It has taken a 'celebrity' (I've put it in brackets only because I'd never heard of her..) to raise awareness of the way eating disorders can affect your fertility - but it's certainly time women understood that excessive dieting can damage your chances of having a family in the future. When a woman's body weight drops too low, her periods will stop. Most women know this, but assume that their periods will return to normal once weight is regained. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case and some of those who suffer from anorexia will discover that they don't start ovulating even if they do get back to a normal weight - and medical help will be needed to give any chance of ever having a child.
It's not just anorexia that can affect fertility, but bulimia and yo-yo weight loss too. Bulimia has been linked with polycystic ovary syndrome, which often affects fertility, even in women whose weight isn't abnormally low and yo-yo dieting with rapid weight loss and gain can also play havoc with ovulation.
The obsessive nature of eating disorders means that women often consider any future health issues to be a very low priority, but perhaps education at an earlier stage about the long-term risks for fertility might be a good thing.
Tuesday, 26 July 2011
Tuesday, 12 July 2011
Surrogacy law - does it need updating?
Leading fertility lawyer Natalie Gamble has just sent me a press release about a complicated surrogacy case which has just been through the courts here in the UK. Natalie feels it highlights some of the problems with the current legislation surrounding surrogacy - and it certainly does show how hugely complex the issues can be - see below...
The High Court has made an unprecedented order awarding parenthood to a deceased father of a baby boy born through surrogacy in India.
A couple, known only as Mr and Mrs A, entered into a surrogacy arrangement and their son was born in India on 12 April 2010. The biological parents were Mr A and either Mrs A or an unknown donor. However, under UK surrogacy law, the Indian surrogate and her husband were treated as the baby boy’s legal parents, and Mr and Mrs A applied for a parental order to reassign parenthood and gain a UK birth certificate naming them as mother and father. But Mr A tragically contracted liver cancer during the course of the proceedings and died, leaving the High Court to make a landmark decision to award parenthood to the mother and her deceased husband.
The case was complicated by the fact that only couples – and not single people – can apply for parental orders. When the UK’s surrogacy laws were debated in 2008, Parliament decided that only couples should be able to commission surrogacy arrangements. Parents who apply for parental orders following surrogacy must therefore either be married or living as partners in an enduring family relationship.
Leading fertility lawyer Natalie Gamble, who drafted an amendment to the law in 2008 (which was debated in Committee but rejected) which would have allowed applications from single parents, comments: “The case shows how dangerously outdated our surrogacy laws are. Although Mrs Justice Theis was able to find a way around the law in this case because the father had died after issuing the application, what would have happened if either of the parents had died earlier, perhaps during the pregnancy? This has always been an accident waiting to happen, and the restrictiveness of the current law is leaving children vulnerable and unprotected.
Natalie, whose firm has dealt with many of the leading international surrogacy cases heard by the High Court in recent years including the first to ratify a foreign arrangement, goes on to say: “The case demonstrates the continuing difficulties the courts are facing in dealing with surrogacy arrangements. The High Court is repeatedly having to stretch the legislation in order to secure the status of vulnerable children born through surrogacy, and the emotional and financial cost of this for the family involved is significant. We need a better system of law which caters for these kinds of eventualities, and gives clarity and certainty to ensure that children being born through surrogacy (and their parents and surrogates) are properly protected.”
The case is also the first published case to ratify an Indian surrogacy agreement in which more than expenses were paid to a surrogate mother, following a line of previous published cases ratifying commercial payments for surrogacy made to US and Ukrainian surrogate mothers.
The High Court has made an unprecedented order awarding parenthood to a deceased father of a baby boy born through surrogacy in India.
A couple, known only as Mr and Mrs A, entered into a surrogacy arrangement and their son was born in India on 12 April 2010. The biological parents were Mr A and either Mrs A or an unknown donor. However, under UK surrogacy law, the Indian surrogate and her husband were treated as the baby boy’s legal parents, and Mr and Mrs A applied for a parental order to reassign parenthood and gain a UK birth certificate naming them as mother and father. But Mr A tragically contracted liver cancer during the course of the proceedings and died, leaving the High Court to make a landmark decision to award parenthood to the mother and her deceased husband.
The case was complicated by the fact that only couples – and not single people – can apply for parental orders. When the UK’s surrogacy laws were debated in 2008, Parliament decided that only couples should be able to commission surrogacy arrangements. Parents who apply for parental orders following surrogacy must therefore either be married or living as partners in an enduring family relationship.
Leading fertility lawyer Natalie Gamble, who drafted an amendment to the law in 2008 (which was debated in Committee but rejected) which would have allowed applications from single parents, comments: “The case shows how dangerously outdated our surrogacy laws are. Although Mrs Justice Theis was able to find a way around the law in this case because the father had died after issuing the application, what would have happened if either of the parents had died earlier, perhaps during the pregnancy? This has always been an accident waiting to happen, and the restrictiveness of the current law is leaving children vulnerable and unprotected.
Natalie, whose firm has dealt with many of the leading international surrogacy cases heard by the High Court in recent years including the first to ratify a foreign arrangement, goes on to say: “The case demonstrates the continuing difficulties the courts are facing in dealing with surrogacy arrangements. The High Court is repeatedly having to stretch the legislation in order to secure the status of vulnerable children born through surrogacy, and the emotional and financial cost of this for the family involved is significant. We need a better system of law which caters for these kinds of eventualities, and gives clarity and certainty to ensure that children being born through surrogacy (and their parents and surrogates) are properly protected.”
The case is also the first published case to ratify an Indian surrogacy agreement in which more than expenses were paid to a surrogate mother, following a line of previous published cases ratifying commercial payments for surrogacy made to US and Ukrainian surrogate mothers.
Monday, 4 July 2011
IVF risks
If you'd read some of the newspaper headlines about IVF this morning, you could be forgiven for getting into a bit of a panic. It sounded as if going through IVF put you at a hugely increased risk of having a baby with Down's syndrome, and that it was the drugs used during fertility treatment which caused the problem.
This research is undeniably interesting, but it's far from conclusive. The eggs of just 34 couples were examined, far too few to be truly representative, and the reason for the problems they found is not clear either. They saw that when older women took higher doses of fertility drugs during treatment, there were abnormalities in the eggs which were produced. These abnormalities appear to be different from the more common problems which occur in older women's eggs anyway.
There are a number of things that need to be understood about this. The eggs studied were far more likely to lead to an unsuccessful treatment cycle or a miscarriage than to a baby with serious problems. The researchers have suggested that ovarian stimulation could disturb the normal process of egg production, but it is also not clear whether the fertility drugs caused problems for the eggs or whether the treatment allowed eggs to be produced from the ovaries which might otherwise never have got as far as being released.
So, we would like to see more research in this field to discover whether pushing older women's ovaries to produce more eggs actually only results in larger numbers of poor quality eggs - but in the meantime you can find out more about the research at www.eshre.eu
This research is undeniably interesting, but it's far from conclusive. The eggs of just 34 couples were examined, far too few to be truly representative, and the reason for the problems they found is not clear either. They saw that when older women took higher doses of fertility drugs during treatment, there were abnormalities in the eggs which were produced. These abnormalities appear to be different from the more common problems which occur in older women's eggs anyway.
There are a number of things that need to be understood about this. The eggs studied were far more likely to lead to an unsuccessful treatment cycle or a miscarriage than to a baby with serious problems. The researchers have suggested that ovarian stimulation could disturb the normal process of egg production, but it is also not clear whether the fertility drugs caused problems for the eggs or whether the treatment allowed eggs to be produced from the ovaries which might otherwise never have got as far as being released.
So, we would like to see more research in this field to discover whether pushing older women's ovaries to produce more eggs actually only results in larger numbers of poor quality eggs - but in the meantime you can find out more about the research at www.eshre.eu
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Congratulations to Robert Edwards
It is wonderful news that Professor Robert Edwards, the IVF pioneer, has finally been awarded a knighthood in this year's Queen's birthday honours. It is hardly surprising that the work of the man who changed the lives of so many has been recognised, but it is surprising that it has taken so long. The award comes closely after the Nobel Prize for Medicine awarded to Professor Edwards last year. Maybe, four million babies down the line, the establishment has finally woken up to his amazing legacy - and to the fact that the UK led the way in this field with the birth of the first ever IVF baby in 1978. Congratulations to a truly brilliant and inspirational man.
Friday, 17 June 2011
Varicoceles linked to lower testosterone levels
Varicoceles, which are dilated or enlarged veins in the testicles, are a common problem for men. They've been linked with male fertility problems for many years, but new research has shown that they can interfere with the production of testosterone. Lower levels of testosterone can have an impact on men's energy levels and muscle strength as well as affecting fertility.
As many as fifteen percent of men have varicoceles, but no medical action is usually taken unless they are painful or thought to be causing infertility. However, the new research suggests that it may be a good idea to opt for microsurgery earlier rather than later in order to prevent future problems.
To read more about the research, visit http://weill.cornell.edu
As many as fifteen percent of men have varicoceles, but no medical action is usually taken unless they are painful or thought to be causing infertility. However, the new research suggests that it may be a good idea to opt for microsurgery earlier rather than later in order to prevent future problems.
To read more about the research, visit http://weill.cornell.edu
Monday, 13 June 2011
Precious Babies
I've had the cover through this week for my new book, Precious Babies, which is out in October. There's something about seeing the cover for the first time that makes a book seem real and I'm so excited about this one. I've wanted to write something aimed at those who are pregnant, or new parents, after infertility ever since I first discovered I was pregnant after my second cycle of IVF. The joy that I felt was tempered with a terrible sense of fear that it couldn't possibly be real, that I couldn't possibly be so lucky and that something was bound to go wrong. Nothing did - but I spent nine months worrying - and in retrospect that seems such a shame. There's nothing anyone can do to change the natural concern you feel when you conceive after experiencing infertility, but by acknowledging the feelings, I hope that this new book can at least make help make those fears fade a little.
The book also covers parenting from birth right through to teens, as I really do believe that the experience of infertility often changes the way we feel about being parents. The parents I spoke to felt very strongly that they were less likely to take their children for granted, and recognised that they sometimes set themselves impossibly high standards to follow as parents. Of course, the experience of infertility fades fairly rapidly, but many of those I spoke to felt that their infertility had ended up changing them for the better, and that they truly appreciated how very blessed they were to have their children.
I hope that Precious Babies addresses many of the issues that concern parents, and I've included expert views and advice throughout in order to ensure that it can offer a rounded view to anyone who has finally been successful after spending some time trying to conceive. You can find out more about the book here
The book also covers parenting from birth right through to teens, as I really do believe that the experience of infertility often changes the way we feel about being parents. The parents I spoke to felt very strongly that they were less likely to take their children for granted, and recognised that they sometimes set themselves impossibly high standards to follow as parents. Of course, the experience of infertility fades fairly rapidly, but many of those I spoke to felt that their infertility had ended up changing them for the better, and that they truly appreciated how very blessed they were to have their children.
I hope that Precious Babies addresses many of the issues that concern parents, and I've included expert views and advice throughout in order to ensure that it can offer a rounded view to anyone who has finally been successful after spending some time trying to conceive. You can find out more about the book here
Monday, 16 May 2011
Ideal number of eggs for IVF success?
If you've had IVF treatment, you'll know how important the number of eggs collected during the cycle can seem - but other than assuming that lots is good, most of us have little idea of what would be the perfect number to maximise the chances of success.
Now, researchers have analysed data from more than 400 000 IVF cycles using information from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to see if they could find a pattern of success related to the number of eggs collected. Looking at the live birth rate, they were attempting to produce a model to predict the chances of success based on the number of eggs and the age of the woman having treatment.
Their research showed the live birth rate rose gradually depending on the number of eggs collected until it reached 15 eggs, at which point it stayed stable until it got to 20 eggs, after which it began to decline. For women under the age of 34 who had 15 eggs, the live birth rate was 40% across the UK, and even for women of 40 and over, it reached 16% if they had reached the desired 15 eggs at collection. So 15 has been deemed as the ideal number of eggs in order to maximise the chances of achieving a live birth after IVF treatment.
You can read more details of the research, which has been published in Human Reproduction, here
Now, researchers have analysed data from more than 400 000 IVF cycles using information from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to see if they could find a pattern of success related to the number of eggs collected. Looking at the live birth rate, they were attempting to produce a model to predict the chances of success based on the number of eggs and the age of the woman having treatment.
Their research showed the live birth rate rose gradually depending on the number of eggs collected until it reached 15 eggs, at which point it stayed stable until it got to 20 eggs, after which it began to decline. For women under the age of 34 who had 15 eggs, the live birth rate was 40% across the UK, and even for women of 40 and over, it reached 16% if they had reached the desired 15 eggs at collection. So 15 has been deemed as the ideal number of eggs in order to maximise the chances of achieving a live birth after IVF treatment.
You can read more details of the research, which has been published in Human Reproduction, here
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