Would you ask a friend for his sperm?

Women are saying they would choose a male friend to father their children if they had not met their ideal partner by a certain age, according to a recent study. Would you?

Independent research commissioned by Vitabiotics Pregnacare Conception (a vitamin supplement to support healthy conception) reveals that 56 per cent of women would look to a male friend as a sperm donor. Women aged 28-31 were most likely, at 64 per cent, to consider this option based on a survey of 3,103 single men and women aged 25-45.

Psychologist Dr Linda Papadopolous said: 'Reconstituted families, same sex families and single parent families are much more prevalent these days and rather than ascribing to the 'norm' it seems that women and men are more flexible with their definition of 'family'.'

Is it a woman's right to have a family at any cost or is this a case of natural instinct taking over from common sense? Have you considered what is best for the child?

Would you consider using a friend as a sperm donor or have you considered it and been put off by the legal ramifications of having a child with a friend?

For more on this follow the link: http://www.ivillage.co.uk/pregnancyandbaby/fertility/conception/articles/0,,4_716575,00.html

How to sell sperm...

The role of humour in sperm donor recruitment is almost as controversial as the subject matter.

Unlike either oocyte or embryo donation, sperm donation presents a massive PR problem - masturbation. At least since Onan came to a sticky end, masturbation (aka 'self-abuse') has both suffered censure and has provided a fertile source for low-grade humour.


Various tactics have been employed to attract men to donate sperm. In jurisdictions where there are no externally-imposed restrictions on the use of enticements, financial inducement seems to work reasonably well and major US sperm banks adopt what may best be described as a casual approach to recruitment.

The website of Xytex entices potential donors with the less than eye-catching slogan 'become a sperm donor with Xytex'. California Cryobank is a little more imaginative with 'Give the gift of family'.

The website of Cryos International, which claims to be 'the world's largest international network of sperm banks, offering our services to clinics and private customers in more than 60 countries', is the epitome of low-key, providing no obvious indication that it is seeking to recruit donors at all.

More brash recruitment efforts have come from elsewhere. In 2005, the Albury Reproductive Medicine clinic in New South Wales, Australia achieved international celebrity (or notoriety) following its advertisement for potential donors in a University of Calgary student magazine to whom it was offering a two-week, all-expenses paid trip down-under.

Recent sperm donor recruitment campaigns in the UK have tackled the masturbation 'problem' head on - most notably the National Gamete Donation Trust's (NGDT) 'Give a Toss' campaign (for non-UK readers of this commentary the campaign title cleverly - if not tastefully - played on the twin British slang meanings of 'toss'. First, as a euphemism for 'masturbation' - as in 'have a toss' or to 'toss off' - second, to refer to 'caring', as in the negative rendition of the term 'couldn't give a toss', meaning 'do not care').

For the full article follow this link:http://www.bionews.org.uk/page_59862.asp

Neurotic women 'more fertile than laid-back peers', say scientists

Neurotic women are more fertile and have more babies than their laid-back female counterparts, new research revealed yesterday.

The surprising study investigated the link between personality traits and fertility in populations with traditionally high birth rates.

Scientists found that women with higher levels of neuroticism and men who were rated as extrovert were likely to have a significantly higher number of children.

Women with above average neuroticism are characterised as being prone to anxiety, depression and moodiness.

Researchers also found a link between maternal personality traits and their offspring's physical condition.

Neurotic women were more likely to have malnourished children with decreased body mass index (BMI), suggesting their negative personality trait carries a cost for families.

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1285152/Neurotic-women-fertile-laid-peers-say-scientists.html#ixzz0rlfnUmq8

Caroline was fathered by a sperm donor - so why does she bitterly resent the stranger who gave her life?

The act will have been brief, impersonal and utterly bereft of emotion - but 25 years on, the moment that Caroline Halstead was conceived is causing her lasting heartache.

For she was fathered by an anonymous sperm donor and, like a growing number conceived in this way, she has struggled to come to terms with the fact that she is the product of a scientific process rather than a loving union.

'I was conceived in a petri dish by artificial insemination at a Harley Street Clinic in London,' she says, describing the fertility treatment her mother sought when her husband was diagnosed as infertile.

'In my view, it is a horrible, clinical way to be conceived. All my life I've felt as if I'm only half a person.'

A Surrey housewife and mother who is expecting her second child in August, Caroline is haunted by the thought of her conception - and the fact that, unlike her children, she will never know or even meet her biological father.

Her feelings are far from isolated. A new study, the first of its kind into the effects of donor conception on offspring, reveals the complex and often troubling emotions adults born in this way can experience. They feel confusion, isolation and hurt, more acutely, even, than those who have been adopted.

Nearly half of those surveyed by the Commission on Parenthood's Future were disturbed that money was involved in their conception.

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1289042/Caroline-fathered-sperm-donor--does-bitterly-resent-stranger-gave-life.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0rleRexW2

Fertility forum makes world a prettier place

Even ugly people deserve beautiful babies.

That’s the peculiar sentiment of a fertility introduction service launched last week by the founders of BeautifulPeople.com.

Remember them? They’re the guys who helped pretty people hook up online, unapologetically weeding out the aesthetically challenged so beautiful people could browse their own kind.

Now Greg Hodge and Robert Hintze are bringing the world one step closer to resembling the cast of a beer commercial or Calvin Klein ad.

Through Beautiful Baby, the site invites men and women to increase their odds of having a good-looking kid by introducing them to a beautiful person willing to donate an egg or sperm.

The virtual sperm bank and egg-donor program is open to anyone, even people who are less than comely, Hodge says. Members offer donor services in a web forum to anyone hoping to increase their chances of conceiving a beautiful baby.

BeautifulPeople.com launched in 2002 and boasts 600,000 members worldwide; hopefuls submit a photo and current members vote on he or she is worthy of inclusion. Hodge began the new project when he realized fertility clinics were advertising on the site.

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.thestar.com/article/827713--fertility-forum-makes-world-a-prettier-place

Sperm holds key to healthy pregnancy

A man's sperm can contribute to a healthy pregnancy but also runs the risk of being rejected if not entirely compatible with his partner, new research has found.

University of Adelaide Professor Sarah Robertson said semen had special qualities that contributed to a healthy pregnancy, including helping to prepare the female body for nurturing the fetus.

But some sperm fail to communicate with the female reproductive tract and while a man can appear to be fertile, his semen can be rejected if the woman's body doesn't consider it compatible.

"We used to think that if a couple couldn't get pregnant, and the mans semen test was normal, the problem lay with the woman," Professor Robertson said in a statement on Wednesday.

"But it appears this is not always the case.

"We have discovered that sperm doesn't just fertilise an egg.

"It actually contains signalling molecules that are responsible for activating immune changes in women so they can accept a foreign substance in the body, in this case sperm, leading to conception and a healthy pregnancy.

"It's rather like a two-way dance."

For more on this story follow the link: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/sperm-holds-key-to-healthy-pregnancy-20100624-yzft.html

Pregnancy smoking test suggested

All pregnant women should be tested for smoking so that they can be given quitting advice if necessary, a health watchdog says.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence said carbon monoxide tests should be carried out on every expectant mother.

If implemented, every woman would have the breath test at her first ante-natal appointment.

Midwives criticised the test, saying it could make the women feel "guilty".

NICE said the guidelines were not aimed at penalising smokers but were designed to help women and their families give up smoking during and after pregnancy.

"During pregnancy, smoking puts the health of the women and her unborn baby at great risk both in the short and long-term, and small children who are exposed to second-hand smoke are more likely to suffer from respiratory problems," Professor Mike Kelly, Nice director of the centre of public health excellence, said.

"One of our recommendations is for midwives to encourage all pregnant women to have their carbon monoxide levels tested and discuss the results with them.

"This isn't to penalise them if they have been smoking, but instead will be a useful way to show women that both smoking and passive smoking can lead to having high levels of carbon monoxide in their systems."

The guidelines were welcomed by the Royal College of Midwives, but it urged "non-judgemental" support for women smokers.

For more info on this story follow the link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/10399242.stm

Mobile phone masts no cancer risk for babies - study

Living close to a mobile phone mast does not increase the chance of a pregnant woman's baby developing cancer before he or she reaches the age of five, a study from Imperial College London has found.

Researchers looked at almost 7,000 children and found those who developed cancer aged four or younger were no more likely to have a birth address close to a mast than their peers.

The study included 1,397 British children aged up to four who were registered with leukaemia or a tumour in the brain or central nervous system between 1999 and 2001.

The proximity of their birth address to a mast was compared to that of four healthy children of the same gender who were born on the same day, chosen randomly to act as controls.

Professor Paul Elliott, director of the MRC-HPA Centre for Environment and Health at Imperial College London and the study's lead author, said: "People are worried that living near a mobile phone mast might affect their children's health.

"We looked at this question with respect to risk of cancers in young children. We found no pattern to suggest that the children of mums living near a base station during pregnancy had a greater risk of developing cancer than those who lived elsewhere."

The study, published on the website of the BMJ medical journal, is the largest of its kind and was funded by the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) programme.

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hp4wZECxDaV2dq8I0ILkHYvTY8Eg

Offspring of donor sperm face torment

People conceived through sperm donation are more likely to experience depression, delinquency and substance abuse, according to a new survey.

The survey - conducted by the New York-based Commission on Parenthood's Future - also found that those conceived through sperm donation experienced greater confusion about their own identity than those who were adopted or raised by their biological parents.

The donor-conceived adults also experience significant isolation from their families and widespread concern that they might be related biologically to someone they could date.

A report on the findings, called My Daddy's Name Is Donor: A New Study of Young Adults Conceived Through Sperm Donation, was published June 3 and is available online at www.familyscholars.org.

It is touted as the first representative, comparative study of the experiences of those conceived through sperm donation.

For more on this story follow rhe link: http://www.wcr.ab.ca/news/2010/0621/donor062110.shtml

New mothers 'can't afford not to return to work'

Most mothers who return to work after having a baby are forced into it for financial reasons, research reveals today.

The findings highlight the problems facing women who desperately want to stay at home to raise their children, but simply cannot afford to.

Researchers asked mothers with children under the age of three what was their 'main' reason for going back to work.

More than 50 per cent said financial pressure, particularly significant debt problems, was to blame.


The most common answer was simply: 'Money was tight', while others said: 'We were in serious debt by the time I returned to work and needed the income to repay it.'

Just one in five said their main reason for going back to work was because they wanted to continue with their career, and 16 per cent said they wanted 'an alternative in my life to home and family'.


For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1287556/New-mothers-afford-return-work.html#ixzz0rD25SHvl

Inbred sperm fertilise fewer eggs

Males with genetically-related parents have been found to have sperm that fertilise fewer eggs when compared with non-inbred males, according to a latest research.

Inbreeding is the reproduction from the mating of two genetically-related parents, which can increase the chances of offspring being affected by recessive or deleterious traits.

Research into the breeding habits of the red flour beetle shows that the reduced fitness of inbred beetles, known as 'inbreeding depression', reveals itself in competitive scenarios.

Inbreeding is a potentially important problem in declining species across the world, and conserving genetic variation is now recognised as a priority by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.


For more info on this story follow the link:http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/report_inbred-sperm-fertilise-fewer-eggs_1397571

Barmaid, 22, who didn't know she was pregnant gives birth on the toilet (she thought 'pain' was caused by moving barrels)

A barmaid revealed today how she woke in the night complaining about back ache - and gave BIRTH to a baby girl in her loo 30 minutes later.

Joanne Weller, 22, had no idea she was eight months pregnant after waking up with stabbing pains in her back at 4.45am at home.

She thought the pain was caused by working extra shifts at the pub worsened by moving barrels about in the cellar the evening before.

Joanne had continued to have her periods up to when she gave birth four weeks early.

She said: 'I wasn't even showing a bump, there was no clue I was pregnant.'

Her worried mother, Valerie, 52, phoned NHS Direct who advised her to call an ambulance as she may have appendicitis or kidney problems. But just half an hour later she felt the urge to push and healthy 6lb 1/2oz baby Madison Grace fell into the toilet basin.

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1287064/Barmaid-22-didnt-know-pregnant-shocked-giving-birth-toilet.html#ixzz0r2OPLKMv

Pregnant Women Warned Not to Wear Stilettos

Women are putting their feet at risk while pregnant by wearing unsuitable footwear such as high-heeled shoes, a group of leading chiropodists and podiatrists warned Tuesday.

A poll of 1,000 pregnant women found 66 percent regularly wore flip flops, 32 percent wore high heels, 53 percent ballet pumps and 30 percent Ugg boots.

Of those questioned, seven out of 10 British pregnant women admitted to suffering from foot problems including swollen ankles (37 percent), swollen feet (45 percent) and arch and heel pain (16 percent).

Lorraine Jones, from the U.K.-based Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists, said women were feeling under pressure to wear fashionable footwear but were risking long-term damage, as well as strains to their ankles and ligaments.

"Weight gain and hormonal changes in pregnancy have a huge impact on the body," she said.

"Muscles and ligaments soften and stretch because of an increase in the ovarian hormone, relaxin, which makes your feet more prone to ankle and ligament strains on a daily basis."

Jones' coworker Nita Parmar said, "Pregnancy can be an uncomfortable time for many expectant mothers, but the good news is that there are a variety of ways in which foot pain or discomfort whilst you are expecting can be prevented or alleviated."

The society recommended footwear with a strap, laces or Velcro and a heel height of 1.2 inches.

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,594690,00.html

I'm trying for Bin Laden's grandchild: Briton's surrogacy deal with son of terror chief

A British woman has agreed to become a surrogate mother to Osama Bin Laden's grandson.

Louise Pollard is having fertility treatment in an attempt to conceive using the sperm of Bin Laden's son Omar and the eggs of his British wife Jane Felix Browne.

The couple have been unable to have children since marrying in 2007 and contacted 24-year-old Miss Pollard through a surrogacy website.

If she is successful, it will mean that the world's most wanted terrorist will have a British grandchild.

So far, however, three attempts at conception have been unsuccessful. But Mrs Pollard is due to have another pregnancy test soon.


For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1285757/Im-trying-Bin-Ladens-grandchild-Britons-surrogacy-deal-son-terror-chief.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0qq8VwKUR

IVF breakthrough: Experts develop test that picks out top sperm just like an egg

U.S researchers have developed a new method for selecting the best sperm during IVF treatments.

According to the team from Yale University, the method is as effective as the egg's own natural selective ability.

The technique selects the sperm with the highest DNA integrity and could be used to boost male fertility.


Senior study author, Dr Gabor Huszar, said: 'Our results could help address the fact that approximately 40 per cent of infertility cases can be traced to male infertility.'

Dr Huszar said that past semen analysis focused on sperm concentration and mobility. It was assumed that a man was fertile if he had a high sperm count and active sperm.

However, there was no information on the sperm’s fertility or its ability to attach to its mark - the female reproductive cell.


For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1283159/IVF-breakthrough-Experts-develop-test-picks-sperm-just-like-egg.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0qSSIcXHe

Robbed of their femininity: How thousands of women are having needless hysterectomies

After doctors told her she had advanced ovarian cancer and needed an urgent hysterectomy, Tracey Murray's life spiralled into chaos.

'My consultant said the cancer was extensive. I discovered that without surgery I could die within a year,' she recalls.

'The shock, of course, was profound. I was told I'd need six months of chemotherapy following the operation and that after that, my chances of living for five years were 50 per cent. I was devastated.'

Consider, then, the mix of emotions that ensued when, three weeks after Tracey, a 41-
year-old divorcee, had her womb, both ovaries and cervix removed, she was told that she did not, after all, have any form of cancer.

In fact she had endometriosis, a common condition in which pieces of her womb lining had embedded in an ovary.

And it could have been treated by cutting away the affected cells or destroying them by laser; indeed, it might have needed no treatment at all.

In either case, her hysterectomy had been unnecessary. For Tracey, this common operation - 60,000 to 70,000 are performed in Britain each year - had not proved to be a godsend, but a curse. And her case is far from isolated.

While experts have warned that the operation is absolutely necessary for cancer, critics claim the invasive procedure has become over-used.

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1284776/Robbed-femininity-How-thousands-women-having-needless-hysterectomies.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0qGM3lAPF

Dozens of women pregnant after IVF have terminations

Every year tens of thousands of women have IVF treatment and thousands will fall pregnant. However, statistics just released by the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA) under the Freedom of Information Act show a small number of those women (less than 1%) go on to terminate their pregnancy

Why women who’ve undergone a costly, stressful and sometimes painful procedure in order to conceive then go on to terminate that pregnancy isn’t recorded.

A spokesperson for the HFEA said by e-mail: “IVF is not a procedure to be undertaken lightly and we know what it means personally to the many women who make this decision every year. The HFEA does not regulate terminations of pregnancies and has no powers in relation to activities outside those described in the Act. All patients who undergo IVF are assessed, as are the implications for any child that might be born, in advance of the decision to treat.

For more info on this story follow the link: http://www.webmd.boots.com/news/20100607/dozens-of-women-pregnant-after-ivf-have-terminations

Meet the frozen sperm siblings born 15 years after their father was left infertile from cancer

As a family photograph, it is hardly out of the ordinary - two-year-old Mariella hugs her baby brother Herbie.

Yet for parents Ian and Alison Morris, it is a reminder that these are the children they never thought they could have.

Mariella and seven-month-old Herbie were born using Mr Morris's frozen sperm, stored for an astonishing 13 years after cancer treatment left him infertile.

Following his successful battle against the disease, the couple had several unsuccessful attempts at starting a family using IVF and were close to giving up in despair.

But one final try, in February 2007, worked and Mariella was born the following October.

Incredibly, the couple then had a second success last year with Herbie, by which time Mr Morris's sperm had been frozen for 15 years.

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1282689/Meet-frozen-sperm-siblings-born-15-years-father-left-infertile-cancer.html#ixzz0pnVk1o8V


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1282689/Meet-frozen-sperm-siblings-born-15-years-father-left-infertile-cancer.html#ixzz0pnVXX6WJ