A new approach to embryo assessment described at this year’s Annual Meeting of ESHRE may be able to shed light on why so many apparently healthy embryos are not viable. The approach is based on the quantification of mitochondrial DNA found in the outermost layer of cells in a five-day old embryo. The combination of chromosome analysis and mitochondrial assessment may now represent the most accurate and predictive measure of embryo viability with great potential for improving IVF outcome.
Month: July 2016
Trying to Conceive? Any Position Will Do – But it Does Help if You Orgasm
When it comes to getting pregnant, any sexual position will do, a leading fertility expert has claimed. And there is no need, as many women believe, to ‘cycle with their legs in the air’ afterwards. Allan Pacey, Professor of Andrology at Sheffield University, who advises couples on how best to conceive made his comments at the ESHRE fertility conference in Helsinki.
Fertility Treatment: 3 In 4 Women Have a Baby in 5 Years
A new study finds that 3 in 4 women starting fertility treatment will have a baby within 5 years – and around a quarter of these will be conceived naturally.
Endometrial Scratch Appears Beneficial in Couples Trying to Conceive
There is a much disputed claim that “injury” to the lining of the uterus — whether inadvertent or deliberate — increases the chance of embryo implantation and thus the chance of pregnancy in certain groups of women having IVF. The “injury” has usually been performed as a biopsy from the womb lining (endometrium), whose action is believed to cause a favourable inflammation (“scratch”) within the endometrium thereby making it more receptive to an implanting embryo. Indeed, the success of more complex uterine surgery in some studies has even been attributed to the scratch and not to the surgery itself.
Sperm-Donor Kids Ask About Their Biological Fathers At Age Three
Where’s my daddy? Children who were born of sperm donors and raised by single moms ask about their fathers from as young as aged three. The major study is the first to analyze the emotions of sperm-donor kids.