IVFConnections.com

IVF Birth Defects Higher with ICSI

Tue, 15 May 2012 22:42:00 -0500

Attachment 1596Children born from mothers who undergo IVF in order to get pregnant are more likely to have health issues and "birth defects" than those born from spontaneous pregnancies. A newly published study suggests that when the procedure ICSI is included in the treatment, the rate of birth defects rises even further. ICSI, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, is a process by which an egg is manipulated by embryologists under a high-power microscope and injected with one sperm.

Researchers at Robson Institute at the University of Adelaide reviewed the data from 309,000 births: those

Thank You, Advocacy Day Volunteers

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 09:22:00 -0500

For months I was all set for my trip to DC for Advocacy Day. I had registered with RESOLVE.org (so they could make appointments with the appropriate representatives), I had my flight booked and had my hotel picked out. (I was waiting until the last minute on lodging, because I grew up in DC and assumed I'd probably stay with friends.) And because IVFC is a media partner of RESOLVE.org, we've been writing about Advocacy Day for weeks and it has been on my brain constantly.

Life doesn't always go as planned (she says, preaching to the infertile choir) and the Universe decided to interfere with my Advocacy Day plans at the last minute. A few days ago I found out that I needed to schedule a small medical procedure (unimportant to the story and likely to be

Don't Ignore Infertility, Please.

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:42:00 -0500

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"Nuff said, we think.
National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW) is NOW - April 22 - April 28, 2012. Join us and everyone else in the infertility community as we do whatever we can to raise awareness about infertility. Ignorance is not bliss; ignorance is inexcusable.

National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW): ignorance is not bliss

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 22:51:00 -0500

It's hard to believe that it's already National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW). There has been so much focus on women's health and reproductive rights in the political realm that it feels like the dialogue started early - which is great! (Not so great: restricting women's rights and access to healthcare. Boo.) But there's so much to do, and with so much political fluff in the air we have to work even harder to do everything possible to bring awareness to the specific subject of infertility.

Despite all of the publicity that women's healthcare rights have gotten over the past few months, infertility remains overlooked. There is a tremendous need to educate everyone - friends and family, the general population, the media, healthcare professionals at every

Let Them Hear You Roar on Advocacy Day

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:57:00 -0500

Do you think you can't make a difference? You can. One person can make a difference - just one person. And when you get even more people together, the difference you - as part of a group - can make all the difference in the world to the men and women actively struggling to build their families.

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If you live within driving distance of Washington D.C., please consider taking tomorrow off and heading into the city to add your voice to those that

Advocacy Day: Tax Credits for IVF

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:43:00 -0500
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Tax credits for IVF? Hell yes! But we need your help to get the Family Act passed. RESOLVE is leading the charge for change and IVFConnections is along to help make history. We are going to make sure our representatives know the realities of infertility and IVF. Join IVFConnections as we march off to DC for Advocacy Day on April 25th. Come to Advocacy Day on the Hill, write a letter, or send a donation to RESOLVE. Any effort you make will

City Council Member Wants to Block Infertility Clinic on "Moral" Grounds

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:48:00 -0500
Attachment 1546Renee Whitley wrote a very eye-opening blog post at RESOLVE.org (the National Infertility Association). She shares news that those of us living outside of the Chicago metropolitan area might not otherwise have read: an Illinois reproductive endocrinologist is ready to start building a new infertility clinic in

An Overview of Male Factor Infertility

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 23:54:00 -0500
Attachment 1540Male infertility, the inability to impregnate a female partner within six to twelve months, is a common reason that couples seek medical help to conceive. About 20% of infertility in the U.S. can be attributed to male factor problems, and an additional 20-40% are partially attributable to male factors.

Male infertility occurs when a man's body has difficulties:

making healthy sperm,

making sufficient quantities of sperm, and/or

transporting the sperm and semen out of the penis.

Britain's oldest first-time mom regrets her decision to have a child so late in life

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 15:02:00 -0500
Attachment 1538Over two years ago, IVFConnections linked to an opinion piece on older mothers, specifically Sue Tollefson, the oldest "first time mother" in the U.K. At that time, Tollefson's baby was not quite two years old and the mother was adamant that having a baby at age 57 was a perfectly fine and ethical thing to do.

Now, Sue Tollefson has changed her tune. According to an article in today's

Lean women can improve fertility with moderate exercise but harm fertility with vigorous exercise

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 23:03:00 -0500
Who would have thought you can have too much of a good thing when it comes to health? Apparently, vigorous physical activity - which is good for so many of us - can take a toll on fertility in women who have a lean body type.

The good news is that, in this case, you can't have too much moderate physical activity; moderate physical activity improves fertility in women of all body types.

Moderate Physical Activity Can Improve Fertility