthood to gay dads after indian surrogate 'disappears'

The Telegraph and Daily Mail have today reported the international surrogacy case of D and L (2012). The case marks a legal first: the court agreeing to make a parental order after the surrogate mother could not be found to give her consent. We are proud to have worked with the parents on this case to win legal security for their family. A UK same sex couple had twin boys through an Indian surrogacy arrangement. They had taken legal advice at the outset and knew they would need their surrogate’s consent, after the birth, to become the legal parents under UK law. They became concerned during the pregnancy that their clinic might not be as helpful as they had thought, so we wrote to the clinic explaining what was needed, and the clinic confirmed they would help. However, after the birth, the clinic refused to secure the surrogate’s notarised consent. As a final insult, our clients were sent a couriered package which they thought finally contained the consent document they desperately needed – instead it contained a single sheet of paper with a sketch of an obscene gesture. They then tried to track their surrogate down themselves, but the address they had been given for the surrogate was a false one and they could not find her. They applied to the UK court for a parental order and asked the judge to help. Focusing on the need to give the boys legal security with their parents throughout their lifetime (and our clients’ extensive efforts to obtain the required consents), Mr Justice Baker in the High Court made them their sons’ legal parents.

Scratching lining of womb could double IVF success rates

British researchers found that gently scratching the lining of the womb a month before IVF treatment improved the chances of pregnancy. A review of research on the technique found that twice as many women became pregnant after the procedure than without, boosting pregnancy rates to almost one in two. Doctors at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital, central London, are carrying out a larger trial to establish the overall efficacy of the technique with the hope of offering it routinely within three to five years. It is thought that scratching the womb lining stimulates growth factors and repair mechanisms that allow the fertilised egg to embed more easily. It takes only 15 minutes in clinic, can be carried out by trained nurses and uses simple equipment already in use. The procedure may add less than £100 to the average £4,500 cost of a cycle of IVF treatment. Dr Tarek El-Toukhy, who led the review study, said: “Endometrial scratching uses simple, inexpensive equipment that most hospitals already have and which clinicians are already trained to use, so complications are rare. “It’s exciting that the chance of pregnancy could be doubled. The next step is to see if this applies to birth rates. About a third of IVF treatments result in a baby, so improving these odds would make a big difference to people trying to have children through IVF.” The findings from the review of eight studies involving 911 patients are published in Reproductive Biomedicine online. In the review, 128 out of 499 women who did not have the womb procedure became pregnant — almost 26 per cent. Of the 412 women who had the procedure, 198 fell pregnant, or 48 per cent. There were no serious side effects reported and early signs are that the doubling in rates will be translated into birth rates. The women in the study had all suffered repeated unexplained implantation failure, meaning other aspects of their fertility seemed normal but the egg did not implant properly in the womb. Maha Ragunath, the clinical director of Care Nottingham, the biggest private provider of fertility treatment in England, said the technique should be offered widely to all IVF patients in the near future. She has begun carrying out the procedure for patients who have suffered repeated failed cycles of IVF. “This is really priming the womb to receive the embryo,” she said. “It is a bit like having a smear test for cervical cancer. It is very quick and simple. “I think any doctor reading the review would want to at least talk to their patients about this procedure. “There is obviously something to be gained from it, no long-term damage and it is so inexpensive, so why not?” Article: 1st October 2012 www.telegraph.co.uk