Tag: fertility

Fertility Clock Headlines, Fertility Headlines

A Woman’s Dance Moves May Give Clues to Her Fertility

brigitte

In a new meaning of “fertility dance,” a woman’s moves on the dance floor may reveal captivating clues about her current likelihood of getting pregnant.

Women in the fertile phase of their menstrual cycle are judged as more attractive dancers by men than are women in a less-fertile phase, a new study finds. The research suggests that ovulation is not as hidden in humans as scientists had once suspected, said study researcher Bernhard Fink of the University of Göttingen in Germany.

“These changes are subtle, and women may not always be consciously aware of them. However, men seem to derive information on women’s fertility status from these cues,” Fink told LiveScience.

Hints of fertility

Earlier studies have found hints that women’s behavior changes slightly during fertile phases, from an increase in sexual desire to a preference for strong-jawed men. Research also suggests that men prefer the voices, smells and even facial attractiveness of women during fertile compared with nonfertile phases. One famous 2007 study even found that exotic dancers get better tips during the fertile phases of their cycle.

Those exotic dancers came into close contact with their clients, meaning that their possibly increased allure during fertile phases could have been a result of movement, smell or some other factor. In the new study, Fink and his colleagues reduced the variables to a question of movement only.

The researchers asked 48 women ages 19 to 33 to dance to an identical drumbeat during both the late follicular, or fertile phase, of their cycles and the nonfertile mid-luteal phase. Fertility was gauged by counting back from the woman’s last period. Two hundred men, mostly undergraduate and graduate students, were then shown silhouettes of the women dancing. Hair was pulled back and the women wore identical form-fitting outfits to reduce the differences between them.

The results revealed that though the men had no idea fertility was even being studied, they judged fertile women as more attractive dancers than women in their nonfertile phase. The researchers also captured video of the women’s silhouettes walking and found that fertile women’s gait was also judged more attractive than nonfertile women’s. Read full article.

 

 

Fertility Clock Headlines, Fertility Headlines

1/3 of Child Cancer Patients May be Infertile in Adulthood

brigitte

Childhood cancer patients face an uncertain future regarding whether they have remained fertile, and a recent German study makes this abundantly clear.

According to findings published inDeutsches Arzteblatt International, as many as 30 percent of childhood cancer survivors are suspected of being rendered infertile because of their anti-cancer treatments.

Researchers collected data from 2,754 participants (1,476 of whom had been treated for a leukemia subtype, and the rest, for solid tumors). Of those, 210 agreed to undergo fertility testing, and infertility was suspected in thirty percent. Read full article.

Fertility Clock Headlines, Fertility Headlines

NICHD Issues Funding Opportunity Announcement for the Reproductive Medicine Network

ASRM News and Research

The NICHD invites applications from investigators willing to participate, with the assistance of the NICHD under cooperative agreements, in an ongoing multicenter cooperative program designed to conduct clinical studies to investigate problems in reproductive medicine including female and male infertility, gynecologic and male reproductive system diseases and disorders that impact fertility, problems in andrology and endocrinology affecting reproduction.

Fertility Clock Blog, My Future Baby Blog

What is Minimal Stimulation IVF?

brigitte

Minimal Stimulation IVF differs from traditional IVF in the type and amount of fertility medications used to stimulate the growth of egg follicles.

Traditional IVF uses injections of the hormone FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) to stimulate the growth of multiple eggs which are then harvested from the ovary and fertilized in the laboratory (in-vitro fertilization) before being transferred to the uterus as embryos.

With Mini Stim IVF, a tablet form of fertility medication called clomiphene citrate is taken for 5 days to increase the natural production of FSH in order to recruit multiple egg follicles. Hormonal injections may be used for a few days but at much lower doses than used in traditional IVF.

Although fewer eggs are recruited with Mini Stim IVF, the ones that do grow are believed to be highest in quality. Other benefits include less injections, shorter treatment times and lower cost. Mini Stim IVF is a good alternative for women who respond poorly to traditional hormonal stimulation or have failed traditional IVF.

Fertility Clock Blog, My Future Baby Blog

Increasing Fertility Through Acupuncture

brigitte

Acupuncture has been shown to help women become healthier, stronger and experience less stress – and it’s been having a positive effect on helping women achieve a pregnancy and deliver a healthy baby. Especially in conjunction with IVF, the combination of the two approaches is very powerful.

Preconception care is something we use as a way to prepare the couple to achieve the best possible outcome in preparation for  IUI,  IVF or ICSI. Ideally taking 2-3 months to implement a specialized fertility-enhancing diet, having fertility acupuncture sessions, taking herbal formulas if needed, or supplements for specific conditions such as thin lining, poor egg or sperm quality, stress or underlying auto-immune or thyroid imbalances, etc. can make a huge difference in the outcome as well as in the woman’s overall health and quality of life. Having acupuncture pre & post embryo transfer is also incredibly beneficial, increasing the chances of conception by 62%. Using acupuncture in preparation for egg freezing as well as for treating male factor infertility is also greatly beneficial. All of these approaches have a synergistic effect, and can help get a patient achieve optimal health, and improve conditions which might later be a huge hindrance to the success of an IVF protocol.

Although Western medicine has a lot to offer in terms of thoroughly analyzing and treating specific issues in both female and male factor infertility, adding in other modalities, like acupuncture, herbal formulas, nutritional guidance and certain lifestyle modifications and exercises can enhance the patient’s health and vitality, as well as increase the chances of conception and giving birth to a healthy child.  Another benefit is that these more Eastern-based approaches tend to have a huge stress-relieving effect on the patient, increasing a sense of well-being and decreasing the negative cortisol-stress response which often interferes with trying to conceive and fertility treatments. In terms of IUI,  IVF or ICSI, acupuncture has a positive influence on these processes for several reasons – it may improve egg quality and effect ovarian reserve, as well as improve a patient’s response to gonadotropins and outcomes for poor responders (Quintero et al., 2003). 

Acupuncture can also improve endometrial thickness and quality of lining (Yu, et al., 2006). Some studies have also shown that acupuncture is beneficial as it enhances oocyte maturation, uterine perfusion, improves implantation, encourages ongoing pregnancies and reduces miscarriages. In terms of supplements and herbal formulas, oral antioxidants were shown to improve ICSI outcome where sperm had DNA damage if taken for at least 2 months (Fertility Sterility, 2006).

This holistic approach, including nutritional changes and herbal formulas when warranted, have been shown to treat various imbalances related to infertility, as well as improving overall disease states and vitality, effecting the whole body, potentially helping to regulate hormones and leave a patient more physically receptive to any Western treatment. InChina, want-to-be-parents eat specific foods and attempt to clear up any health issues before trying to conceive, as it is believed that this creates the best chances for conception. Moreover, it helps to create not only a pregnancy, but a healthy child, the ultimate goal. According to epigenetic studies, we now know that what the parents eat and what they experience as stressors does indeed effect not only if they will conceive, but the health of the child when they do. So it benefits the parents to get a jump start and begin the process early, continuing a healthy diet and lifestyle before Western treatment, during IVF treatment and other reproductive procedures, and throughout the pregnancy as well.

This integrative treatment is helping women to conceive healthy children – evidence that integration is a potential key in building families in the healthiest way possible.

By Virginia Prior, DAOM, L.Ac., MATCM, Dipl.O.M. (FABORM)
Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine

To schedule an acupuncture appointment, or for more information, contact Virginia at:
virginiaprior@gmail.com
(310)930-5328

Fertility Clock Headlines, Fertility Headlines

Senate Panel Examines Deficiency of Infertility Services for Injured Vets

ASRM News and Research

Today, the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee held a hearing on a long
list of bills intended to improve services for our nation’s veterans.
Among them was a bill introduced by the committee’s chair to improve
access to fertility counseling and treatment for veterans with a
service-connected genitourinary disability or condition incurred in the
line of duty that affects the veteran’s ability to reproduce.

Fertility Clock Blog, My Future Baby Blog

Nonprofits help cancer survivors with fertility preservation

brigitte

At 31 years old, Alice Crisci was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The Redondo Beach resident bared it all in a photo shoot with the Daily Breeze back in 2008 before undergoing a double mastectomy.

The photos were a celebration of her body before cancer would change it forever. The newspaper continued to follow her journey, including her decision to ensure that after remission she’d have a chance at realizing her dream of becoming a mother.

“I learned very early on in the process that my fertility would be at risk, that there was a 50/50 chance I’d be left infertile,” says Crisci, now 35. “And that was a chance I wasn’t willing to take.”

So Crisci went through fertility preservation, a process that cost her $20,000 and had to be paid in full that day. Not qualifying for financial assistance, she charged the entire amount on her American Express card.

Read full article.

Fertility Clock Headlines, Fertility Headlines

Progestin may reduce pregnancy chances

brigitte

May 28 (UPI)

Progestin, a hormone used to treat infertility due to polycystic ovary syndrome, may reduce the odds of conception and giving birth, U.S. researchers say.

Dr. Michael P. Diamond of Wayne State University in Detroit, Dr. Richard S. Legro of the Pennsylvania State College of Medicine in Hershey and researchers at 16 institutions in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Cooperative Reproductive Medicine Network said polycystic ovary syndrome is a disorder in which the ovaries, and sometimes the adrenal glands, produce excess amounts of hormones.

Women with the disorder typically have menstrual irregularities and may have difficulty getting pregnant.

Infertility treatment for the condition typically involves ovulation induction — drug treatment to stimulate the release of an egg, but before ovulation induction, physicians often use a single course of progestin, which leads to a thickening in the lining of the uterus.

The idea behind the treatment is to simulate the bleeding that occurs at the beginning of the monthly menstrual cycle, Diamond explained.

However, women who skipped the progestin before receiving fertility drugs were four times more likely to conceive than were women given the hormone.

In addition, 20 percent of the women who did not receive progestin gave birth, compared with about 5 percent of the women who received progestin.