Vietnamese lesbian couple hold Valentines Day wedding on a plane

A Vietnamese lesbian couple have celebrated Valentine’s Day – by celebrating their wedding onboard a plane. Same-sex marriage is not legally recognised in Vietnam – but last month the government repealed a law which actively criminalised gay weddings. Passengers on the Vietjet flight to from Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok today were presumably surprised to find themselves in the midst of a wedding reception for couple Tang Ai Linh and Pham Thi Thanh Phuong. The pair – who have been together for 13 years – approached the airline to ask about the possibility of a ceremonial wedding – but the airline went all out, even decking out the plane with flowers. According to Thanhnien News, the couple exchanged rings on the flight, before sharing a kiss and cutting their wedding cake. The move last month to repeal the same-sex marriage ban was seen by many as a move designed to promote Vietnam’s image as a tolerant and accepting country, and boost tourism especially from LGBT travelers. It is the first country in South East Asia to make such a move. Singapore’s courts upheld its anti-gay laws in October, parts of Indonesia punish homosexuality with 100 lashes, and Brunei passed a law calling for gays to be stoned to death. Article: 14th February 2015 www.pinknews.co.uk Photo:Thanhnien News

Gay, lesbian, straight? looking to co-parent? we want to hear from you

I am a journalist of more than 30 years experience, writing frequently on issues of health, mental health, social issues. I have been asked by the Guardian to write an article on new form families, and how and why they are frequently optimal parents, linked to the book of Susan Golombok's impressive research Modern Families to be published in March. But in order to do this article I need a lead interview for my article with people willing to be identified and to talk about their choices. I would like a couple - could be heterosexual or gay/lesbian - where one is having a child by artificial means as a result of meeting through the internet and who plan to co-parent either in the same or separate homes. If you would be willing to feature in my article - and obviously I would be happy to discuss what I am doing by phone first - I would be delighted to hear from you. angelaneustatter@gmail.com Article: 10th February 2015 Angela Neustatter

Dads refuses to give up Down Syndrome son

When Samuel Forrest of Armenia heard a baby crying from outside his wife's hospital room, he knew his life would change forever. Not only had he become a father, but he would soon receive some unexpected news about his newborn son. "This pediatrician walks out of the room with a little bundle -- that was Leo," Forrest said. "She had his face covered up and hospital authorities wouldn't let me see him or my wife. When the doctor came out, he said 'there’s a real problem with your son.' Forrest followed doctors and nurses into a room where he'd finally get to meet his baby. "When I walked into the room they all turned to me and said 'Leo has Down syndrome," he told ABC News. "I had a few moments of shock." After the news had sunk in, Forrest held Leo for the very first time. "They took me in see him and I looked at this guy and I said, he's beautiful -- he's perfect and I'm absolutely keeping him." Soon Forrest walked into his wife's hospital room with Leo in his arms. Her reaction was unlike one he ever expected. "I got the ultimatum right then," he said. "She told me if I kept him then we would get a divorce." Attempts to reach the hospital for comment weren't immediately successful. The baby's mother, Ruzan Badalyan, told ABC News that she did have a child with Down syndrome and she has left her husband, who has the child, but she declined to elaborate. Forrest, who's from Auckland, New Zealand, said he was completely unaware of the hospital practices in Armenia when it came to children. "What happens when a baby like this is born here, they will tell you that you don’t have to keep them," he said. "My wife had already decided, so all of this was done behind my back." Despite his wife's warnings, Forrest said he never had a doubt in his mind that he would hold onto his son. One week after his birth, Leo's mom filed for divorce. "It's not what I want," Forrest said. "I didn’t even have a chance to speak with her in privacy about it." Forrest, who works as a freelance business contractor, has plans for he and Leo to move to his native country of New Zealand where he said they'll receive support from loved ones. In the meantime, he's enlisted for some help on his GoFundMe page titled "Bring Leo Home." "This really came out of the blue for me," he said. "I don’t have a lot, I have very little in fact. The goal is to raise enough for a year so I can get a part-time job so Leo doesn't have to be in daycare and I can help care for him. He's lost a lot in two weeks. It'd be different if he had his mommy." Forrest has recently been working with disability awareness groups to share his story in the hopes that parents will become better educated on children with special needs. "After what I've been through with Leo, I'm not going to sit back and watch babies be sent to orphanages," he said. "As a child with Down syndrome, that becomes somewhat of a label. If we can get around this label, we’ll see that they’re normal. They’re a little different from us, but they’re still normal. "They all have niches and I want to work hard to find out where Leo's special. This little guy is great." Article: 5th February 2015 www.abcnews.go.com

Olive oil diet could increase fertility success by 40%

Olive oil is the key to a new 'fertility diet' being tested in a study involving more than 100 couples undergoing IVF. The test diet is based on using olive oil for cooking, an olive oil-based spread and a daily supplement drink enriched with Vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids for six weeks as an addition to their normal diet. The effects on fertility will be compared to couples on a control diet of sunflower seed oil for cooking, a sunflower oil-based spread and a sham supplement drink. The team carrying out the trial at the University of Southampton say the diet could increase pregnancy rates by up to 40 per cent, based on previous research that found increased intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fats contained in olive oil led to faster embryo development after IVF. Article: 19th January 2015 www.dailymail.co.uk Read more ways to boost your fertility at www.prideangel.com

Acupuncture increases fertility treatment success rates

If you are receiving fertility treatments or concerned about your ability to get pregnant, consider including a natural, complementary practice thousands of years old: acupuncture. From an Eastern perspective, acupuncture helps your body get back to a balanced state to prepare for conception. From a Western perspective, we don’t know why it works, but we see that it does. In a study of 225 women by researchers at the University of Witten/Herdecke in Dortmund, Germany, acupuncture was combined with conventional fertility treatments. This addition of acupuncture led to a pregnancy rate of 28.4 percent – compared to a pregnancy rate of 13.8 percent among the women who used conventional treatments alone. How acupuncture works Acupuncture is the insertion of fine needles into certain locations on the body. In traditional Chinese medicine, the energy force of “chi” or “qi” is believed to flow through certain pathways in the body, called “meridians.” Acupuncture is thought to help balance the chi. There are a few scientific theories explaining chi energy and meridians , but none have been scientifically proven. Nonetheless, acupuncture has been established as a beneficial practice for many people. Researchers have determined some of the underlying mechanism of how acupuncture works. It stimulates the release of endorphins, which reduce pain and produce a sense of well-being. Acupuncture also increases blood flow to the area, which can promote healing and improve organ function. Acupuncture also helps to reduce inflammation. How it fits in with different fertility treatments Women trying different fertility methods may include acupuncture. I treat some women whose approach is to try to get pregnant without taking hormones or undergoing invasive medical procedures. Other women come for acupuncture as they are undergoing a lengthy process of in vitro fertilization (IVF). While most fertility specialists won’t treat patients unless they’ve tried unsuccessfully to conceive for six months to a year, a woman can start seeing an acupuncturist long before she hopes to get pregnant — especially if she has any fertility concerns. Seeing an acupuncturist sooner rather than later allows for your health to be assessed over a couple of menstrual cycles. Women can start acupuncture treatment a few months before IUI (intrauterine insemination) or IVF. In general, I encourage patients to come in at least a few months before they hope to conceive. Article: 16th January 2015 www.health.clevelandclinic.org

Cryos have donor sperm for both treatment at a clinic and for home insemination

Despite of the growing demand for donor sperm from every corner of the world, the world’s largest sperm bank maintain the leading position and continue to grow the donor database with qualified sperm donors. This means, that Cryos offers a large range of donor sperm that meets your type of treatment whether it is for home insemination or treatment at a clinic, and we supply donor sperm to both single women, lesbian and heterosexual couples. We operate with a wide range of standards including UK, so if you are getting your fertility treatment at a clinic you must choose a donor with a UK standard being non-anonymous donors. If you are not getting treatment at a clinic but want to undertake home insemination, you do not have to take the standard into consideration, but you can choose among all of our donors. If you decide to order to do home insemination, you will receive detailed instructions including information on how to handle the straw. Cryos is customer focused, so to help you through the decision making process and getting answers to your questions, Cryos has created a Resource Centre accessible from our website. You will find films about e.g. choosing the donor, all delivery information and a comprehensive Questions & Answers-section. Additionally, a professional customer service team is ready to answer your questions via e-mail or phone. Also, Cryos does not charge any fee for pregnancy slots, so don’t worry about that cost. Visit www.dk.cryosinternational.com/donor-sperm for more info.

Happy New Year 2015 from Pride Angel

Happy New Year 2015! to all our members and those just of you who are just starting out on your journey towards becoming parents, we send you are best wishes, love and a little bit of “Pride Angel Dust”. We are really excited about 2015 as we are going to be introducing lots of new content and features to our website, so make sure you do come back and check them out. We have a really good feeling about this year, and that it is going to be blessed with hundreds of new Pride Angel Babies. Article: 1st January 2015 www.prideangel.com