Why the use of cheap fertility drugs should be monitored

There's an interesting comment piece on the BBC website from Professor Bill Ledger of Sheffield University about the risk of cheap fertility drugs leading to multiple births.

There is more now awareness about the dangers multiple births can cause both mothers and babies, and this has led fertility experts to try to put back just one embryo during IVF treatment when there is a good prognosis. However, many women with less serious fertility problems are initially treated with much simpler and cheaper fertility drugs. These drugs are sometimes prescribed by GPs or at general hospitals, and their use is not regulated by the HFEA. Drugs such as Clomid can still lead to multiple pregnancies if women are not properly monitored when they take them, and the comment calls for simple ultrasound scans for all women taking fertility drugs to ensure that they are not putting their own, and their future children's, health at risk.

You can read the piece on the BBC website

Is air pollution affecting your fertility?

New research from the US suggests that being exposed to air pollutants can decrease the chances of successful IVF - maybe a good excuse to take a long holiday if you're going through fertility treatment...

Women going through IVF had the air quality in their home monitored at specific stages during their first treatment cycle- more than 7,000 women were involved in the study which took place over a seven-year period. The findings showed lower likelihoods of a successful pregnancy in the women who had been exposed to higher levels of pollutants, in particular nitrogen oxide. Conversely, higher ozone levels seemed to show more chance of successful pregnancy.

It is thought that these effects could be mirrored more widely, and that exposure to pollutants may have an impact on all fertility, not just that of women going through IVF. More details can be found here

Donor sibling link

People who have been born as a result of donor conception will be able to contact others who share the same donor from today. Once they reach 18, those conceived through donor treatment can join the Donor Sibling Link, a new service launched by the HFEA (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority), which will enable them to get in touch with any genetic siblings who have also joined. As donors usually make more than one donation, there may be a number of genetic siblings in different families and this will allow them to find out about one another.


The Donor Sibling Link can only be used by those who were conceived using donor eggs, sperm or embryos and their parents or other family members are not able to access the information.
See more here

Important information for all UK IVF patients

You may not know that as from April 6, identifying details of anyone who has had IVF since 1991 may be available to researchers. Most people who've had IVF may be quite happy for researchers to be able to use identifying details from their records in order to carry out projects which could be beneficial to future patients, but there are others who don't tell anyone about their treatment and may be worried about this - especially as most people believed this information was confidential when they had IVF.

It is possible to opt out by using a form on the HFEA website but both you and your partner will need to opt out, and you will need to put in the dates of your treatment and where you had it.

There's more information here for anyone who wants to know more about this.

Peckham miracle babies

The case of the "miracle" babies born to women attending a church in Peckham has been the subject of another BBC radio investigation today.

An "archbishop" who is wanted by the authorities in Kenya to face charges of stealing children is apparently still in the UK, where he had claimed to be able to help women who were often medically unable to have children. The women would go to Kenya and return with babies he claimed they'd given birth to, despite the fact that their DNA did not match that of their "parents".

It is a sad story of the exploitation of both poor Kenyan women and couples with fertility problems in the UK - see more here

Fizzy drinks and male fertility

Did you know that too many fizzy drinks may affect male fertility? A study from Denmark looked at more than 2,000 young men and investigated their diet and intake of caffeine (including fizzy cola which contains caffeine) before analysing their sperm. They found that there was no clear link between semen quality and caffeine consumption, BUT there was a link when they looked at fizzy drink consumption.

Men who drank more than 14 bottles of fizzy drinks a week (that's about a litre a day) were far more likely to have poor fertility. However, it isn't clear what the cause of this might be. Researchers say it can't be the caffeine, as getting the same amount of caffeine from coffee didn't have the same result. It could be that those who drink lots of cola have other lifestyle factors that may come into play - on the whole they were less healthy, eating less fruit, vegetables and fish and consuming more fast food and alcohol. The one thing that does emerge very clearly from the research is that lifestyle and eating habits certainly do play an important role in male fertility.

You can read the full paper here

IVF and ICSI information evening

There's a free fertility information evening at Homerton Hospital in Hackney on Wednesday 7 April from 7-8.30pm. Consultants from the hospital's fertility centre will give a presentation on IVF and ICSI and answer any questions. I will also be there, representing Infertility Network UK. The evening will be held in the main lecture theatre, Education Centre, Homerton University Hospital, Homerton Row, London E9 6SR. If you'd like to come along you can email fertility@homerton.nhs.uk or call 020 8510 7660.