One study focused on declining success rates of ICSI after the 3rd attempt:

• Almost all women who would have become pregnant through a type of IVF (intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)), used in an estimated 40 per cent of cycles in Britain, did so on the first or second attempt…Only 3.4 per cent of women became pregnant with their third cycle of treatment and less than one per cent on the fourth or fifth cycle.

Simon Hong, from the Centre for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility at Cornell University in America said: “From our findings it appears that younger women undergoing two ART (assisted reproductive technique) attempts benefit from the highest chances of pregnancy.”

Another study presented today at the ESHRE conference focused on the use of frozen vs. fresh embryos and found:

• Infants born from embryos which were frozen and then thawed before being implanted into a woman had a higher birth weight and were less likely to suffer abnormalities, and 

• Fewer of the children were also twins or triplets.

So, how are you finding the findings from ESHRE so far? Since our next frozen embryo transfer (FET) is just around the corner, I’m liking that second study. The first one, not so much.

Post from: Blisstree

ESHRE Conference Offers More IVF Findings

A new article at WebMD.com reports:

A study of more than 12,000 couples undergoing fertility treatments has found that pregnancy rates drop and miscarriages increase when the father is older than 40…The results are believed to be the first to show that simply being an older dad has a strong effect on reproductive outcomes.

These findings were presented on Monday at the 24th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Barcelona, Spain.

How a father’s age influences fertility has been a matter of debate. Until now, there’s been no clinical proof that simply being an older dad directly affects a couple’s ability to conceive and achieve a healthy pregnancy.

But I can think of several older men who have fathered healthy kids with their partners, just as I can think of women nearing and (gasp) even passing that 35-year mark, which is supposed to signal “advanced maternal age” and warrant all kinds of extra precautions,  who have become proud parents.

What do you think of this new finding? Is it reassuring to know that men’s age factors more into the equation, or does this feel like one more thing to worry about?

Post from: Blisstree

Do Wanna Be Dads Have a Biological Clock Too?

A Reuters UK article entitled, Ethics Take Center Stage at Fertility Conference, reports on the current multiple birth debate which seems to be the focus of many Reproductive Endocrinologists lately.

Some Health & Wellness bloggers have already reported on some events and findings from the ESHRE Conference:

Marijke at Womb Within mentions the slowly changing stigma around Surrogacy and wonders if it will eventually fade.

Karen at Pink Ribbon Review highlights the findings for a new fertility technique which targets women with cancer.

With several days left in the conference, I am sure more headlines will focus on what progress has been (and has yet to be) made in the field. Stay tuned.

Post from: Blisstree

A Fertile Week for Fertility News