Showing posts with label fertility. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fertility. Show all posts

Monday, August 6, 2012

Childhood Obesity and Infertility

Sorry, I've been radio silent for the past week or so.  We had our floors done and what I thought would be an easy home-improvement proved to be much more challenging.  Without going into boring detail, I'll just say I don't know what the floor guy was thinking when he told me we could stay in the house while the floors were being done, because he wedged our leather couch between the refrigerator and the island!

I found this interesting article in The Jerusalem Post about childhood obesity and infertility.  “The issue of so many humans being obese is very recent in evolutionary terms, and since nutritional status is important to reproduction, metabolic syndromes caused by obesity may profoundly affect reproductive capacity,” said Patrick Chappell.

Obesity can Lead to Infertility

But in general, puberty appears to be starting earlier in girls. It is being accelerated.

This may have several effects, scientists have found. One theory is an impact on kisspeptin, a recently characterized neurohormone necessary for reproduction. Normal secretions of this hormone may be disrupted by endocrine signals from fat that serve to communicate to the brain.

Another possible affect on pubertal timing, and reproduction in general, is disruption of circadian clocks, which reflect the natural rhythms of night and day. Disrupted sleep-wake cycles can affect the secretion of hormones such as cortisol, testosterone, and insulin, researchers have found.


Here is the link to the full article.



Monday, July 9, 2012

Natural PCOS Remedies

I found a press release for Dr. Rebecca Harwin's book "Conquer Your PCOS Naturally." My fertility issues didn't involve PCOS.  However, I did try natural remedies for our infertility issues before turning to a reproductive endocrinologist.   For those unfortunate enough to suffer from PCOS, I believe, this book might help you.


The Face of PCOS




Dr Harwin is a leading PCOS expert, providing resources to help women suffering from PCOS balance their hormones, naturally regain fertility and live a symptom-free and well life, (http://www.ConquerYourPCOSNaturally.com).
The international author of 'Conquer Your PCOS Naturally' has appeared in magazines such as CEO Magazine, Women's Health & Fitness, and will be featured in the August edition of Vogue. You can get the first three chapters of her book at her website for free.
Dr Rebecca Harwin, Author & Founder of Conquer Your PCOS Naturally

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/784998#ixzz207nLode7




Thursday, July 5, 2012

Infertility and Alcoholism


Infertile Women are Twice as Likely to be Alcoholics


Here is some more information from the Danish study I talked about last week.  The study, which looked at 100,000 women who had visited a fertility clinic, revealed that those who were never able to get pregnant were twice as likely to be hospitalized for alcoholism or substance abuse and 47 percent more likely to display signs of schizophrenia or be hospitalized for an eating disorder.


Study leader Dr. Birgitte Baldur- Felskov emphasized the fact that this study only takes those who were hospitalized into account. Factoring in those women who may have been treated as an outpatient, or not at all, could shed even more light on this problem. It’s also important to note this affect of infertility on mental health doesn’t appear to be a temporary condition


The full article is here.




Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Egg Donation: Considerations

There is an interesting article in the San Francisco Chronicle about egg donations.  Specifically, about the thoughts and feelings one woman had prior to donating her eggs.  My husband and I had discussed EVERYTHING when we faced our fertility issues from donor sperm to donor eggs and adoption.

Most recently I asked my husband what his thought were about me donating my eggs to help out a friend.  Well, he laughed in my face…not because he didn't want me to help out my friend, but because well…I'm 41 and my eggs aren't so great.   Sometimes, I forget my age.  It's just a number after all and it really doesn't play a role in my day to day life.  However, it does fertility-wise and sometimes I think that just sucks!



Here's the link to the article, if you are interested in reading it.



Here are links to chapter one of my book:

Monday, June 4, 2012

What are Your Chances of Having Twins Through IVF?

I saw this press release on the study Researchers Predict IVF Patients' Chance of Having Twins and I thought OMG we would have loved to know what our chances were of having twins.  Then, of course, I thought, no way in h*ll.  We have healthy triplet three year olds and if we were told we have a 90% of greater chance of having twins, I'm not sure what we would have done and that scares me.  Which amazing and lovable child would we not have in our lives right now?

Trying to go back in time and think about what you would have done with information you have now is futile.  However, it is nice to know that couples who want to determine their chance of having twins can.  Hopefully, parents and doctors will use this information in the best possible way.









Here are links to chapter one of my book:




Increased Pregnancy Rates with New IVF Procedure

A study was released out of the UK today that showed promising results for increasing the probability of pregnancy with IVF.  Currently, after eggs are retrieved from a woman, they need to go through different procedures before they are return, fertilized, to the woman.  The new system, allows for multiple procedure to take place in a single sealed unit that regulates temperature and the quality of air around the embryos.


8 cell embryo

Here is the Press Release.



Here are links to chapter one of my book: