Archive for the ‘In the News’ Category
Monday, October 4th, 2010
If you undergo IVF treatments, there are many suggestions you’re likely to hear: rest well, eat healthily, keep stress to a minimum… but until now, no one has likely told you to head to Starbucks.
According to researchers who have been studying a side effect that about a third of women get from IVFtreatments, that cup o’ joe may be the ticket.
The complication that’s being studied is a result of ovary over-stimulation. The technical name for the condition is ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) and symptoms run from mild (e.g., bloating, abdominal pain) to severe (e.g., life-threatening blood clots).
To counteract the development of the condition, British researchers have been doing tests with caffeine. And lo and behold — caffeine seems to have a neutralizing effect upon the body when it comes to ovary over-stimulation.
So what does this mean for you?
Although the findings are preliminary, they at least suggest that you may not have to give up your morning java break during IVF. And that’s music to the ears of coffee lovers everywhere.
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Tags: Abdominal Pain, Blood Clots, British Researchers, Coffee Cup, Coffee Lovers, Ears, IVF treatments, Miracles, Music, Ohss, Ovary, Rsi, Starbucks, Stress, Success
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Monday, August 9th, 2010
As we’ve blogged about before, Quebec is now covering up to three rounds of IVF treatment for its citizens.
This IVF program, which is federally funded and the first of its kind in Canada, has received a great deal of press. It’s also generated interest from would-be participants, so much so that Quebec doctors and clinics who practice in the area of reproductive health science have been inundated with requests. (Note: The program officially started on August 1.)
Many in Quebec are concerned that the demand for this free IVF treatment outweighs what can be supplied at this point; however, the government feels that it will eventually be able to meet the needs of the Quebec citizens.
We’ll keep tabs on the outcomes of this program and deliver more news as it becomes available…
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Tags: August 1, Canada, Citizens, Doctors, Health Science, Ivf Program, IVF treatment, Miracles, Participants, Quebec, Reproductive Health, Tabs
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Friday, August 6th, 2010
Way back when, the term “fertility treatment” wasn’t in vogue.
Instead, children born via assisted reproductive technologies were often referred to in the media (and conversation) as “test tube babies.” Fast forward 30 years and infertility has become a household word (though a still misunderstood concept on many fronts, something this blog is dedicated to remedying through information.)
This past week, a momentous occurrence took place when the first American “test tube” baby, Elizabeth Carr (b. 1981), became a mom on Thursday, August 5.
Though Carr did not use any kind of fertility treatments to conceive (always the first question she seems to be asked!), her coming “full circle” emphasizes that reproductive health has grown to be mainstream in only a generation or two. Not only is this exciting from a social perspective, but it’s fascinating from a medical one as well.
We wish Carr the best as she begins her life as a mommy… and we thank her for continuing to share her world with everyone.
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Tags: American Baby, Assisted Reproductive Technologies, Baby Mom, blog, Fast Forward, Fertility Treatment, Fertility Treatments, Household Word, Infertility, Mainstream, Medical One, Miracles, Mommy, Occurrence, Reproductive Health, Social Perspective, Test Tube Babies, Test Tube Baby, Vogue
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Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
Since the first “test tube baby” (a child named Louise Brown) was born in England in 1978, more than 3 million children have come into the world thanks to fertility treatments… and more are likely to become part of our society as reproductive health science procedures become even more refined.
There’s little doubt that fertility treatments have radically changed the way women and men feel about themselves, their relationships and their lives. Whereas before there was little hope for someone who couldn’t conceive, now there is a decent chance that, if nothing else, an answer can be found to his, her or their issue.
This type of paradigm shift in the way we think about conception and birth is powerful. It’s also stressful on some levels, as the decision to embark upon fertility treatments is a very personal journey that takes a lot of soul-searching.
Fortunately, the next generation (and the generation after that and so on) will likely experience less of the stigma of seeking fertility treatments than do some modern individuals and couples. As more education and information becomes available, the realities and understanding of procedures like IVF and egg donation will no doubt become less mysterious and more commonplace.
In the meantime, we feel privileged to be a part of the industry that’s brought happiness to so many people throughout the world for the past 30+ years.
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Tags: Decent Chance, Egg Donation, Fertility Treatments, First Test Tube Baby, Happiness, Health Science, IVF, Little Hope, Louise Brown, Miracles, Next Generation, No Doubt, Paradigm Shift, Personal Journey, Realities, Reproductive Health, Stigma, Test Tube Baby, Women And Men, World Thanks
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Monday, July 19th, 2010
Reuters has reported that a new test promises to predict how successful an IVF (in vitro fertilization) procedure is likely to be.
Using a special formula, researchers from America have determined a way to determine if IVF is likely to work for a female. This could be a huge breakthrough for women whose success is currently being predicted based on their chronological ages rather than including other factors.
As the article notes:
“[the team] decided to look at dozens of factors, including age but also looking at how well and how fast the embryos grow, a woman’s hormonal response to the treatment and the condition of her uterus when the embryo is implanted.”
Though the test isn’t available, one of the researchers, Dr. Yao, and his co-workers have started Univfy, a company that hopes to distribute a commercial version of the test.
If all goes well, couples and their reproductive health science professionals could have access to the test later in 2010.
Our question to you is whether you would pay for a test to determine how likely it was that IVF would work for you?
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Tags: Breakthrough, Co Workers, Couples, Dozens, embryo, Health Science Professionals, Hormonal Response, IVF, Miracles, New Test, Reproductive Health, Reuters, Success, Uterus, Vitro Fertilization Procedure, Yao
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Tuesday, July 13th, 2010
What’s new in infertilitynews around the inter-webs? Check out one item that’s been stealing headlines for the past week:
Quebec to Pay for IVF Treatments
The Canadian province of Quebec has passed a law that goes into effect later this summer and gives couples the option of getting government funded assistance to pay for their fertility treatments.
The law states that Quebec will pay for three rounds of fertility treatments for Quebec citizens. It’s estimated that up to 10,000 Quebec couples are eligible to take advantage of this government funded program.
In America, fertility treatments are not covered by insurance plans; however, many fertility clinics try to keep their rates as reasonable as possible to help individuals and couples achieve their dreams of having children.
At RSI, we understand the importance of this kind of financial responsiveness and always aim to provide the most valuable service at a competitive rate. We will continue to offer the most cost-effective, safe and proven methods for our patients.
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Tags: Aim, Citizens, Couples, Dreams, Fertility Clinics, fertility rates, Fertility Treatments, Having Children, Headlines, Infertility, Infertility News, IVF treatments, Law States, Miracles, Province Of Quebec, Province Quebec, Quebec Government, Responsiveness, Rsi, Valuable Service
Posted in In the News | 1 Comment »
Monday, June 28th, 2010
If you’re a woman in Ohio and you’ve just signed on with an employer, you might want to hesitate before starting IVF treatments. That’s because the Ohio Supreme Court ruled last week (in a 5-1 vote) that employers are within their rights to fire a relatively newly hired female who becomes pregnant.
Though many would sound the alarm that this ruling is discriminatory, the Court decided that it’s up to a company to figure out if maternity leave (or leave for pregnancy-related concerns) constitutes a firing.
From the Court’s point of view, if an employee is generally not allowed to take an extended leave of absence (as would occur with a pregnancy) until a certain time has passed (say, a year), then the pregnant employee could be terminated.
It’s a strange conundrum. On the one hand, the Court’s ruling could be seen as protecting the interests of employers. On the other hand, it gives women who want to become pregnant a reason to pause before seeking fertility treatments and medical attention for infertility lest they become jobless.
We’d love to know your thoughts on the matter… Both employees and employers are encouraged to chime in.
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Tags: Chime, Conundrum, Court Decided That, Fertility Treatments, Infertility, IVF treatments, Lead, Leave Of Absence, Love Thoughts, Maternity, Medical Attention, Miracles, Ohio Supreme Court, Point Of View, Pregnancy, Pregnant Employee, Reason, Supreme Court Rules, Vote, Woman
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Sunday, June 27th, 2010
This just in from a CBS news article…
It would appear from some preliminary research performed by Australian scientists that, as might be suspected, infertilitymay be a factor that’s driven by couple-specific physical incompatibilities. Thus, a man may have fertility difficulties with one woman but not with others.
The crux of the problem appears to be in how the woman’s body reacts to the man’s sperm. If her body is accepting of his particular sperm, she’ll enable his sperm to fertilize her eggs. If her body isn’t accepting of his sperm make-up, natural conception will be more difficult.
This isn’t to suggest, of course, that any of this “denying or accepting” is happening on a conscious level. Neither men nor women can innately control the way their bodies respond. But it could lead to future fertility treatment options that, until now, haven’t been attempted.
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Tags: Australian Scientists, Cbs, Cbs News, Conscious Level, Crux, Driven, Eggs, Females, Fertility Treatment, Incompatibilities, Infertility, Miracles, Natural Conception, News Article, News Report, Preliminary Research, sperm, Treatment Options, Woman
Posted in In the News, Male Infertility | 1 Comment »
Friday, June 25th, 2010
From India comes word that a 66-year-old woman who was previously childless has given birth to triplets. Because of her advanced age, she used IVF treatments in order to reach her dream of becoming a mother.
Though there are well-wishers from around the world who send nothing but good thoughts her way, there are others who believe having a child (not to mention triplets) at 66 has serious ethical concerns. This is compounded by the fact that a 72-year-old who gave birth to her first child about a year-and-a-half ago at age 70 is now dying.
At RSI, we spend a great deal of time analyzing all aspects of any woman or couple’s physical, psychological and emotional states before proceeding with IVF treatments. In our experience, there is definitely a fine line between when fertility treatments are warranted and when the time has passed for such measures.
This is one of the reasons we encourage women and men dealing with infertility (or what they believe to be infertility) to connect with us sooner rather than later. We’ll give sound advice not dictated by intentions to get media attention… and we’ll always be straightforward with recommendations. It’s what we do as ethical physicians in the reproductive health science field.
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Tags: Becoming A Mother, Emotional States, Ethical Concerns, Fertility Treatments, Good Thoughts, Health Science, Infertility, IVF treatments, Measures, Media Attention, Miracles, Mom, Old Woman, Physicians, Reproductive Health, Science Field, Sound Advice, Triplets, Well Wishers, Women And Men
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Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
It’s an exciting time to be in the fertility field! Not only are there plenty of new procedures and tools available to couples and individuals dealing with infertility, but there’s also plenty to celebrate… including the 30th birthday of Australia’s first IVF baby!
Conceived with the help of IVF in 1980 (when IVF was still in its infancy around the world), Candice Reed is healthy, positive and looking forward to her fourth decade!
Though Reed has been reticent to give tons of interviews, she did prepare a statement that included the following:
“It’s just kind of like you’ve got blonde hair or you wear glasses and it was just a knowledge that that’s the way that it happened… The best thing about being an IVF baby is knowing that I was loved and wanted well before I was even conceived.”
Reed is now a strong advocate for IVF in Australia.
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Tags: 30th Birthday, Advocate, Australia, Blonde Hair, Candice Reed, Couples, Decade, Fertility, Glasses, Infancy, Infertility, Ivf Baby, Knowledge, Miracles, Rsi
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