Fertility Blogs

a blog by E. Scott Sills, M.D., PRC, March 28, 2013

The HFEA (the independent regulator for IVF treatment and embryo research in the UK) has now agreed on the acceptable ethics and science of new IVF-based techniques designed to avoid serious mitochondrial diseases.

In January 2012, the British Government asked the HFEA to use its experience of public engagement on controversial scientific developments to collect the general view on mitochondria replacement. It also asked for updated advice on the safety and efficacy of this potential treatment.

a blog by Laurence A. Jacobs, M.D., Fertility Centers of Illinois, January 22, 2013

Recent studies and reviews indicate that the benefits of antidepressant therapy far outweigh the potential marginal risks. This is good news because increasing numbers of women — and a significant percentage of reproductive age women — are using selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and selective serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) to treat anxiety, depression and certain personality disorders. The brand names for these medications include: Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro, Paxil and Celexa.

a blog by Claire, September 13, 2012

A new study sheds light on why obesity affects fertility treatment success. Researchers found that eggs from obese women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) were of poorer quality with more than one spindle and disorganized chromosomes.

The study, which was published in the journal Human Reproducton was conducted by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital, who examined 276 mature human eggs that failed to fertilize from women who were undergoing IVF. Of these eggs, 105 were from severely obese women with a body mass index (BMI) between 35 and 50.1. There were 171 eggs were from women with a normal BMI, defined as between 18.5 and 24.9.

a blog by Suzanne Rico, August 2, 2012

I never blamed my shampoo for the fact that I couldn’t get pregnant. Nor did I think my perfume might be the sweet smelling culprit, or the sunscreen I should have started using at 15 instead of 30. And while I did somehow intuit that the nasty smell of nail polish fumes would not have the same health benefits as, say, a pristine pine forest, I liked my toe-and-fingernails Ballet Slipper pink, so I didn’t worry about it.

Maybe I should have. Earlier this year, The European Environment Agency (the equivalent to America’s Environmental Protection Agency) warned against using cosmetics and medicines that contain endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), saying they “may be a contributing factor behind the significant increases in cancers, diabetes and obesity, falling fertility and an increased number of neurological development problems in both humans and animals.” Yikes!

a blog by Claire, July 23, 2012

We all know tanning in the sun or in a tanning booth equals increased risk of skin cancer. And then they tell us while sunscreens can help protect our skin from the sun, they can also wreak havoc on our hormones.

a blog by Claire, June 27, 2012

Remember Scarlett O'Hara's 18 inch waist? Marilyn Monroe's hourglass figure? Those days appear to be long past.

In Britain, a warning was recently issued to women about their growing waistlines and "apple-shaped" figures. The warning was issued by Nuffield Health, the United Kingdom's largest health care charity, after analyzing data from more than 54,000 women taking the Nuffield Health MOT, which is a series of tests to assess overall fitness and health. The researchers are very concerned about the health risks that extra fat around the waist imposes on women — including the havoc it can wreak on fertility.

Nuffield Health found that more than half — 57 percent — of the women had waist sizes that put them in the high health risk category for diseases such as infertility, cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. A healthy waist size is 31.5 inches or less — the average British woman's waist measured 2 inches more.

America would fare much worse in a study such as this. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average waist circumference for women over 20 is 37 inches. "in the USA, the incidence of overweight adults is 74 percent, making the United States the ninth most overweight country in the world," says Beth Hartog, M.D., a fertility doctor with East Coast Infertility & IVF. "In the UK, only 64 percent of adults are overweight, ranking England 28th on the list of overweight countries."

a blog by Beth Hartog, M.D., Damien Fertility Partners, June 9, 2012

Your BMI or Body Mass Index is calculated from weight and height. You can search the internet and find a BMI calculator to figure your BMI.

a blog by Claire, May 11, 2012

It seems to be one of those Catch-22s. You're damned if you do, and you're damned if you don't. Use sunscreen, that is. Not to mention shampoo and other cosmetics.

a blog by Cindy Bailey of the Fertile Kitchen™,June 2, 2011

I periodically get asked why the number of people coping with fertility issues — estimated in 2002 to be at 7.3 million in the United States — is increasing.  Of course it’s true that more women than ever are waiting until they are older to bear children, and it’s harder to do so after age 35, and especially after 40. But the reason I often point to is: pollution.