Category: Fertility

Health of fathers-to-be is linked to risk of pregnancy loss

More than a quarter of pregnancies might be ectopic or end in miscarriage or stillbirth if the father-to-be is unhealthy and has three or more medical conditions such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels. In a retrospective study of nearly a million pregnancies between 2009 and 2016 in the US, published […]

Tanning beds and sunbathing may be associated with an increased risk of endometriosis

Tanning beds and sunbathing not only increase a woman’s chances of developing malignant melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, but may also be linked to a greater risk of developing endometriosis, according to new research. A study of over 116,000 women in the USA, published in Human Reproduction [1], one of the world’s […]

PCOS is linked to increased risk of neuropsychiatric disorders in offspring

Children born to mothers with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are at greater risk of a wide range of psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders, according to new research published in Human Reproduction [1], one of the world’s leading reproductive medicine journals. Researchers in Sweden, China and Finland found that the increased risk existed for children born to […]

Breast cancer drug, olaparib, depletes store of immature eggs in mouse ovaries

Fertility preservation counselling should be considered for young women before treatment with the drug, say researchers Australian researchers have shown for the first time that a new drug used to treat breast cancer patients damages the store of immature eggs in the ovaries of mice. The authors of the study, which is published in Human […]

Embryo vitrification is safe but longer storage reduces chances of pregnancy success

Freezing and storing embryos during fertility treatment using a technique called vitrification is safe, although women are less likely to become pregnant and have a live birth the longer the embryos are stored, according to new research published in Human Reproduction [1], one of the world’s leading reproductive medicine journals. There have been concerns that […]

Benzodiazepine use before conception is linked to increased risk of ectopic pregnancy

Women who use a class of tranquilisers called benzodiazepines before becoming pregnant are at greater risk of ectopic pregnancies, according to a study of nearly 1.7 million women. The study, which is published in Human Reproduction [1], one of the world’s leading reproductive medicine journals, found that the risk of an ectopic pregnancy, where the […]

What are your chances of having a second IVF baby after fertility treatment for the first?

Women have a good chance of having a second child with the help of fertility treatment after the birth of their first child born this way, according to the first study to investigate this, published in Human Reproduction [1], one of the world’s leading reproductive medicine journals. Researchers in Australia calculated that after a woman […]

Psychiatric disorders after first birth reduce likelihood of subsequent children

Women who suffer from psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, mania and schizophrenia following the live birth of their first child are less likely to go on to have more children, according to the first study to investigate this in a large nationwide population. The study, which is published in Human Reproduction [1], one of […]

First baby born to cancer patient from eggs matured in the lab and frozen

Fertility doctors in France have announced the birth of the first baby to be born to a cancer patient from an immature egg that was matured in the laboratory, frozen, then thawed and fertilised five years later. A letter in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology [1] describes how the baby boy was born […]

Premature menopause increases the risk of multiple health problems in your 60s

Women who experience premature menopause are almost three times more likely to develop multiple, chronic medical problems in their 60s compared to women who went through the menopause at the age of 50 or 51. These are the findings from a study of 5107 women who were part of a national study of 11,258 Australian […]