Thirty two years after the first test tube baby was born, the biologist who was the first to successfully mix egg and sperm in a lab dish and generate a healthy human baby was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine.
Infertility
Building a Brighter Kid: Consider IVF
Most parents-in-waiting like to daydream that their unborn child might develop a cure for cancer or improve upon the theory of relativity — in short, save the world. Now, new research indicates that your best shot of …
Study: IVF Causes Higher Rates of Baby Boys
Though the ratio of boys to girls born in the United States has been on the decline for decades, new research found that moms who use in vitro fertilization might increase the number of male babies.
Boy or Girl? Change Your Diet, Micromanage Sex — and Other Pregnancy Myths
After I had my son, I desperately wanted a girl. When I got pregnant again, I was so convinced another XY was on the way that when the doctor delivered our daughter (XX, that is) and announced as much, I asked my husband: “Is …
Stress may delay pregnancy, study finds
Women with mental stress may have more trouble conceiving than their unstressed peers, a new study shows. Among 274 English women, all trying to get pregnant, those with the highest levels of alpha-amylase — a salivary biomarker for stress — had an estimated 12% reduction in their chance of getting pregnant each menstrual cycle, …
Policy change aims to reduce C-section rate
New guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) published in the August issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology aim to reduce the national C-section delivery rate by shifting policy to enable more women to attempt vaginal births after an initial C-section.
Among the factors contributing to the
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Study: women’s waning fertility may spur sex drive
In pop culture and scientific research alike plenty of time has been devoted to the steady tick of women’s “biological clocks” — or in other words, a creeping awareness of the closing window for optimal fertility as we age. Yet apart from causing women to fret, it appears that waning fertility is also associated with a boost in sex
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Pregnant drinking link to low sperm count for sons?
Research presented this week at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Rome suggests that men whose mothers had several alcohol drinks per week during pregnancy may have lower quality sperm. The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Aarhus in Denmark, studied 347 men born
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Freezing eggs to delay starting a family?
New research from Belgium and the U.K. suggests that women may increasingly be considering freezing their eggs as a way to prolong fertility as they pursue a career — or find the right romantic partner. A survey of nearly 200 female students found that half of those pursuing degrees in sports or education would consider freezing their
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A test to predict menopause?
It’s a discovery that could be even more revolutionary than the Pill: a blood test that can predict decades in advance when women will hit menopause.
Doctors in Israel report a preliminary study that could someday help create such a test; the research will be presented on Monday at a European fertility conference in Rome, the AP …
Assisted reproduction increases congenital defect risk
In new research presented today at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Genetics in Sweden, French geneticist Dr. Géraldine Viot of Maternité Port Royal hospital in Paris, highlights the elevated risk for congenital defects for children born using assisted reproductive technologies (ART), and stresses the need for
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Autism research: infertility treatment link, no benefit of special diet
Autism researchers from around the world are meeting this week in Philadelphia at the annual conference of the International Society for Autism Research, and have presented studies investigating everything from the impact of an autistic child on the strength of his or her parents’ marriage, to the merits of popular gluten-free,
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Male birth control: stopping sperm with ultrasound?
Among the 78 research projects to receive $100,000 grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation earlier this week as part of the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative, is an effort by researchers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, to develop a non-invasive, reversible form of birth control for men — using
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