fertility

Research figures published in 2005 stated that by 2015, 33% of the population would be infertile. Now, as we head into 2012, we are only 3 years away, so, are we still heading for this infertility epidemic and why?

The number of people accessing fertility treatments such as IVF and ICSI has risen in the UK by almost six percent in the past year.
Statistics released by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HEFA) revealed the number of fertility cycles carried out in 2010 stood at 57,652 – a 5.9 percent increase on treatments in 2009. It was also found that the age of women having such treatments is rising; within the last 20 years it has increased by 18 months.

Canada may soon legally restrict how many children can be born from a single donor’s semen. There's concern for the unusual spread of genetic malformations and the risk of inadvertent incest between biological brothers and sisters. The U.S. has no legal limits and it's reported that one donor may have 150 offspring. Although Canadian medical groups already recommend restrictions in the number of pregnancies per donor, legislation is needed to ensure sperm banks and their suppliers follow the proper limits, said Juliet Guichon, a bio-ethics professor at the Unviersity of Calgary.

A hormone test may help women to beat the biological clock by predicting how long they have left to have a baby, say scientists.
The team of researchers from St Andrews, Glasgow and Edinburgh has found how levels of a key chemical change throughout a woman's reproductive life. This can reveal how many eggs she has remaining. The discovery will allow women to compare their own hormone levels with the average for their age to see whether they should be concerned about their future fertility.

Researchers may be able to produce sperm from stem cells in the battle against infertility.
If you know just one thing about embryonic stem cells, it’s probably that they have the potential to grow into any type of cell in the body. That, of course, is why scientists find them so valuable.

But having the potential to become any type of cell is not the end game -- research groups around the world are trying to figure out the precise recipe for turning those stem cells into specific types of cells that would be useful for studying or treating various diseases.

The age-specific blood levels of the Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) can predict when women will reach menopause. This makes family planning easier, say fertility researchers from the University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands. Their findings were published online May 26 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

We hope that the Easter bunny came to your home today and we wish all of you who are trying for your own little chick much luck and happiness on your journey.

Getting pregnant may be easy for some although for others it may mean a little planning and a little lifestyle change. If you’re planning to get pregnant, or you have been trying to get pregnant for some time now and you are not having any success, you may possibly need some tips about fertility and pregnancy.