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Is It Time to Give Up Lipstick for Fertility and Overall Health?

a blog by Claire, August 21, 2012

This week in the UK's Daily Mail, the headline Can YOUR lipstick give you heart problems? sparked plenty of worry among those of us who put on a slash of color every day.

What sparked the concern? A study out of the University of California, Davis, and the University of Colorado and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that triclosan — a ubiquitous antibacterial chemical found in hand soaps, lipsticks and other personal care products — slows swimming in fish and reduces muscular strength in mice. In experiments, triclosan impaired the ability of isolated heart muscle cells and skeletal muscle fibers to contract. The researchers said the effects on cardiac function were really dramatic and acted as a cardiac depressant.

Childhood Obesity Could Lead to Adult Infertility

by Leigh Ann Woodruff, August 10, 2012

According to the American Heart Association, in the United States, one in three children ages 2 to 19 are overweight, and one in six are obese, which means their body mass index for their age is at or above the 95 percentile of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) growth charts. Not only is this concerning because overweight and obese children are more likely to stay this way into adulthood and develop diseases such as diabetes and heart disease at younger ages, but they are also more likely to have reproductive problems.

A recent report published in Frontiers in Endocrinology suggests that the dramatic increase in childhood obesity is related to growing problems with infertility. From1980 to 2008, the percentage of U.S. children ages 6–11 years who were obese increased from 7 percent to nearly 20 percent, and the percentage of adolescents ages 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5 percent to 18 percent.

"It certainly adds to the already numerous adverse health problems associated with obesity," says Robert Matteri, M.D., a fertility doctor and medical director of Oregon Reproductive Medicine. "Anovulation is probably the most common side effect of obesity itself. If the reproductive 'thermostat' is not set properly at the time of menarche, something that usually happens only with thin women like athletes, then this could be a lifelong problem even with further weight loss."

Mercury and Cadmium Pose Risk to IVF Pregnancy

by Leigh Ann Woodruff, July 26, 2012

While it's common sense to reduce exposure to environmental toxins when trying to conceive, a new study from the University at Albany's School of Public Health published in Reproductive Toxicology finds that low levels of the toxic metals mercury and cadmium could be significantly harmful to women pregnant via in vitro fertilization (IVF).

"We routinely counsel our patients about toxic exposures during the IVF and pregnancy process," says Julie Tan, M.D., a fertility doctor with the Cleveland Clinic Fertility Center. "However, this preliminary study is interesting because it highlights the possible negative impact of low-level 'background' exposure in an IVF population."

The researchers adjusted for factors such as age, race and smoking, and they found that a slight increase of 1 microgram per liter (ug/L) of blood mercury is associated with a diminished likelihood of 35 percent of achieving a clinical pregnancy with IVF. Cadmium had an even larger impact — a 1 ug/L blood increase of cadmium reduced pregnancy success by 94 percent in clinical pregnancies. Clinical pregnancies are pregnancies that have the presence of a gestational sac detected by ultrasound.

Heavy Caffeine Consumption Can Reduce IVF Success, Study

by Leigh Ann Woodruff, July 3, 2012

A new Danish study finds that drinking five more more cups of coffee per day may cut the chances of in vitro fertilization (IVF) success in half, which is comparable to the harmful effects of smoking, according to the researchers.

The research by Fertility Clinic of Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark was presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. The researchers say they were surprised by how much of an effect caffeine had.

The study was performed in a large public IVF clinic on 3,959 women having IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) as fertility treatment. The scientists gathered Information on coffee consumption at the beginning of treatment and at the start of each subsequent cycle. They controlled for variables such as age, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, cause of infertility, female body mass index, ovarian stimulation and number of embryos retrieved.

UK Warning over Apple-Shaped Figures and Infertility

Is U.S. Next?

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."

Body Mass Index and Fertility

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.

National Women's Health Week and Your Fertility

a blog by Kim Griffiths, May 15, 2013

May 12-18 is National Women’s Health Week, so now is the time to think about ways your health could impact your fertility and how you can optimize your chances of having a baby.

There are several unsuspecting health conditions that impact fertility and pregnancy. Conditions like diabetes, thyroid disease, autoimmune disease, and endocrine system hormone imbalances can contribute to infertility. All medical conditions should be discussed with your fertility doctor, and you should discuss any medications you may be taking to assess potential risks to fertility and pregnancy.

Predicting Your Chance of Getting Pregnant from an IVF Cycle: Other Medical Factors

a blog by Mylene Yao, M.D., CEO and Co-Founder, Univfy, Inc., May 13, 2013

In the first two posts, we looked at ovarian factors and sperm factors that impact your chance of becoming pregnant with IVF. In this post, we’ll examine other non-reproductive system fertility factors that can affect your personal probability of getting pregnant with IVF.

April is Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Awareness Month

Few people realize how common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are among men and women of reproductive age, yet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately 20 million new STDs occur each year. Some STDs can increase susceptibility to infection by other diseases, including HIV. They can also increase risk for pregnancy and birth complications.

One disconcerting fact that echoes a need for awareness is that some STDs can lead to infertility or cancer if left untreated. Bacteria found in bacterial vaginosis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea can spread to the cervix, uterus, and fallopian tubes causing pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID causes inflammation and scar tissue to develop which can inhibit ovulation or lead to ectopic pregnancies. Each year in the United States, approximately 750,000 women are diagnosed with PID, and up to 15% of these women experience infertility.

Features:

Fertility Today

Subjects:

Fertility Risks

Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Infertility

With sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) ranked as the most common infectious diseases in the U.S., doctors have learned to aid those living with these diseases continue to lead a normal life and bear children.

Features:

Fertility Today

Subjects:

Fertility Risks