Infertility

I write this with my daughter, Hunter, sleeping peacefully on my lap. As I look down on her, I am filled with a sense of awe, and of gratitude, for her journey to us was long. Here is her story......

From the time I was 14, I had horrible cramping with my periods. I would get sick each month and end up spending a week out of every month in bed. This just became "routine" for me and continued on throughout my teen years.

I'm pregnant. Big deal? It is for me. I've had one live birth and four losses. We've also done the full arsenal of infertility treatments. This is pregnancy number six and "she" is the result of IVF/ICSI. As happy as we are, all good news is received cautiously.

According to B. Russell’s “bad luck” mathematical paradox, a decision is bound to be false if based on the probability of success of another decision. Thus, a decision to perform a cesarean section (CS) based on the probability of a successful vaginal delivery (VD) is likely to be wrong.

European principles of giving birth were first introduced into the Pacific by missionaries in the early nineteenth century as part of their belief in civilising the local population. Formal medical practices were not introduced until some forty years later; then they were based only in the urban centres, almost unreachable for many Fijian women from their villages.

Whereas the surgical approach has long been the standard of care for ectopic pregnancy, a wider range of treatment options is now available--leading to a number of questions for the OB/GYN. Our expert panelists debate the relative merits and drawbacks of methotrexate and various invasive procedures, and also discuss their preferred diagnostic approaches, in managing the patient who presents with signs and symptoms of ectopic pregnancy.

Multiple gestation is the medical term that refers to a woman who is pregnant with twins, triplets, or other higher-order multiple pregnancies. This will occur in slightly less than 2% of all pregnancies. Within the category of multiple gestation, twin births are by far the most common, accounting for 95% of all multiple pregnancies.

In contrast to the pattern seen with singleton births, twins born to older mothers do not appear to have a greater risk of birth complications than do twins born to younger mothers, according to a recent study by researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the University of Kansas.

The word "ectopic" means "out of place." An ectopic pregnancy is a pregnancy that is not growing in the usual location (the uterine cavity). Ectopic pregnancies can occur in a number of abnormal locations, each with different characteristic growth patterns and treatment options.

Ectopic pregnancy, or preembryo implantation outside the endometrial cavity (i.e., fallopian tube, cervix, abdominal or pelvic cavity), is a potentially fatal condition with an incidence of ~1:150 diagnosed pregnancies.

As soon as a pregnancy becomes recognized, each (prospective) parent generally starts to accept and plan for their new arrival. If the pregnancy is lost, this is often considered a "death within the family" and the couple will go through an intense grieving process. The loss of a pregnancy can be devastating for a couple, regardless of the number of children in the family or the cause for the loss.

"What is the hardest of all to do? To see with our eyes what our eyes lay before us. (Paraphrased, with apologies from Goethe) That essentially is the message of the innovative efforts of Ms. Deborah Bush, Chairperson of the New Zealand Endometriosis Foundation. She has developed an interactive Menstrual Health and Endometriosis Education Program that has been presented to over 40,000 young women (ages 15-24), educators and clinicians.

I’m just back from holiday which as all OBGYN’s know is never a complete break. The usual scenario at the beach/bar/restaurant; Interested person "Oh so you’re an OBGYN, I know you’re on holiday but what do you think about my/our periods/fertility problems/pelvic pain?"

Chronic pelvic pain, a common complaint in female adolescents, is defined as cyclic or noncyclic, intermittent or constant discomfort in the pelvic region for at least 6 months. It often frustrates the patient, her parents, and her physician, and it can lead to major functional problems such as changes in family dynamics or school absenteeism.

Chronic pelvic pain can be defined as cyclic or non-cyclic pain of six or more months in duration that localises to the anatomical pelvis and is severe enough to cause functional disability and require medical or surgical treatment.

Endometriosis is a disease in which endometrial glands and stroma implant and grow in areas outside the uterus . The most common place to find implants is in the peritoneal cavity, but they can be found in any other place.

A pain score is being used to monitor women with a history of chronic pelvic pain. The total score for each day of the month is plotted into a graph and is later correlated to patient's daily activities in order to help with the diagnosis of baseline gynecological conditions.

The basic research of visceral pain mechanisms does not explain the chronic pelvic pain phenomena a gynecologist confronts in the clinic. There is, however, a link between the basic research and the acute gynecologic pain processes observed in the emergency room.

Adhesions occur after almost every abdominal surgery and are the leading cause of intestinal obstruction. Here, tips for adhesion prevention and how to correct them when they do occur are provided.

Osteoporosis at any age can have devastating consequences. Fortunately, a number of bone-preserving measures can go a long way toward preventing this disease--not only in postmenopausal women, but also in young women at high risk.

Diethylstilbestrol, or DES, a synthetic form of estrogen, was prescribed from the early 1940s until 1971 to help women with certain complications of pregnancy, primarily miscarriages. Use of DES declined in the 1960s after studies showed that it might not be effective in preventing pregnancy complications.

Infertility is a disease that affects the reproductive organs of both men and women. It impairs one of the body’s most basic functions: the ability to have children. Infertility affects about 6.1 million people in the United States alone; ten percent of the reproductive-age population-both men and women.

The following statements are a general consensus and my personal view, but takes into account the establishment of a correct diagnosis of PCOS, the probability of combined complaints, and the presence or absence of a significant associated adrenal androgen hormonal production.

A conversation with Dr. Henry Lerner

The process of having a miscarriage can be frightening, painful, and tremendously disappointing. If you had just had a miscarriage, you may be upset and confused about what you have just been through. You may feel that something you did brought on your miscarriage. You may be fearful that you will never have a baby--or another baby, if you already have children.

Recent studies show that 90 percent of surveyed adults who are online would like to be able to communicate with their doctor via the Web, and 77 percent said they'd like to be able to ask their doctors questions where no visit is necessary. Now, an online service is helping people take care of their basic medical needs without ever leaving their home or office.

By some estimates, as many as 80% of women will have fibroids at some point in their lives. And, although many women are asymptomatic, their presence can cause extreme pain in some women and also may be a factor in infertility issues, with submucosal, intramural and subserosal fibroids (in a decreasing order of importance) impacting infertility. Moreover, some research has linked the presence of uterine fibroids with recurrent miscarriage in women, but the data thus far had been inconclusive.

The International Consensus adopted by the IFFS is an up-to-date focus on modern techniques of Assisted Medical Procreation (AMP), with respect to the reasons for which they have been proposed, the conditions for their realization and their possible risks.

Thinning hair due to the effects of male hormones (androgens) is called androgenic alopecia. It is a major source of psychological distress to women. This male-pattern hair loss is often seen in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), congenital adrenal hyperplasia, and other disorders of male hormone excess.