More human twins are being born than ever before, according to the first comprehensive, global overview published in Human Reproduction [1], one of the world’s leading reproductive medicine journals. Since the 1980s the twinning rate has increased by a third from 9 to 12 per 1000 deliveries, meaning that about 1.6 million twins are born […]
Category: Fertility
Twin Peaks: more twinning in humans than ever before
More human twins are being born than ever before, according to the first comprehensive, global overview published in Human Reproduction [1], one of the world’s leading reproductive medicine journals. Since the 1980s the twinning rate has increased by a third from 9 to 12 per 1000 deliveries, meaning that about 1.6 million twins are born […]
Fertility treatment affects children’s growth patterns but not for long
Children born as a result of fertility treatment have different growth patterns to naturally-conceived children but, by the time they reach the age of 17, they are of similar height, weight and body mass index (BMI), according to research published in Human Reproduction [1]. The study of 81,461 children from the Norwegian Mother, Father and […]
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 […]