Here is another study that was discussed at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) conference earlier this month.

Dr. Con Mallidis of Queen’s University in Belfast, UK presented his findings from a study that looked at the link between diabetes and male infertility. He feels that it isn’t a coincidence that there is both an increase in male diabetes and male infertility in the world right now.

When he studied the semen of men who were currently taking part in insulin therapy, the semen looked normal except for being smaller in quantity or volume. However, when he looked a bit more, he found that there was significant DNA damage that because of the diabetes was unable to be repaired.

Since the DNA quality of sperm is associated with embryo quality, miscarriage rates and some childhood diseases, it makes sense that the damaged sperm is of concern when trying to conceive.

So, if your partner has diabetes make sure you talk with your doctor about a fertility plan that works best for both of you!!

Yes, according to Dr. Raphael Hirt from the Division of Reproductive Medicine at the Hospital Antoine Bexlere in France.

At the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference earlier in the month, doctors presented the results to their study which looked at the size of a woman’s uterus and their risk of having premature twins if using IVF.

Researchers used ultrasound to measure the uterus of 79 women between the ages of 21 and 39 who were currently patients at their clinic and receiving fertility treatment. They then broke the women up into 3 groups based on the height of their uterus and continued to follow them after they successfully became pregnant using IVF. The data they recorded was the gestational age of the baby and if the baby was born premature.

What they found was the women in the group having the smallest uteri, were most likely to give birth prematurely.

They are excited about this research because it can help fertility doctors decide how many eggs to implant during an IVF procedure. If a woman has a small uterus, Hirt hopes that doctors will use his research findings and opt to only plant 1 embryo to increase the chances of the baby making it full term.

This is just the first of many related studies that Hirt wants to complete in the near future!

Are you thinking of starting a family and are currently on birth control? When should you stop using it and when can you start trying to conceive?

Doctors have some recommendations for you!

If you are currently using oral contraceptives such as the pill, doctors suggest stopping 2-3 months before trying to conceive. Their hope is that you will have at least one regular menstrual cycle before becoming pregnant.

If you are using Depo-Provera or Norplant, doctors suggest ending 3-6 months prior to when you are hoping to conceive. In general it usually takes a few months to get your period back after using these products.

If you are using an IUD, you only need to stop 1 cycle before possible conception.

And finally, if you are using a diaphragm or condoms, you can discontinue use right before you try to become pregnant.

As always, you will want to check with your own doctor to find out what would be best for you!!

As I wrote the title of this article, I had to laugh because trying to become pregnant feels like a hobby sometimes!

So, I was doing a little more reading on the dangers of lead when trying to conceive and I found a couple of interesting little tidbits!

There are many hobbies that are potentially harmful to the fertility process. Among them are:

1. Stained Glass- Lead is often in the glass casement; and the dust created when you sand or mold it can be a hazard. Also, careful that the color products used are not lead based.

2. Painting- Again, paints contain many chemicals that can wreak havoc with fertility, so try to use natural vegetable based pigments. Also, use latex and stay away from oil based paints.

3. Pottery- Pottery materials often contain metallic substances and the vapors and dust from the glazes could also potentially contain lead. Also, the gases that are released when the clay is fired is of concern of you are trying to conceive.

4. Photography- The chemicals used to develop film may put your reproductive system at risk, so try to use premixed solutions, cover your solutions when not using them and avoid direct contact.

I am sure there are many other hobbies that have a high risk for exposure to chemicals and gases, but these are the 4 that jumped out at me!

Happy hobby searching!!!

Did you know that one way for you and your partner to protect yourselves against the effects of lead is to make sure that your diet includes plenty of iron and calcium? Since iron and calcium help keep the lead from being absorbed, they are able to help protect the body.

So, if you are getting ready to start a family and your home environment, work environment or your hobbies have you exposed to lead in any way, talk to your doctor about making sure your diet includes plenty of calcium and iron!!

Here is another new study that was presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) conference last week…..

Dr. Shayev and his colleagues just completed a study where they looked at the link between male obesity and infertility.

He began by analyzing the semen of 5316 men who were patients at the Aberdeen Fertility Center. Next, he broke the men into four groups based on their BMI. What he found was that there was indeed a correlation between weight and infertility. This finding was supported by the fact that the men in “Group B” which were those with an optimal BMI of 20-25 had more normal sperm and a greater sperm volume when compared with the men in the other groups.

Dr. Shayeb and his colleagues are excited to continue further research and learn more on why this is true. As of now they can only speculate that it has something to do with hormone levels, excessive heat in the testicles and/or an unhealthy diet and lifestyle.

Based on these results, Dr. Shayev urges men to strive for an ideal body weight before trying to have a baby.

Last week at the annual ESHRE (European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology) conference, Mr. Hong, a researcher at the Center of Reproductive Medicine and Infertility shared the results to his most recent study.

Mr. Hong worked with 6,717 patients who took part in 8,930 cycles of ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) in the hopes of becoming pregnant. He then separated the women into 3 groups based on their age: 35 and younger, 36-39 and 40 and older. What he found was interesting!

To begin with, the overall pregnancy rate among all the women was 39.5%. Only a few of the women took part in more than 5 cycles of ICSI, and there was only one patient that had the procedure done 8 times.

When looking specifically at the women who became pregnant, 79.7% were successful with their first attempt, 16% with their second and 3.4% with their third.

He then broke down the results even further and looked at each of the groups. In the 35 and younger group, 53.75% of the women became pregnant after their first ICSI cycle, 43% with their second, 33% with their third, 23% with their fourth and 18.2% with their fifth.

In the 36-39 year old group, 41.5% of the women became pregnant after their first cycle and then it decreased to a rate of 24.1% by their fourth attempt.

And finally, when looking in the over 40 group, Mr. Hong found that the women had a success rate of 20% for attempts one, two, three and four!

What Mr. Hong suggests based on his study is that most women under the age of 40 benefit from 2 ICSI cycles, whereas those over 40 may benefit from attempting 4 cycles.

Yes, according to Dr. Stephanie Belloc of the Eylau Center for Assisted Reproduction. She presented these findings earlier in the week in Spain at the annual conference for the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE).

Her study looked at 12, 236 couples who were using intrauterine insemination (IUI) to become pregnant. They used their partner’s sperm even though most of them had been treated for fertility issues.

One thing she found was that there seemed to be a link between the mother’s age and the pregnancy rate. When she looked at the group of women who were over 35 years old, their pregnancy rate using IUI was 8.9 percent. This compared to the 14.5 percent conception rate for women in the group under the age of 35.

Of interest though, was that the father’s age seemed to play a part as well. Women who became pregnant using sperm from the men who were older than 35, were at a greater chance of miscarriage.

Dr. Belloc believes that this is significant not only because it supports previous studies linking the father’s age with compromised sperm, but also because it may lead fertility doctors to recommend IVF or ICSI for couples over the age of 35.

If you are searching for a fertility specialist, this site may be of interest to you!

You put in your zipcode and it lists all the contact information for the fertility specialists in your area.

http://www.fertilitylifelines.com/difficultyconceiving/fertilityspecialist/findfertilityspecialist.jsp

I thought this was interesting

Earlier this month the New York Times Magazine looked at the reasons for the low fertility rates in Europe. The lowest rates are found in the Southern and Eastern European countries. In fact, they have dropped to an average of 1.3 children per couple. They predict that the population in these countries could be reduced by 50 percent in the next 45 years.

Why the low fertility rates in the areas? Some of their ideas were:
1. More families are moving from rural to urban areas
2. High cost of living
3. Modern birth control
4. More grown children living at home longer
5. Women waiting longer to have children
6. The changing roles of women, both with jobs and education

Demographers and economists predict that by the year 2050, 30 million of the men and women of in the working class group will basically disappear. There will also be a disproportionate number of older folks of retirement age. They see a struggle for these countries since there will be more people seeking health care services and retirement benefits and fewer working folks contributing taxes to the government.

Definitely interesting to think about!!!