Cooked breakfast 'cuts fertility'

Men who frequently indulge in a traditional English cooked breakfast could be reducing their chances of fathering children, according to new research.

A diet rich in saturated fats - found in foods like fried bacon, sausages, butter and cream - could cut the sperm count by almost half, found researchers at Harvard Medical School in the US.

Their study discovered that it did not matter if the man was fat or thin - such a diet had the same negative effect on sperm concentration.

Dr Jill Attaman and colleagues looked at 91 men seeking fertility treatment and asked them how often they ate certain foods, what types of oil they used in cooking and baking and the types of margarine they consumed.

Of the group, 21 men also had the levels of fatty acids in their sperm and semen measured.

Presenting the study's findings at the annual American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference in Denver, she said: "We were able to demonstrate that in men who took in higher amounts of fats, such as saturated fat and monounsaturated fat, there was an association with decreased sperm concentration."

Overall, men with the highest saturated fat intake consumed 13 per cent of their daily calories as saturated fat, while those in the lowest third took in eight per cent.

The study concluded: "Men in the highest third of saturated fat intake had 41 per cent fewer sperm than those in the lowest third.

"Likewise men in the highest third of monounsaturated fat intake had 46 per cent fewer sperm than those in the lowest third."

She said diet could have a greater impact on ability to father a child among men with a lower base level of sperm concentration.

Laptop WiFi Affects Male Fertility

Men who use laptop computers with the WiFi turned on risk fertility problems, according to a new medical study being presented this week.

"This is the first study showing that microwave radiation from a laptop computer connected by WiFi may damage DNA and decrease sperm motility," said Conrado Avendano, Research Director at the Nascentis Reproductive Medical Center in Argentina.

Avendano presents his findings this week at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Colorado.

"The DNA damage to sperm happened in only four hours," said Avendano.

The study will be published in the peer reviewed medical journal Sterility and Fertility.

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2010/24/c5400.html

Handheld fertility device ‘as effective as IVF’

A handheld fertility device, developed by former students of Cambridge University, is as effective as IVF for couples struggling to conceive, it has been claimed.

The DuoFertility system measures variations in body temperature to identify when a woman is most fertile.

The 495-pound device, dubbed the ‘sat-nav of the fertility world’, is claimed to be statistically as good as IVF.

Its developers, Cambridge Temperature Concepts, even promise to give couples their money back if they are not pregnant within 12 months of using the gadget.

DuoFertility combines a small sensor that fits under the arm and a hand-held reader that together can measure body temperature 20,000 times during the night to identify when a woman is at her most fertile.

It stores the data, which is then downloaded at the touch of a button to the reader and CTC claims it is 99 per cent accurate.

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/handheld-fertility-device-as-effective-as-ivf/699515/

Embryos do not have right to damages over skin colour

Two children born through donor-assisted IVF did not have the standing to bring a case for damages for having been born with brown skin, due to their mother having been inseminated with sperm from the Cape coloured community in South Africa. Even if had they standing, Mr Justice Gillen said they had not suffered any damage, as they were healthy and normal children.

The parents of the children are white, and were anxious that any children born as a result of the IVF treatment would have the same skin colour. The normal practice was that only sperm from “Caucasian” or “white” donors would be requested.

However, the defendant health trust inseminated the mother’s eggs with sperm from a donor labelled “Caucasian (Cape Coloured)”, referring to a community in South Africa derived from people of black, white and Malay origin, who can have skin colour of varying shades. The trust acknowledged that a correct label on the sperm had been misunderstood by a staff member. Two children were born from this process, and through their mother they issued claims for damages for personal injuries, loss and damage by reason of the alleged negligence of the defendant.

In their statement of claim they said they were obviously of different skin colour to their parents, and from each other, and as a result they had been subject to abusive and derogatory remarks from other children, causing them emotional upset and leading them to ask their parents if they were adopted. If they went on to marry a person of mixed race, any child born to them could have different skin colour to either parent.

The judge in the case went on to consider whether the plaintiffs had suffered actual damage. They were healthy, normal children, he said. “In a modern civilised society the colour of their skin – no more than the colour of their eyes or their hair or their intelligence or their height – cannot and should not count as connoting some damage to them. To hold otherwise would not only be adverse to the self-esteem of the children themselves, but anathema to the contemporary views of right-thinking people.”

He pointed out that the House of Lords had found that no damages may be recovered where a child is born healthy and without disability or impairment.

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/1025/1224281949222.html

Guide advises gay men on fatherhood

A guide for gay fathers has been launched, offering advice on adoption, fostering and surrogacy to gay couples who want to become parents.

The Guide For Gay Dads is written by gay equality charity Stonewall which said "there's never been a better time for gay men to start a family".

The book, which is sponsored by the London Sperm Bank, gives practical tips on how to become a father as well as facts about sperm donation and co-parenting.

It also spells out legal changes affecting gay couples and contains a glossary of key terms in parenting.

Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall, said: "There's never been a better time for gay men to start a family in Britain. The law is now on their side.

"This comprehensive new guide - the first of its kind specifically aimed at gay men - outlines all options, with handy tips and places to go for further support.

"We hope it'll convince some gay men who might have otherwise written off the prospect of raising children to reconsider."

The guide follows research commissioned by Stonewall from the University of Cambridge which found that children with same sex parents have the same quality of upbringing as children with heterosexual parents.

Gary Nunn, Stonewall's communications officer, said the guide aims to encourage gay couples not to write off the prospect of having children.

"In the year ending March 21 2010, just 60 of the 3,200 children who were adopted went to gay male couples," he explained. "This has doubled since 2007, but it's still less than 2%."

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5h9SLMXN70dBdTpkwsxrj4QG55ngg?docId=N0083921288009457400A

American widow gives dead husband's sperm to girlfriend

A grieving widow has apparently named her late hubby's mistress to be the surrogate mother of his child after she won a court order to preserve her husband's sperm, according to sources.

George Kamau, 37, killed himself on Monday in the Norwalk, Connecticut, home of Etaghua Asefa, 35, who identified herself to police as the dead man's girlfriend.


In court papers filed in Manhattan, New York, Kamau's wife, Victoria Chege, named Asefa as the "family friend and appointed surrogate" mother who would receive sperm harvested from her late husband's corpse, reports the New York Post.

Although Justice Shirley Warner Kornreich almost immediately signed off on Chege's sperm-preservation request, the grieving widow may have gone to court too late.

Fertility experts say sperm must be taken from a corpse within 36 hours of death for it to be viable. Kamau was dead for at least 60 hours before Kornreich signed the order.

The Sperm and Embryo Bank of New Jersey declined to carry out the procedure without court approval.

Kamau left a suicide note, but its contents have not been revealed. Police do not suspect anything criminal, the sources said.

Troy Griffith, Chege's lawyer, declined yesterday to discuss the case.

"It's a very sensitive time for my client," the Daily Telegraph quoted Griffith as saying

For more on this story follow the link: http://news.oneindia.in/2010/10/19/americanwidow-gives-dead-husbands-sperm-togirlfriend.html

Lesbian couple pregnant with quintuplets without IVF

A lesbian couple in Australia have beaten odds of more than one in 60 million to fall pregnant with quintuplets without the aid of IVF.

Melissa Keevers, 27, and her Irish girlfriend Rosemary Nolan, 21, used a sperm donor from America to conceive, but were stunned when their doctor announced that they would be having five babies, not one.

"I was in shock for weeks," Miss Keevers, who is carrying the babies, said. "It took me a long time to get my head around what was happening. But now I've come to terms with it, I'm excited."

The couple, who live in Brisbane, Australia, learned that they were having quintuplets during Miss Keevers' five week scan.

They had decided that they wanted a sibling for their one-year-old daughter, Lilly, who was also conceived using sperm donation, but were shocked to hear that they would be getting far more than they bargained for.

"The doctor asked us if we wanted the news, but as he looked pale, we were worried that something was wrong," she told Woman's Day magazine.

"He then told us he had found five gestational sacs meaning, if all went well, we'd have five babies. We can't repeat what we said next!"

The pair found the biological father, a 27-year-old US law student, through an internet fertility company based in America. He has signed away any rights to the children and will never meet them.

"He was doing it to help himself through college," Miss Keevers told the magazine. "We will never meet him ... we have all signed a waiver to say it's anonymous."

However, the children will know that they were conceived with the held of a sperm donor.

"We will say that we couldn't make a baby and so we went to the doctor and he helped," Miss Keevers said.

The couple said they were aware of the dangers of attempting to carry five embryos to full term, but were confident that all of the babies would survive.

"We know it's a risk," Miss Nolan, who is a twin herself, said.

"We had the option to terminate one or more, but how can you choose?

"Nature decided to give us these babies, so nature can decide for us."

As well as medical concerns about the quintuplets, the women are daunted by the financial cost of raising five children. Miss Nolan said that the thought of buying five car seats and cots was "overwhelming" and that they could be forced to rely on the generosity of friends and family to cope.

They have estimated that they will need 70 nappies each day and will have to import a special six-seater pram from America.

"People don't know whether to congratulate us or commiserate, " Miss Nolan said. "But we think it's a miracle and we couldn't be happier."

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/8041346/Lesbian-couple-pregnant-with-quintuplets-without-IVF.html

Cancer sufferer becomes father 14 years after freezing his sperm

An infertile cancer sufferer is now a father, thanks to freezing his sperm 14 years ago before his chemotherapy.

James Hodgson, 28, was 14 when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma after finding a lump on his neck.

He froze his sperm before undergoing intensive chemotherapy, as he was warned the treatment would make him infertile.

Miracle daughter Lily, now 14 months old, was born after Mr Hodgson and his wife Claire, 31, tried for a baby using IVF.

'When we found out Claire was pregnant, it was amazing,' said Mr. Hodgson.

'I was very open when I met Claire about my past. We got married in 2007 and started trying for a baby in 2008.

'It was quite tough-going. IVF is an emotional process, I found it very frustrating that there wasn't anything I could do.'

Mr Hodgson - from Fareham, Hampshire - was given the all-clear at the age of 22, after numerous check-ups and X-rays.

He now says: 'As a teenager I didn’t fully understand the implications of what I was being told. I was a bit shocked. It’s only really now that I am able to appreciate how serious the situation was.

'Now as a father, when I look back there were many kids younger than me. I understand the importance more than I did when I was 14. It breaks my heart to see so many youngsters suffering with this illness.'

As a teenager, he missed around four months of school to undergo the gruelling 14-month chemotherapy treatment, and is now taking part in the Great South Run to raise money for Piam Brown ward at Southampton General Hospital where he was treated.
'It’s always been an ambition of mine to give something back to the ward,' he said. 'They do such a fantastic job.

'The training is going very well. I have had a lot of encouragement from my friends and family. I have never really been a runner. This will be the first running event I have ever taken part in.'

The run will take place on Sunday, October 24, and will set off from Southsea.

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1319564/Cancer-sufferer-father-14-years-freezing-sperm.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz12biEJCep

'Time is of the essence': Widow begs court to be allowed to use her husband's sperm after he committed suicide

A New York widow went to court in a bid to extract sperm from her husband after he committed suicide.

Victoria Chege told the court: 'Time is of the essence' as she begged to be allowed to create the family she says her husband George Kamau wanted.

Kamau, 37, hung himself on October 11 in Norwalk, Connecticut.
Now she wants to have his sperm extracted and frozen so that she can still have his children.

But she was told by company Sperm and Embryo Bank of New Jersey that she needed a court order before the process could take place.

'It was the intent of George Kamau to conceive a child prior to his untimely death,' Chege said in court papers.

She asked a Manhattan judge for immediate action because her late husband had 'expressed his desire to have children so that his legacy may continue,' the New York Post reported.

The judge gave her permission - but it may already be too late, the New York Daily News reported.

Experts have said that in such cases the sperm must be extracted within 36 hours after death.

Chege's best friend, Etaghua Asefa, has already agreed to act as a surrogate.
It was not clear why she was not to carry the baby herself, nor whose eggs would be used, hers or Asefa's.

Judges in Texas, California and New York have previously ruled that sperm can be taken from a dead man so that their wishes for a family can be met.

The Connecticut Medical Examiner office said Mr Kamau had committed suicide by hanging on October 11. It was not clear why he killed himself.


For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1321117/New-York-widow-wants-use-dead-husbands-sperm.html#ixzz12bbpGGJL

American woman seeking identity of sperm donor father may get her day in court..

Are the US set to follow in the footsteps of the UK regarding anonymity for sperm donors?

As a young girl, Olivia Pratten would stand in front of the mirror studying her nose, cheeks and mouth, trying to imagine what her biological father — an anonymous sperm donor — might look like.

Now in her late twenties, Ms. Pratten still looks in the mirror and wonders why she is shorter than all of her mother’s family and where she gets some of her interests.

She could be about to find out.

On Wednesday the Supreme Court of British Columbia agreed to consider whether Ms. Pratten’s legal battle against the province’s Attorney-General and College of Physicians and Surgeons that seeks to make the identities of anonymous sperm, egg or embryo donors available should proceed to trial.

“This is not about replacing a parent,” Ms. Pratten said in an interview in Toronto where she works as a journalist for The Canadian Press. “I have a Dad who loves me and cares about me. But I also have a biological father who’s a mystery to me, who created half of who I am.”

Ms. Pratten’s lawsuit — believed to be the first of its kind in North America — has shone a light on the deeply personal and morally charged realm in which donor offspring, their parents, physicians and bioethicists wrestle daily.

The only information Ms. Pratten has about her biological father is scribbled on a piece of hotel stationary: he was a 5-foot-10 Caucasian medical student with blue eyes and blood type A positive.

The information came from retired Vancouver fertility specialist Dr. Gerald Korn, who artificially inseminated Ms. Pratten’s mother, Shirley, in 1981. Dr. Korn, now in his eighties, has refused to provide any more details, citing the doctor-patient confidentiality bond that has been the backbone of the Canadian gamete donor business for decades.

Lawyers for Ms. Pratten are demanding that all physicians who perform artificial insemination keep permanent records about donors that can be accessed by offspring for medical reasons or simply out of curiosity when they turn 19. Current B.C. rules dictate that doctors only have to keep such records for six years after the last contact with the recipient patient, after which time the information can be destroyed.

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/Woman+seeking+identity+sperm+donor+father+Supreme+Court/3600014/story.html#ixzz117iWVA6F