An analysis of over 400,000 IVF cycles in the UK has shown that doctors should aim to retrieve around 15 eggs from a woman’s ovaries in a single cycle in order to have the best chance of achieving a live birth after assisted reproduction technology. The study, which is published online in Europe’s leading reproductive […]
Category: Fertility
Mothers’ obesity increases the risk of foetal and infant death. Obese women have a higher risk of bleeding and infections after hysterectomy
Women who are obese during early pregnancy have a significantly increased risk of their baby dying before, during or up to one year after birth, according to research published in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction today [1]. A second paper [2] also published in the journal today shows that obesity increases the risk […]
Use of mild painkillers in pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of male reproductive problems
New evidence has emerged that the use of mild painkillers such as paracetamol, aspirin and ibuprofen, may be part of the reason for the increase in male reproductive disorders in recent decades. Research published in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction today (Monday 8 November) shows that women who took a combination of more […]
Parental infertility and cerebral palsy in children born spontaneously or after IVF/ICSI
Doctors have known for some time that children born after fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are at increased risk of cerebral palsy. However, it was not known whether this risk was due to the treatment itself, the higher frequency of preterm or multiple births, or a mechanism […]
Reaction to Bob Edwards winning the Nobel Prize for Medicine
In reaction to the news that Robert Edwards has been awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work pioneering in vitro fertilisation, Prof Martin Johnson, Professor of Reproductive Sciences at the University of Cambridge, said: “As one of Bob’s first research students, I’m naturally delighted that Bob Edwards has been awarded the Nobel […]
Intrauterine devices (IUDs) can be used to treat endometrial cancer
Intrauterine devices, originally developed as contraceptives, can also be used to treat and cure cancer of the endometrium according to new research published online in the cancer journal, Annals of Oncology [1] today (Wednesday 29 September). The finding opens the way for young women with the disease, which affects the lining of the womb, to […]
Smoking damages men’s sperm and also the numbers of germ and somatic cells in developing embryos
Two new studies have shed more light on how smoking may damage fertility, and give further weight to advice that mothers and fathers-to-be should stop smoking before attempting to conceive. The research is published online in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction today (Wednesday 8 September). In the first study [1], researchers found that […]
Scientists develop the first model for investigating the origins of testicular cancer in humans
Scientists have developed a model that will enable them to investigate, for the first time, how human testes develop in baby boys while they are in the womb. Until now it has been impossible to study testicular development during pregnancy in humans and this discovery will enable researchers to understand the processes that can lead […]
Revealed: the reasons why the MRC did not fund research that led to the birth of the world’s first test tube baby
Thirty-two years ago today, the world’s first baby was born after in vitro fertilisation. However, the work that led to the birth of Louise Brown on 25 July 1978 had to be privately funded after the UK’s Medical Research Council decided in 1971 against providing the Cambridge physiologist Robert Edwards and the Oldham gynaecologist Patrick […]
In vitro maturation: do eggs matured in the laboratory result in babies with Large Offspring Syndrome?
Rome, Italy: A review of studies of babies born after in vitro maturation (IVM) fertility treatment has suggested that they are more likely to be born larger than normal and to have more difficult births requiring more obstetric interventions such as caesareans. Authors of the literature review to be presented to the 26th annual meeting […]