More couples are facing infertility in Vietnam

VietNamNet Bridge – Out of each 100 couples, 8 are sterile. The rate of secondary infertility caused by inflammation and abortions is increasing rapidly. This is one of the reasons that makes Vietnam face a downward trend in childbirth in the near future, experts have warned. Mr. Nguyen Van Tan, Deputy General Director of the General Department of Population and Family Planning, said the findings of the Central Obstetrics Hospital in conjunction with the Medical University of Hanoi in 2012 on more than 14,000 couples in eight ecological regions across the country, shows that infertility rate is 7.7 percent, including 3.9 percent of primary infertility and 3.8 percent of secondary infertility. Another study of the Military Medical Academy in 2011 with over 9,300 couples releases other numbers: Nearly 3.2 percent of couples are infertile, in which 38 percent of the couples having troubles from women, men 40 percent, and both 10. In fact, there is no comprehensive study on infertility in Vietnam. Experts have warned that infertility, particularly secondary infertility, is increasing and it is associated with inflammatory factors and abortion. To demonstrate this, a doctor from the Central Obstetrics Hospital, said 10 years ago, only about 2-3 couples came to the hospital for infertility treatment. Today, the figure is up to 50-60 couples per week. Tan said the General Department of Population and Family Planning would propose measures to assist infertile couples, helping them access to good health services. Tan said that many countries succeeded in reducing fertility, including Vietnam, but no one is successful in increasing fertility. In Vietnam, a downward trend is evident. The data shows that the average number of children born by each woman of child-bearing age has reduced from 6.3 in 1961 to 2 in 2010 and is expected to fall to 1.78 in 2020. In addition to high rates of infertility and abortion, the birth decline is caused by economic, social factors, with fiercer competition in the living environment. In addition, the value of human life has changed: Many people want to enjoy life and marry late; the number of people living alone is higher. The most important reason is the effectiveness of policies to reduce the country's birth in recent time. The head of the General Department of Population and Family Planning - Duong Quoc Trong - said, due to declining birth rates and rising life expectancy, the population structure of Vietnam has changed. Lessons from countries in the region in coping with declining birth will be very useful for Vietnam. Article: 31st March 2013 www.english.vietnamnet.vn Read more about helping infertility at www.prideangel.com

US says it is ok for women over 50 to get fertility treatment

A key group representing fertility specialists in the U.S. has shifted its messaging and now says that healthy women over the age of 50 should not be discouraged from trying to become pregnant using donor eggs or embryos. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine has long said that women older than 50 should be "discouraged" from seeking fertility treatments. But new guidelines, published this month in the Journal of Fertility and Sterility, reverse that stance. The group now says women between 50 and 55 who are healthy and "well prepared" for child rearing should be allowed to receive donated eggs and embryos. “The Committee believes that achieving a pregnancy through egg donation after age 50 is not such a significant departure from other currently accepted fertility treatments as to be considered ethically inappropriate in postmenopausal women,” the group says in the paper. For most women over 50, pregnancy is not an option, since the average of menopause is 52. While most women wouldn’t even want to become pregnant after that age, some do, and the ASRM says there is no reason why these women can’t raise children, as many already do as grandparents. “There is, therefore, no reason to assume that society will be harmed by allowing older individuals to procreate, or that older women and their partners lack the physical and psychological stamina for raising children,” the ASRM says in its paper. “Also, because older men may father children, denying women a successful alternative for reproduction at ages equivalent to men is prejudicial.” Nonetheless, the ASRM notes there are physical risks to becoming pregnant after 50. Dr. Tom Hannam of Toronto’s Hannam Fertility Centre explains that it’s not the conception process that’s risky; in fact, that stage is fairly simple. The prospective mother takes hormone pills for a few days to build up her uterine lining and then the fertilized embryo is transferred to her uterus in a simple in-office procedure. But it’s the pregnancy itself that can be difficult, Hannam says. “The risks from the conception are not that high. It’s the complications-risk during the pregnancy that can be concerning,” he told CTV New Channel. “It’s clear that as women age, the health concerns that women have over the age of 50 are more likely to be amplified during pregnancy.” Those concerns include the risk of hypertension, gestational diabetes and the need for caesarean section. Studies on the small number of women who have achieved pregnancy after 50 suggest all these risks rise for older mothers. Hannam says it would have to be up to a fertility specialist to decide if a patient over 50 is fit enough for pregnancy. “Ultimately, it has to be individualized. And when we look to women over 50, one would have to be very careful indeed,” he says. While the ASRM guidelines are meant for U.S. fertility specialists, Hannam says they will affect Canadian women too. That’s because since 2004, it’s been illegal to offer egg donors financial compensation in Canada, so the vast majority of egg donation takes place in clinics in the U.S. “Because it’s illegal to pay a woman for her eggs, most women who want to use donor eggs are going to the U.S.,” Hannam says. But he says the guidelines will also help doctors like him in Canada because they give him some literature to refer to patients who are considering pregnancy after menopause. “I’m glad there are articulated limits in the U.S. It’s going to help people make choices,” he said. Article: 28th March 2013 www.ctvnews.ca Read more about egg donation and finding an egg donor at www.prideangel.com

Men using saunas regularly have lower sperm counts

Men who visit saunas may be damaging their sperm, Italian researchers have warned. They found that healthy men who regularly used them had a lower sperm count - and the damage could last several months. In the study, Finnish men in their 30s who had normal sperm counts were monitored. They all spent 15 minutes in a sauna twice a week for three months, after which their sperm counts were tested. The researchers discovered that the men's sperm counts were lower at the end of the study than at the beginning - and only six months later did they return to normal. Dr Andrew Kramer, a urologist at the University of Maryland Medical Centre told the website LiveScience that heat was to blame, as it affects sperm production. The researchers found that during the sauna sessions, the temperature of the men's scrotums increased by three degrees Celsius (5.4 F). 'The testicles hang down from the body in men to cool them,' added Dr Kramer. He added this may be why 'men with undescended testicles can have impaired sperm product and fertility'. Men who used the saunas also had differences in their sperm's DNA, the researchers noted. Previous research has shown that heat from laptops can damage sperm, affecting fertility as it struggles to swim to the egg. Reporting in the journal Human Reproduction, the researchers in the sauna study said: 'The large use of Finnish sauna in Nordic countries and its growing use in other parts of the world make it important to consider the impact of this lifestyle choice on men's fertility.' They added that in countries were saunas are widely used, doctors should flag up the problems they may cause to couples struggling to conceive. Sperm counts are falling at an alarming rate - up to 38 per cent in a decade - with diet and lifestyle largely to blame. A recent Spanish study found that even in young men, sperm concentration fell by an average of two per cent a year - and could soon hit levels where fertility is compromised. A ten year-study of more than 200 men found the average concentration went from 72 million spermatozoids per millilitre in 2001 to 52 million/ml in 2011. Meanwhile a British survey published last month found that nearly 20 per cent of couples spend more than a year trying for a baby. And the effect of not being able to conceive is so bad for some couples that it forces them apart - or places their relationship under great pressure. Experts have blamed women delaying motherhood and the obesity epidemic as the two most likely reasons for rising infertility. Article: 26th March 2013 Test your sperm count using the Fertilcount Male Sperm Count Test.

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

Problems accessing sperm and eggs increases fertility treatment abroad

PROBLEMS in accessing donor sperm and eggs at home appear to be behind a reported increase in the number of UK citizens who seek fertility treatment abroad, despite the fact that this is widely seen as risky. Now, a team of academic experts, including a University of Huddersfield professor, have investigated the phenomenon and analysed the attitudes of health professionals. The researchers found little support for legal controls on cross-border fertility treatment, but UK-based clinicians stressed the importance of checking out overseas fertility clinics in order to make sure they meet UK standards and pose minimal risk to patients. Eric Blyth, who is Professor of Social Work at the University of Huddersfield and an acknowledged expert on issues such as infertility and surrogacy, is a member of a six-strong research team, based at a range of UK universities, which carried out a study into the growth of overseas travel for fertility treatment. The group has now described its first phase of findings in an article in the 2013 edition of the Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology. There are few robust statistics on the numbers travelling overseas for egg or sperm donation, states the article, but it concludes that "there would appear to be growing international brokering in gametes and overseas clinics, largely driven by the donor shortage in the UK". Now further research is needed into how professionals and patients "navigate this form of transnational reproduction". Concerns expressed ‌The article claims that media representations of what is often dubbed "fertility tourism" have many of the hallmarks of a "classic moral panic". Despite the fact that IVF is now widely accepted as a legitimate form of reproduction, people who travel overseas to receive it are frequently seen as "deviant users" of the technology, sometimes depicted as selfish "baby shoppers". Sensationalist examples of older mothers and multiple pregnancies are used to bolster such views. "Those who cross borders for treatment are frequently portrayed as illegitimately challenging nature, or "playing God", in wanting to "design" their babies by selecting their sex or seeking out particular physical or intellectual abilities," states the article. Professionals in the field take a more complex, nuanced view, but they often represent cross-border reproductive travel as risk-laden. Concerns expressed include the control of quality and safety standards overseas; the need to protect patients against incompetence and negligence; an alleged lack of psychological support in some clinics; and inadequate information about possible health risks to patients, donors or offspring. The article stresses that there is no strong evidence to support these fears and that many patients travelling for fertility treatment outside the UK - mostly to European destinations - felt that they had received a better quality of care. None of the clinicians surveyed by the research project felt that in an age of easy and affordable travel there would be any purpose in the UK introducing restrictions on overseas fertility treatment, even if it was a procedure that was not legal in Britain. This is because it would be impossible to prove where a child was conceived. The article's authors state that: "In the absence of formal international regulation of standards and procedures, many participants reflected that professionals had a key role to play in educating people about possible risks and to ensure that patients were aware of the issues that they need to consider when having treatment abroad." Article: 22nd March 2013 www.medicalnewstoday.com

Three person IVF developed in North East gets support

A CONTROVERSIAL fertility treatment developed in the North East which could eradicate incurable inherited diseases has the public's backing, it has been revealed. Fertility regulators yesterday paved the way for the Government to legalise the creation of IVF babies with three genetic parents. A team of researchers at Newcastle University, leading on the development of the technique in humans, aims to prevent the transmission of maternally inherited mitochondrial disorders. After a six-month public consultation, the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority (HFEA) announced its findings which showed broad support for mitochondria replacement being made available to families at risk of passing on a serious mitochondrial disease. In advice to ministers, the HFEA set out safeguards for mitochondrial replacement techniques that could affect future generations. But it did not explicitly argue for a change of the law that would allow children to be conceived with the help of DNA donated by a second “mother”. Instead, it was left to ministers to decide whether they should ask Parliament to agree to the procedures. However, the public’s support overcomes a key hurdle in the path of changing the law to allow mitochondrial replacement as 56% of those questioned said they were “very” or “fairly” positive about techniques which could prevent mitochondrial disease by altering genetic make-up during IVF. Meanwhile, critics insist that it is the start of a slippery slope towards “designer” babies and eugenics Prof Doug Turnbull, director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Mitochondrial Research at Newcastle University said: “Mitochondrial DNA disease runs in families and there is no cure. The techniques we are working on could help hundreds of women have healthy children. “We are very grateful for the detailed public engagement exercise carried out by the HFEA and welcome the supportive views of most of the public. “We understand that more research is required but believe it is crucial that the Government moves now to draft the regulations so that mitochondrial patients in the UK will have access to this treatment.” The groundbreaking fertility treatment involves taking the nucleus of an embryo from a mother with defective DNA and putting it into the egg of a woman with healthy DNA. This healthy egg is then implanted into the first woman, allowing them to create a baby free of genetic disease. A child produced this way would have DNA from two women and a man. The nuclear DNA, which influences characteristics such as sex, height and eye colour, would come from the mother and father. Only 0.05% of DNA is from the female donor. Defects in mitochondrial DNA give rise to a range of potentially life-threatening diseases, including a form of muscular dystrophy and conditions leading to the loss of hearing and vision, heart problems and bowel disorders. Sharon and Neil Bernardi, of Springwell, Sunderland, have lost all seven children to mitochondrial disease, the majority dying within just a few hours of being born. Their son Edward, who suffered from Leigh’s disease, became the oldest person in the world to survive the life-limiting condition before he died two years ago at the age of 21. Mrs Bernardi has a heart defect and mobility problems caused by an inherited mitochondrial disorder. The 47-year-old said: “I am very pleased at the findings of the HFEA, as it’s nice to see that the fertility treatment has the public’s backing. The treatment is about giving people affected by mitochondrial disease the chance to have a family if they want to. “The disease has a devastating impact on families and no-one can imagine how difficult it is, as you never get over the death of a child. “The fertility treatment is a great option and a good step forward to helping those affected by the disease.” In its advice, the HFEA said clinics wishing to offer mitochondrial replacement should be specifically licensed. It also insisted that the Authority should approve each use of the procedures, at least initially. Children should not have an automatic right to know the identify of mitochondrial donors, although this could occur by mutual consent, said the HFEA. It also called for a further safety assessment once a clinic had applied to carry out one of the techniques. This followed advice from scientists that more research was needed despite there being no evidence that mitochondrial replacement is unsafe. Prof Lisa Jardine, chair of the HFEA, said: “The Government has asked us to take the public temperature on this important and emotive issue and that is what we’ve done. We’ve found that there is broad support for permitting mitochondria replacement, to give families at risk of mitochondrial disease the chance of having a healthy child.” Mitochondrial replacement is banned because under the present law any tampering with inherited genetic material in clinics is illegal. A window has deliberately been left in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, allowing this blanket rule to be changed by Parliament in exceptional circumstances. Dr David King, director of the pressure group Human Genetics Alert, opposes the move. He said: “These techniques go far beyond anything existing in both invasiveness to the embryo and complexity so it’s not surprising that they pose serious health risks to the child, risks that the HFEA refuses to properly address.” Article: 21st March 2013 www.journallive.co.uk

TV documentary wants to hear your co-parenting story

Leading UK Documentary Company Wants to Hear Your Co-parenting Story Award-winning television production company Windfall Films, is researching a documentary about modern families and co-parenting. If you’re based in the UK and are a co-parent, searching for a parenting partnership, or going through a co-parent pregnancy, we’d love to hear about your journey. We’d simply like to talk at this stage. Getting in touch will not in any way commit you to taking part. Windfall Films has a trusted reputation and proven track record in making sensitive documentaries with a committed approach for the BBC, Channel 4, and all major broadcasters. Our programmes have not only won awards but many have been used to help train doctors, social workers, and teachers. Please see more about us on our website: www.windfallfilms.com. For a confidential chat, please get in touch with producer Kim Duke: kimduke@windfallfilms.com or 0207 251 7676. Article: 19th March 2013