Category: Fertility

Fertility after ectopic pregnancy: first randomised trial finds reassuring evidence on the effect of different treatments

The first randomised trial to compare treatments for ectopic pregnancies has found no significant differences in subsequent fertility between medical treatment and conservative surgery on one hand, and conservative or radical surgery on the other. The study, which is published in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction [1], compared three ways of treating an […]

Children born after infertility treatment are more likely to suffer from asthma

Asthma is more common among children born after infertility treatment than among children who have been planned and conceived naturally, according to findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study published online in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction [1]. The study found that at the age of five, children born to sub-fertile parents – […]

Semen concentration and quality fell in French men between 1989 and 2005

New research shows that the concentration of sperm in men’s semen has been in steady decline between 1989 and 2005 in France. In addition, there has been a decrease in the number of normally formed sperm. The study is published online in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction [1]. The study is important because, […]

Mothers’ age at menopause may predict daughters’ ovarian reserve

A mother’s age at menopause may predict her daughter’s fertility in terms of the numbers of eggs remaining in her ovaries, according to the new research published online in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction [1]. By assessing ovarian reserve with two accepted methods – levels of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and antral follicle count […]

Women whose first pregnancy was ectopic have fewer children and a high risk of another ectopic pregnancy

Women whose first pregnancy is ectopic are likely to have fewer children in the following 20-30 years than women whose first pregnancy ends in a delivery, miscarriage or abortion, according to results from a study of nearly 3,000 women in Denmark. In addition, these women have a five-fold increased risk of a subsequent ectopic pregnancy. […]

Results from world’s first registry of pregnancy and heart disease reveals important differences between countries and heart conditions

Results from the world’s first registry of pregnancy and heart disease have shown that most women with heart disease can go through pregnancy and delivery safely, so long as they are adequately evaluated, counselled and receive high quality care. However, this is not always the case: women and babies in developing countries are more likely […]

Study finds increased risk of prematurity and low birth weight in babies born after three or more abortions

One of the largest studies to look at the effect of induced abortions on a subsequent first birth has found that women who have had three or more abortions have a higher risk of some adverse birth outcomes, such as delivering a baby prematurely and with a low birth weight. The research, which is published […]

Genetic heart diseases may be responsible for unexplained stillbirths

Nuremberg, Germany: Genetic researchers have made an important step towards resolving the mystery of the causes of intrauterine fetal demise (IUFD), or stillbirth, where a baby dies in the womb after the 14th week of gestation. IUFD is responsible for 60% of perinatal mortality and occurs in about one in every two hundred pregnancies in […]

Genome-wide analysis shows previously undetected abnormalities in parents of affected children

Nuremberg, Germany: The use of genome-wide array analysis[1] in parents whose children are suspected of having a genetic disease shows that the parents frequently  also have previously undetected genetic abnormalities, a researcher from The Netherlands told the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics.  Being aware of this is important to parents because […]

3-D image guided brachytherapy helps avoid hysterectomies for cervical cancer patients

Barcelona, Spain: Delivering radiotherapy directly to cancer of the cervix using 3-D imaging techniques is effective at controlling the return and spread of the disease and, in most cases, avoids the need for hysterectomies, according to research presented at the World Congress of Brachytherapy [1 & 2]. Dr Renaud Mazeron said that a review of […]