11 Myths doctors hear about fertility and getting pregnant

Many couples spend years trying not to get pregnant, so it's only understandable that they may have a few issues when it comes to trying to have a child. Just like when you become a parent, there is no written manual on how to get pregnant. For one in six couples, infertility issues are an obstacle to parenthood. Infertility does not discriminate. We see patients of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds. They are smart, hard-working and determined to have a family. However, many do not understand their personal fertility and the factors that affect fertility potential. During National Infertility Awareness Week, we turn our efforts to helping those who hope for a family. The more that men and women know about the realities of fertility, the more effectively they can have a baby, often without our help. These are the most common misconceptions we hear during patient appointments. 1. 'He doesn't have any fertility problems; he's already a dad.' Contrary to popular belief, male fertility is finite. Similar to female fertility, male fertility decreases with age, particularly after age 40. Researchers have found a direct link between paternal age and an increased risk of autism and schizophrenia. Men pass along as many as four times more genetic mutations compared with mothers. As a man ages, the concentration of mobile, healthy semen and semen volume overall will decrease. 2. 'All the women in my family had more babies in their 40s, so I am fine.' Although family fertility history is taken into account during treatment, it can neither help nor hinder fertility potential. Previous successful pregnancies also do not signify a bump-free conception route. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 11% of couples experience secondary infertility, which is defined as a couple with a child being unable to conceive again after a year. Once a woman hits 40, there is a less than 5% chance (PDF) she will get pregnant in any given month (compared with 20% at age 30). 3. 'I smoke, but I don't have to give it up until I'm pregnant.' The American Society for Reproductive Medicine estimates that up to 13% of female infertility diagnoses are due to smoking. Believe it or not, smoking as few as five cigarettes a day each has been associated with lower fertility rates in both men and women. 4. 'We have sex within 24 hours after ovulation.' After ovulation has ended, becoming pregnant is impossible. Ovulation -- when an egg drops from the ovary into the fallopian tubes -- occurs once a month, roughly seven to 10 days before a woman's period. For pregnancy to occur, sperm must meet an egg during this one- to two-day time period. To boost your odds, have sex before and during ovulation, as sperm can survive in the reproductive tract for three days. If a woman's monthly cycles are irregular, visit a specialist to discuss ovulation. Ovulatory disorders are the most common infertility diagnosis for women. 5. 'I don't have to worry about my eggs until I'm 40.' At birth, a woman has 7 million eggs, which slims down to 400,000 at the onset of puberty. During a woman's lifetime, approximately 400 to 500 eggs will be released. As a woman ages, the ovarian reserve declines. A woman's egg supply takes a rapid decline in the late 20s, again in the 30s and then most notably after age 35. 6. 'I do yoga and exercise. I'm in great shape. Age won't affect my fertility.' A healthy body and mind can boost fertility, but it cannot reverse the age of ovaries and semen. For both men and women, age is a critical component of fertility potential. 7. 'I know we could stand to lose weight, but ...' When men or women carry extra weight, hormonal shifts occur in the body that can affect ovulation and semen production. The great news is that couples can team up to lose weight, become active together and boost their fertility. Although it is estimated that 70% of women with infertility are also obese, losing as little as 5% to 10% of body weight can boost fertility in men and women. 8. 'Only women need to take supplements before a pregnancy.' It has long been known that women should take folic acid to prevent certain birth defects, but folic acid is now known to be an important supplement in male fertility. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley found that men had a higher rate of chromosomal abnormalities in their sperm when their diet was low in folic acid. Coenzyme Q10 has also been found to increase sperm count and sperm motility, and vitamin E also improves low sperm count. 9. 'STDs affect my health, but they don't affect trying to have a baby.' For both men and women, sexually transmitted diseases can affect the ability to have children. STDs can cause scarring and blockage of the male reproductive structures. If STDs go untreated in women, they can lead to an episode of pelvic inflammatory disease, which is a leading cause of infertility. 10. 'It doesn't matter how much coffee I drink.' Believe it or not, that venti at Starbucks might be working against you. One study found that "women who consumed more than the equivalent of one cup of coffee per day were half as likely to become pregnant, per cycle, as women who drank less." Caffeine can decrease fertility, so be sure to limit intake. It's better to opt for decaffeinated or half-caffeinated coffee, and remember there is caffeine in tea, colas and chocolate. 11. 'We have sex every single day so we can get pregnant faster.' Having sex every day only slightly increases pregnancy when compared with having sex every other day, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine. If a man has a normal sperm count, sperm concentration does not decrease during daily sex. Article: 22nd April 2014 www.cnn.com

New research suggests embracing emotions during infertility

On September 27, a diverse group—doctors, authors, filmmakers, trauma therapists, and members of the public—will convene in New York City to watch the infertility documentary The Cycle: Living a Taboo. They will also participate in a forum to “challenge conventional wisdom and foster a new, more open dialogue about infertility.” This project is meant to give voice to important but often marginalized perspectives, including patients who are not only unsuccessful but traumatized by the fertility treatment experience. It’s good to redirect our attention from the depression and anxiety that we often associate with those seeking fertility treatments to a more complicated emotional cocktail that includes desperation, anger, and helplessness. But while we collectively share and show compassion for our diverse reproductive experiences, we must clarify exactly what we mean when we discuss these emotions and how they bear upon patients’ competencies. Before we encourage infertility patients to spring out of the stirrups to avoid an emotionally bumpy ride, it's good to question why so many stay on the path to fertility treatments nonetheless. I have spent the past two years researching emotion’s impact on fertility treatment decision-making and informed consent, conducting lengthy interviews and survey research with approximately 400 in-vitro fertilization patients and 90 reproductive medicine professionals. My research has revealed that, by themselves, generalized labels such as “desperate,” “angry,” and “vulnerable” are often misleading; they can actually do a disservice to and disparage the patients. Some infertile women do experience feelings of desperation, but common-sense understandings of what it means to be desperate range from unsophisticated to flagrantly wrong. Yet these labels not only are present in popular stereotypes of infertile women and couples, but for decades they have often been applied (without empirical evidence) by well-intentioned individuals seeking to draw attention to patients’ vulnerabilities—including experts in medicine, law, and business, religious leaders, and former patients. In reality, the lived experience of these emotions is highly complex and nuanced, and many purportedly “toxic” emotions actually play positive roles and are critical to successful coping processes. My research shows that some “negative” emotions, including desperation and anger, often deepen patients’ involvement in decision-making and cause them to deliberate carefully, rather than consigning them to paralyzed indecision or blind commitment to unrealistic goals. Read more ...

http://blogs.prideangel.com/post/2013/09/Delaying-your-first-baby-could-lead-to-age-related-infertility.aspx

Young women who decide to delay their first baby until their late-30s are running the risk of being left childless because of age-related infertility, scientists have warned. A woman’s fertility declines dramatically after the age of 35 and an increasing number of women are finding that they have to turn to IVF treatment to have any hope of becoming pregnant, experts said. “Things are really going downhill between the ages of 30 and 40....the best cure of all is for women to have their babies before this clock strikes twelve,” said Professor Mary Herbert, a reproductive biologist at Newcastle University. “They should think of family planning not just in the context of preventing pregnancy but also think of it in the context of having your babies at a time when you still have your reproductive fitness...I would be worried if my own daughter didn’t have a child at 35,” Professor Herbert said. The number of British women between the ages of 35 and 39 giving birth for the first time has increased from 6.8 per cent in 1986 to 17 per cent in 2008. This has been accompanied by significant increase in the number of women over 40 seeking fertility treatment, many of whom will ultimately fail to become pregnant, the experts said. Fertility specialists are increasingly concerned about the trend towards having children later in life because, although it can work for some women, it causes problems for many more because female fertility declines so rapidly after 35. “Family planning has got to include when you are going to have your children as well and what we are seeing over the years is an increase in the age of women seeking fertility treatment,” said Jane Stewart, a consultant in reproductive medicine at Newcastle University. “We cannot get away from the age-related decline in fertility and I think to put forward the idea of delaying having children is fine for some people but it’s not fine for everybody,” she said. “I don’t think women understand the risks they run when they reach the older ages....It’s better to think about it [in your 20s] and having that thought process inform all possibilities,” she told the British Science Festival in Newcastle. Women are born with a certain number of egg cells in their ovaries and these are gradually lost as they get older, Dr Stewart said. “Women at the age of menopause have effectively run out of eggs. We do run out of time,” she told the meeting. Article: 13th September 2013 www.independent.co.uk

Coming out of the closet: Why we need National Infertility Awareness Week: October 28 – November 3 2013 Although 1 in 6 couples in the UK today – that’s around 3.5 million people – face a range of problems trying to conceive a child, many still don’t wish to share the heartache with others and tell people that they are undergoing some sort of fertility treatment. Infertility is one of the last great cultural taboos. National Infertility Awareness Week has been launched by patient charity Infertility Network UK, which wants to make this a HUGE annual event and see everyone involved in fertility taking part in some way. It’s time to bring infertility out of the closet and push it much higher up the medical, social and political agenda. For the first time ever, National Infertility Awareness Week will provide a dedicated and specific focus for the millions of women and men fighting this often misunderstood illness, and an opportunity for the doctors, healthcare professionals, psychologists and politicians to promote greater awareness about infertility. And even if you’re not directly affected by infertility, chances are you will know someone, work with someone, or be friends with someone who is. And that’s a lot of people who are touched in some way. We’re on a mission to end the isolation and secrecy of infertility and we need you to support us in whatever ways you can. So join us and get behind National Infertility Awareness Week! With 1 in 6 people in the UK struggling to conceive, we need to raise the awareness though the roof. The aim of National Infertility Awareness Week is, quite simply to: • Highlight the extent and impact infertility has on people’s lives • Explain what options exist for people struggling to conceive • Change the conversation and get more people talking about infertility The fertility challenged should not feel ashamed: it’s not always easy to have a baby and there’s no shame in that! Only be raising awareness, spreading the word and bringing infertility out of the closet will people feel more comfortable discussing this illness. We have great plans for this week, which will end with the biggest event in the UK fertility calendar: The Fertility Show on November 2-3. We will be hosting a number of activities during the week, both online and off, for anyone who wants to take part. Most activities focus on advocacy and public education but we are aiming to have some fun, especially with our ‘Great Cake Bake’. We are asking people to bake cupcakes and sell them to workmates, friends and family to raise funds for us. Maybe have a coffee morning, or just meet up with a few friends, ask them to make a small donation to I N UK and enjoy the cake! We also have over 100 professional cake bakers on board who are supporting this wonderful event. If you are hosting a cake bake then please let us know; contact the team at admin@infertilitynetworkuk.com who will send you a ‘Great Cake Bake’ pack with a poster and a sheet of rice paper cake toppers which you may like to use the decorate your cakes. We can also add you to our events page on the website www.niaw.org.uk and please remember to send us some photos of your event so we can put those on the website too! This week will also be a focal point for our Talking about Trying campaign, www.infertilitynetworkuk.com/talking_about_trying so there are lots of reasons to join in. Visit our awareness week website at www.niaw.org.uk and see how you can get involved. Whatever you do, please DO SOMETHING and let’s put National Infertility Awareness Week on the map. Article: 28th August 2013 www.infertilitynetworkuk.com Read more about fertility and parenting options at www.prideangel.com

Coming out of the infertility closet

Although one-in-six U.S. couples face problems conceiving, many still feel funny telling others that they are undergoing treatment. In fact, infertility is one of the last great cultural taboos. One survey of infertile couples conducted by the pharmaceutical companies Schering-Plough and Merck found that 61% hid their infertility from family and friends, and half didn’t share it with their mothers. Why the secrecy? The study also found that seven-in-10 women admitted that being infertile made them feel “flawed,” and half of men reported feeling “inadequate.” It’s no wonder then that talk show host Jimmy Fallon waited two weeks after the birth of his daughter Winnie Rose to reveal that she was carried by a surrogate. “My wife and I had been trying for a while to have a baby,” Fallon told Today’s Savannah Guthrie Friday morning. “We tried a bunch of things. So we had a surrogate.” Fallon’s openness came as a surprise, considering that most celebrities have been notoriously mum on the subject. Who can blame them? Remember all the rampant speculating about whether Kate Middleton had infertility problems? And—gasp!—was Baby George conceived via IVF? We should applaud Fallon—along with his wife and other high-profile women willing to share their stories—for going public with facts so many would prefer to keep hidden. Article: 11th August 2013 www.ideas.time.com Read more...

Singapore uses 'fairy tales' to warn women of falling fertility

With her blond bob, convertible car, cigarette in hand and cropped top emblazoned with the letters YOLO ("You Only Live Once"), this is an Alice in Wonderland the world has not seen before. Like Lewis Carroll's original, this cartoon Alice is curious about the world – "she gives up her cash to fly around rash" – but the moral here is that this twentysomething Singaporean is so busy being "wild and reckless" that she stands to lose her chance of starting a family. Welcome to adult education in marriage and fertility, Singapore-style. "Alice" is one of 15 fairytales revamped for a new government-backed scheme to encourage Singaporeans to get married and start having babies earlier. Faced with a rapidly ageing society, skyrocketing housing prices, low birth rates and a population that works the longest hours in the world, this country of 5.3 million people has made various attempts over the years to encourage its citizens to marry and procreate, from government-funded speed-dating schemes to educational flyers on how to flirt. Now, however, it is changing its tactics in search of a happy ending. Aimed at 21- to 30-year-olds, the "Singaporean Fairytale" was created by four final-year university students who wanted to "find an interesting way to connect with young adults … on what it takes to start, live and be a family in Singapore", says the project manager, Chan Luo Er, 23. "Fairytales are very accessible, as almost everyone grew up with a fairytale or two – our little poem on a woman's declining fertility as she ages ties in quite nicely with the Golden Goose." The fairytales – which have been distributed by leaflet to universities around Singapore – include versions of Cinderella, the Three Little Pigs, Rapunzel and Snow White, each involving a reworked tale that relates to fertility, sex or marriage, and a resulting moral. The lesson with "careless" Alice, for example, is that "the extended adolescence of twentysomethings today has a biological cost for women" and the story ends with a stark warning: "After 40, [fertility] drops 95%." Read more... Article: 22nd March www.guardian.co.uk

Jayne Torvil's IVF misery revealed: fertility facts you need to know

Jayne Torvill has spoken out about her difficult and heartbreaking experience of trying to conceive by IVF. Despite improvements in IVF success rates, Jayne revealed how her desperation to become a mum took over her life before she came to the decision to adopt. Jayne, 55, half of the super skating duo Torvill and Dean, broke down on Piers Morgan's Life Stories as she spoke for the first time about her trials to get pregnant and how an ectopic pregnancy left her devastated. And with Anna Friel, 36, admitting she's looking into freezing her eggs for when boyfriend Rhys Ifans is ready to become a dad, we looked at what you need to know about your fertility now. IVF success rates The latest figures from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) show that around 25 per cent of IVF cycles using a woman's own, fresh eggs, result in a live baby at the end. However, success rates are clearly related to age. Women aged 35-37 have a success rate of 32.3 per cent but this decreases with each age group beyond 37. 27.7% for women aged 35-37 20.8% for women aged 38-39 13.6% for women aged 40-42 5.0% for women aged 43-44 1.9% for women aged 45+ For frozen egg (which is what Anna Friel is talking about), success rates were similar for each age group but slightly less successful overall, with around 22 per cent of cycles ending up with a live baby. Though Anna blithely said she would freeze her eggs, it's not quite as simple as that. Though the actress is more likely than most potential mums to be able to afford several rounds of IVF, the impact on your body and emotions is huge and shouldn't be taken lightly. Read more... Read more about IVF and alternatives to IVF at www.prideangel.com

What if IVF treatment fails: three peoples stories

Eleni Kyriacou talks to three couples about how IVF and fertility treatment can turn lives upside down
Carole Waters, who has now adopted
Carole, 43, lives in Hampshire with her husband Andy, 43. They have had one IVF cycle and one frozen embryo transfer (FET). They have a daughter, Bea, five.

I was 29 when we first started trying to conceive and we waited five years before having IVF. I was against it for a long time – I didn't like the thought of all those drugs. I was determined to get pregnant naturally and all the tests had shown that we were both highly fertile, so there was no clinical reason why we shouldn't be able to conceive naturally.

Eventually we got sucked into it. I was told that I had the egg reserves of a woman in her 20s, so we were very hopeful. In our area there was no NHS funding, so we paid for it. A woman in the next town had three IVF cycles, all paid for. I hated injecting myself and the mood swings that came with it. I remember the moment I saw the blood and realised it had failed. I screamed and at that point I couldn't have got any lower. It took me six months to deal with it. I became paranoid and felt depressed. For those six months, Andy and I became very insular, almost attached at the hip. We felt only we could understand each other, so we hardly socialised. And, frankly, I was getting fed up of all the platitudes, people saying: "It'll happen, just relax."

IVF made me feel such a failure. Friends were having their third baby and we were still trying for our first. A year later, we had FET – using the frozen embryos left over from the IVF cycle. But that failed too. I had a gut feeling that I would never get pregnant, so we decided to stop. The doctors kept saying there was nothing wrong with us, so we couldn't see what IVF could do for us that we couldn't do ourselves. We had already spent £4,000 and continuing would have felt like throwing money away.

So we agreed that we wouldn't have children. It was heartbreaking, though deep down I don't think I really believed that. Eventually we started socialising again and we'd walk into parties, heads held high, and pretend everything was OK and that we were quite happy the way we were.

We had briefly talked about adoption but dismissed it, as we had read that you couldn't adopt a baby if you were over 35. We wanted a baby, not a toddler; it was a basic need in me and we wanted to be as much of an influence in the child's life as possible. About a year later, by chance, I bumped into a colleague in the car park at work. She was adopting two siblings. She told me that there weren't the age limits on adopters we had assumed. I had also heard that the process was harrowing, but she said, "It's nowhere near as bad as IVF." That resonated.

Andy and I agreed that, though we were happy now, we'd be full of regret when we were older. In 10 years, we might be holidaying in the Maldives but what would it mean without a family? And what about when we were older? We regularly socialise with our parents and my Mum and I are very close. We wanted that for us in the future. We decided to explore adoption and it took two years, from that first phone call to having Bea come to live with us. She was nine months old.

I had to give up on the idea of having my own genetic child and there was a certain amount of mourning involved. The notion left my head but it was still in my heart. I can pinpoint the day when the idea finally left me for good. It was the day we were approved for adoption. Before that, I was still thinking, maybe I will still get pregnant, as everyone says it will happen when you least expect it. Since then I haven't cared about getting pregnant and now I wouldn't want a birth child, because Bea might feel left out. I don't want that complication for her. If someone said I could go back 10 years and get pregnant, I categorically wouldn't do it.

I feel so proud of our daughter and what we've done. Anyone can have a baby, but not everyone can adopt. There's no doubt in our minds that we weren't meant to have a biological child, because she was already there waiting for us. It's one of the best things we ever did. I know women on their seventh and eight IVF cycles. It's heartbreaking. I wish they would consider adoption as another way to achieve a family, rather than as a second best.

For more information on adoption, visit www.baaf.org.uk

To read more go to http://bit.ly/pZssDB

Sperm produced from stem cells may help rid male infertility

Researchers may be able to produce sperm from stem cells in the battle against infertility.
If you know just one thing about embryonic stem cells, it’s probably that they have the potential to grow into any type of cell in the body. That, of course, is why scientists find them so valuable.

But having the potential to become any type of cell is not the end game -- research groups around the world are trying to figure out the precise recipe for turning those stem cells into specific types of cells that would be useful for studying or treating various diseases.

This week, a group of Japanese researchers from Kyoto University said they had figured out a way to turn embryonic stem cells into the more specific type of stem cell that makes sperm. Their findings were published online Thursday in the journal Cell.

How did they know they got it right? They took those sperm progenitor cells and injected them into the testes of infertile mice. Those mice went on to father healthy mouse pups that were able to reproduce themselves.

These experiments offer hope to men who struggle with infertility issues. But there’s a long way to go before this work can be translated into people.

For starters, the recipe used to transform the mouse stem cells into sperm will need to be modified to work with human embryonic stem cells. But infertile men who want to pass their own DNA to their children won’t be helped much by this, at least not directly. By the time a person is of reproductive age -- let alone gets past the first several days of embryonic development -- it’s too late to make embryonic stem cells with one’s matching DNA.

So the second step will be to figure out a way to make the sperm precursor cells out of induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells. These are the cells taken from skin or another adult tissue and rewound to an early state where they are flexible enough to -- say it with me -- become any type of cell in the body.

The Japanese researchers were able to make sperm progenitor cells out of iPS cells, and some mouse pups were born as a result, but the entire process worked less well than with embryonic stem cells. If these technical hurdles can be overcome, a man with fertility issues theoretically could donate a patch of skin and let scientists use that to produce sperm that contains his DNA.

Infertility often caused by women being either too thin or overweight

As my GP fiddled with some papers, I guessed he had bad news. Nervously he blurted out: ‘I’m afraid that you will never have children naturally.’ I felt as if I’d been punched. Walking out of the surgery, all I could focus on were chubby-cheeked babies in the arms of beaming mums. I realised I might never hold my own child, and my tears started.
My doctor’s gloomy prognosis was not down to me having blocked fallopian tubes, leaving it too late (I was 32) or low-quality eggs. The problem was I had been too thin. From the age of 24 until I hit 30, I was anorexic. During this time, my weight hovered at 6st and at times dropped lower still, nowhere near enough for my 5ft 3in frame.

Some of the effects of my condition were obvious. I had problems sleeping, often felt faint and had thinning hair. But what I did not consider was the harm being done to my chances of becoming a mother. Last week, Chantelle Houghton, who found fame on Celebrity Big Brother, revealed she has been left infertile at the age of 27 as a result of extreme dieting.

‘Because of my obsession with food and crash dieting when I had bulimia, I’ve ruined my chance of having a baby naturally,’ she told a magazine. ‘All the time I was making myself sick I was thinking: “Yes, I’m getting skinnier” — but it’s cost me the chance of having a family.’ There are 1.6 million people in Britain with an eating disorder, the most common being bulimia, when the person binge eats and purges food through vomiting or laxatives. Bulimics, however, will not necessarily be underweight. Those with anorexia will have a body mass index (BMI) of 17.5 or less, restrict their food and drink intake and tend to over-exercise.

Yet it’s not just anorexics who are putting their fertility at risk. Any extreme dieting can limit the chances of having a family — and so, as we should see, can overeating. The normal warning sign that a woman’s fertility is being affected is when her periods stop. Mine stopped when I was 26, when I weighed over 6st. ‘The hypothalamus in the brain controls the release of hormones from the pituitary gland that drives the menstrual cycle, stimulating the ovaries to produce eggs,’ says Dr Marie Wren, deputy medical director of the Lister Fertility clinic in London. ‘But if a woman loses a lot of weight, this process shuts down. It’s the body’s way of preserving what resources it has. If a woman menstruates, she loses iron — and if she has little nutritional input, she can’t afford to lose that.’ Bulimia and faddy yo-yo dieting can also trigger this process.

‘If your body weight is yo-yoing, then it is possible your body would perceive this as a stress and so switch off the ovulation mechanism,’ says Amanda Tozer, consultant in reproductive medicine at Barts and the London Hospital. ‘If you are just losing a few pounds either way you’ll probably be fine, but if your weight is really going from one extreme to another than this may happen.’ Following low-calorie restrictive diets may also compromise a woman’s chance of getting pregnant. ‘If you aren’t getting enough nutrients, then your body will not function as normal and this will reduce fertility,’ says Dr Wren. Sadly, the effects can be lifelong. About 20 per cent of those who become seriously underweight find their menstrual cycle never returns, even when they are a healthy weight.

‘I have a number of anorexic patients who are now at a normal body weight, but the firing system from the hypothalamus in the brain is not yet working again properly,’ says Dr Wren. ‘Often, the only way they can conceive is if we try to kick-start the ovulation process with drugs.’ Gauging fertility is not an exact science. There is no set BMI at which fertility is guaranteed. ‘The threshold varies from person to person,’ says Miss Tozer. ‘The NHS does not give fertility treatment to anyone who has a BMI under 18 as this is felt to be the minimum weight at which a woman would have a healthy baby. But I have known naturally slight women who conceive naturally, even with a BMI under 18.’To read more go to http://bit.ly/pGX4mL

Infertile woman desperate for a baby refused IVF as her partner has a son

A fashion designer has been left distraught after she was turned down for IVF funding because her partner already has a son from a previous relationship.
Susi Henson, 33, is unable to conceive naturally as she suffers from polycystic ovary syndrome, which causes cysts to form on her ovaries. She and her partner Jay Nightingale visited their GP and were referred for treatment.

But after a six-month wait, the couple were told by health bosses their funding request had been turned down because Mr Nightingale, 40, has a 20-year-old son whom Ms Henson has never met. This means they will have to find £7,500 to pay for the treatment privately.

Health guidance organisation the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends all couples with fertility problems aged between 23 and 39 should be allowed three courses of IVF paid for by the NHS. However, NHS Nottinghamshire County stipulates that couples who have a child from a previous relationship are not eligible.

Miss Henson, from Nottingham, said today: 'How can we not be classed as a childless couple? Jay's son lives in Wales, and I've never met him. 'It is a totally unfair system. If I lived in another part of the country I would be able to get funding.

'But the health authorities here won't allow for it. I believe it is totally wrong. It's discriminatory, a complete postcode lottery.' Miss Henson, who owns a corset-making firm, is now calling for the treatment to be made available for all infertile couples. She said: 'I'm sure I'm not the only one out there having these issues. I'm doing this not just for ourselves but for everyone else out there, men and women.

'The condition I have is a disease so treatment should be covered. 'My partner and I are both self-employed and are having to save a lot of cash to be able to think about paying for treatment. 'There must be many out there who cannot afford it. It isn't right.'

Miss Henson has been told that, before any IVF treatment, she will need a year-long course of the drug colmid. Treatment including IVF and the drug would cost £7,500.

To read more go to http://bit.ly/pc2nIH

Woman with Turner Syndrome has a baby girl after receiving an ovary transplant from her twin sister

A Frenchwoman suffering from a chromosome disorder has given birth to a healthy daughter thanks to a ovarian transplant from her twin sister.

Doctors said the baby girl, called Victoria, is free of the disorder known as Turner Syndrome which affects both her mother and her aunt. Karine Thiriot, 39, gave birth to her 6lb 3oz daughter on March 8 this year at a private hospital in Le Chesnay, Paris.

'The mother and baby are doing well,' said Dr Guy Kerbrat, who delivered Victoria. The new mother had been trying to conceive, using in vitro fertilisation, for at least 15 years. Thiriot had no ovaries because of Turner Syndrome, which affects one girl in 2,500.

It occurs when one of the two X chromosomes that are found in females is completely or partially missing. It is not an inherited condition and occurs as a random event during the formation of reproductive cells.

Her twin sister Stephanie had a 'mosaic' form of the disorder, which meant it only affected some of her body's cells. She was fertile and managed to have two children.

In August 2009 Stephanie donated an ovary to Karine. Transplants between identical twins do not require anti-rejection treatment which would complicate a future pregnancy.

To read more go to http://bit.ly/fR7Y1P

Mother to freeze eggs for her infertile daughter with Turner Syndrome

A mother plans to freeze her eggs so that her infertile daughter may someday be able to use them to give birth to her own brother or sister.
Toddler Mackenzie Stephens was born with Turner Syndrome, a hereditary condition which means she is missing an X-chromosome. The condition, which only affects girls, means two-year-old Mackenzie was born without ovaries, preventing her from ever having a child of her own naturally.

When Penny Jarvis, herself a mother of five, learnt that her daughter might never be able to have children of her own, she was devastated. So Ms Jarvis, 25, has decided to freeze her own eggs so someday Mackenzie can use them for IVF and start a family. However, technically, this means Mackenzie's future child would be both her offspring and her sibling.

Ms Jarvis described how she and partner Karl Stephens, 42, were distraught when the doctor broke the news about their daughter's condition. The full-time mother from Sheffield, said: 'The doctor was talking about chromosomes and things and it was all a bit of a blur.

'The only word I heard at the time was 'infertility' and I just burst into tears. It's what most people want to be; a mum. 'She has three sisters and I couldn't imagine her growing up and watching them all have children while she couldn't have any of her own. 'Obviously, every mother wants to be a grandmother someday - that's what they dream of.

'As I was leaving the hospital, the consultant told me not to look up Turner Syndrome on the internet as it was full of worst-case scenarios. 'But, of course, I did it anyway. As soon as we were over the shock, Karl and I looked it up together as we had never even heard of it before and neither had any of our friends.

'While some of the stuff I was reading was scary - talk of congenital heart defects and diabetes - I discovered that egg donation was a possibility.' Enlarge Mackenzie has Turner Syndrome, which means she doesn't have ovaries Turner Syndrome affects one in every 2,500 girls. It causes a number of mental and physical health issues, but most can be corrected or treated with surgery, drugs and psychological therapy.

To read more go to http://bit.ly/erpsFV

Fertility test could predict a woman's menopause

Women may soon be able to plan better how long to wait to start a family thanks to a simple test.
By reading clues hidden in a woman’s genes, it could give her odds of going through an early menopause, scientists say.

Those deemed to be at risk could try for a baby earlier than they otherwise might.

Lead scientist Dr Anna Murray said: ‘It is estimated that a woman’s ability to conceive decreases on average ten years before she starts the menopause.

‘Therefore, those who are destined to have an early menopause and delay childbearing until their 30s are more likely to have problems conceiving.’

They compared the DNA of 2,000 women who suffered it with that of those who had stopped their periods at the normal age.

In the UK, the average age for the menopause – defined as the time when a woman’s periods have stopped for 12 months – is 52.

However, 1 per cent of women go through the menopause before they hit 40. Timing is largely genetic, although weight and the age that periods start have an effect.

The researchers found that the four genes all affected early menopause in their own ways, and much more so when they were all present. They added that their findings help explain why some females go into menopause early.

Women who enter the menopause early have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, infertility and osteoporosis, and a lower risk of getting breast cancer.

To read more go to http://bit.ly/c2ui3d

Why older women are more prone to fertility problems

Scientists have discovered why women are more likely to suffer from miscarriages and infertility problems if they try to have babies later in life.
Their study also sheds light on why children born to women in their late 30s and early 40s are at greater risk of Down's Syndrome and other genetic conditions.

The team of British researchers found that as a woman gets older levels of a crucial protein that helps eggs prepare for the moment of fertilisation decline sharply.

The drop increases the risk that an egg will end up with the wrong number of chromosomes and be faulty. The finding raises the prospect of new drugs to help keep eggs healthy as women get older.

Researchers have long known that these eggs deteriorate over time and that babies born to women in their late 30s and early 40s are at greater risk of genetic disorders.

However, the reason why the eggs of older women are less healthy has been unclear. Girls are born with a set of immature egg cells that will last for their entire reproductive life. Each immature egg contains two sets of 23 chromosomes - the chains of DNA that contain instructions on how to build and maintain a human being.

Before the eggs can be fertilised, they must complete a complex process of 'ripening' called meiosis in which half of these chromosomes are ejected.

To read more go to

Women warned: Don't delay the next try following a miscarriage

After the trauma of a miscarriage many women take a break to recover before they begin to try again for a baby.
But they may in fact be increasing their risk of having another pregnancy with complications, research has found. Women who conceive within six months of a miscarriage have the best chance of a healthy pregnancy with the lowest likelihood of another miscarriage, according to the British study. The team from Aberdeen University analysed data for almost 31,000 women who had suffered a miscarriage and fallen pregnant again.

Those who conceived within six months after a miscarriage were 44 per cent less likely to have a second one than those who had an interval of six to 12 months before falling pregnant again.

They were also 52 per cent less likely to have an ectopic pregnancy - where the foetus lodges in a fallopian tube and has to be removed - or a termination.

The study found women who conceived within six months were 10 per cent less likely to need a Caesarean or to have a premature baby, and 16 per cent less likely to have a low birthweight baby.

Women with an interval of more than two years were around twice as likely to have an ectopic second pregnancy or a termination. The study, published online in the British Medical Journal, concludes: 'Women who conceive within six months of an initial miscarriage have the best reproductive outcomes and lowest complication rates in a subsequent pregnancy.

To read more go to http://bit.ly/aGO9KQ

Male Infertility - Infertile men having infertile sons!

We normally give nature short shrift, but IVF could be storing up problems for the future

A few years back, in a book called Everything Conceivable, on the subject – you've guessed it – of infertility treatment, the author, US journalist Liza Mundy, said the unsayable about IVF. If a man isn't able to have children, she suggested, perhaps he ought not to be having them. An inability to father children may be an excellent way of stopping men with dodgy genes from passing them on. Or, as she put it, "Genetic infertility is nature's way of making sure the same mistake does not happen twice. Genetic infertility is nature's levee, if you will, holding back a flood of chromosomal mishaps."

Well, we normally give nature short shrift over here, particularly when it comes to the subject of people being able to have children, pretty well regardless of where they're at – in their 60s, gay-and-lesbian, single, you name it. But whether we're creating problems in the future hasn't featured much in discussions about infertility.

Now there is a new Anglo-German study from London's Institute of Child Health, which bears out the concerns of other experts about the wisdom of a technique for circumventing male fertility problems, called ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection), which involves injecting sperm directly into an egg. That includes sperm that would be also-rans in a normal conception.

Boys conceived by this method were more likely than those conceived naturally to have shorter fingers – apparently men with ring fingers the same length as their index finger tend to have fertility problems. (It's one way for couples to while away their Valentine's dinner – comparing finger lengths.) In other words, thanks to IVF, infertile men are begetting infertile sons. Who may, thanks to IVF, be able to beget more.

And, as Liza Mundy gloomily observed, if they do, "infertility would be magnified, like compound interest". On the downside, the human race could die out. On the bright side, it would make the population experts, who attribute global warming to population growth, happy.

And if you thought that it was just a problem for boys, think on. Another study, this time from St Andrews and Edinburgh universities, found that by the time a woman is 30, only 12 per cent of the eggs she was born with remain. Cue for Bridget Jones-style angst. Then again, since women are born with about two million of them, it sounds like plenty to me.

www.prideangel.com