Court grapples with fertilization

Manitoba will review the impact of a Supreme Court ruling that upholds the right of provinces to regulate in vitro fertilization.
The Supreme Court of Canada issued a divided advisory opinion on Wednesday that grappled with the "weighty moral concerns" of assisted human reproduction. It declared Ottawa overstepped itself in asserting its right to regulate the use of human sperm, eggs and embryos, but said the federal government is within its rights in banning cloning and human hybrids.
Karen Busby, a University of Manitoba law professor, said the ruling paves the way for the provinces to examine how they will regulate clinics and how information about donors is collected, stored and disclosed. She said it could mean Manitoba and other provinces regulate how many embryos are implanted for in vitro fertilization or introduce screening mechanisms to ensure surrogate mothers meet certain criteria.
A government spokesman said it will take a bit of time to assess how the ruling may affect Manitoba regulations, and the assessment should be complete early in the new year.
"Nothing's been happening for six years in Canada, so thank goodness the decision is finally out," Busby said. "The next step is for provinces to determine what extent they need to regulate practices in clinics."
Quebec filed a constitutional challenge to the 2004 federal Assisted Human Reproduction Act and was supported by three other provinces. The province argued that Ottawa was treading on provincial jurisdiction over health care.
The act regulated the use of sperm, eggs and embryos, while banning clones and hybrids. Ottawa maintained it had the right to make criminal laws and that the purpose of the act was to protect the "health, safety and public morals" of Canadians.
The court split, with Justice Thomas Cromwell offering the determining view in what amounted to a complex analysis of the time-honoured constitutional rights of provinces to control health care.
Busby said the ruling upheld the right of the federal government to prohibit negative practices associated with assisted human reproduction, including who has the right to use donated sperm. For example, she said, if a man battling cancer chose to freeze his sperm but later died, the law prohibits anyone from using the sperm without his clear consent.
The court challenge left many regulations in limbo and Busby expects provinces will move fairly quickly to fill the void. Currently, Busby said, there are no clear guidelines on how information about sperm and egg donors is collected, so children born from donors don't have a way to access biological information.
"The real problem is a lot of that information has never been properly collected or stored," she said. "Unlike adoption where you know a record exists somewhere, here you simply might not ever have the information that Joe Blow was a sperm donor."
Busby said Manitoba could also introduce screening tools for surrogate mothers to ensure that anyone who offers to bear someone's child is doing it for the right reasons, and not because she has been illegally paid. Busby said the best surrogates are women who have already had children, enjoyed being pregnant, and had easy pregnancies.
Busby said some fertility clinics in other parts of Canada have implanted embryos in commercial surrogates, which is illegal. She said the court ruling should pave the way for provinces to put a stop to "shady" practices.

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5 myths surrounding egg donation

The steady increase in recession-spurred egg donor prospects has not resulted in a larger pool of qualified candidates, a leading agency that matches egg donors and gestational surrogates with intended parents said today.

"While media coverage, and especially about the compensation (averaging US $5,000 to $7,000) has created awareness and a flood of prospects, the vast majority have not qualified as donors for various reasons," said Mary Ellen McLaughlin, a partner at Chicago-based Alternative Reproductive Resources (www.arr1.com).

She added: "It speaks to the misconceptions the media perpetuates, often inadvertently, like that most donors are poor, young and uneducated, and just want to make a quick buck," she said. "It's among the many myths surrounding the fertility industry."

Among the myths ARR makes a point to dispel:

Myth No. 1: Anyone can do it.

Many women can physically donate their eggs. Not everyone qualifies, however. ARR utilizes a 27-page pre-screening questionnaire with prospective donors. If they qualify, they must also pass physical and psychological tests. ARR receives up to 50 applications monthly; less than 5 percent actually become donors.

Myth No. 2: It's all about the money.

ARR's donor surveys show that over 70 percent donate for altruistic reasons. "Most know someone with infertility issues, or were inspired by a story," McLaughlin says. "Compensation is secondary."

Myth No. 3: Egg donation causes medical problems.

There's no biological basis for these claims, doctors say, but they don't know for sure either way. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM – www.asrm.com) says the long-term health effects have never been studied. Egg donors undergo the same drug treatment as IVF patients, and studies of that population show this is safe.

Myth No. 4: A donor can donate as many times as she likes.

Guidelines restrict women to six donations in their lifetimes, depending upon the approval of a treating physician.

Myth No. 5: Intended parents only want Ivy League donors.

Every intended parent has different criteria. ARR says most search for an egg donor with similar traits, like ethnicity, hair color, height, etc. They also look for similar interests, such as cooking or sports.

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/busting-five-myths-about-egg-donation-111075529.html

Kylie Minogue may have egg donor baby

Pop Princess Kylie Minogue, who wants to start a family, has revealed that she has 'thought about' egg donation as a way to do so.

The 42-year-old singer, who was diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago, told how she looks "wistfully" at her baby nephew Ethan, the son of younger sister Dannii.

And talking about her own attempt to have a child, the singer reveals: "I've looked into various options.

"I don't know if I'm going to go down any of those roads yet, but I do need to look at what might be potential paths that lead to a family. They can do incredible things now, especially in America," the Daily Mail quoted her as telling Glamour magazine .

Despite this, Minogue said that if motherhood does not happen, she is 'content' with her life and finally feels that she is getting back to her pre-cancer best.

For more on this story follow the link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-interviews/Kylie-Minogue-may-have-egg-donor-baby/articleshow/7064454.cms#ixzz17aIKvSFl

Couple have baby boy after being first to conceive using 'fertility sat nav'

A delighted couple revealed today they were the first to conceive with an IVF alternative dubbed the 'fertility sat nav'.

Marie and Mirco Martinelli believed they would never be able to have children after suffering three miscarriages in just two years.

They signed up for IVF but were told there was a two-year waiting list for treatment.
So they took part in a trial for DuoFertility, a ground-breaking temperature measuring device that promised pregnancy within 12 months.

They began using the £495 device in January 2009 and were delighted when Marie became pregnant after just seven months.

Baby Alec was born on March 20 this year and is the first baby to be born through the device - which claims to be statistically as good as IVF.

Secretary Marie, 29, who lives in Italy with Mirco, 37, and little Alec, now seven months, said she was "so happy" they had used the device.

She said: 'I was very worried and sad when I kept having miscarriages. The whole world was pregnant and had babies and I struggled to get pregnant and couldn't stay pregnant.

'DuoFertility stopped me thinking of myself as having a problem, and suddenly I was able to sleep more normally and feel a great deal calmer.

'Where the product calculates your fertile days after a few months, it was impossible for me to have been able to do that properly without proper scientific approaches, because my cycle was different all the time.

'In the past I had tried ovulation tests, but if you have to use them for a long time it becomes very expensive.'
Dutch Marie - who met Italian Mirco in Italy in Summer 2002 - suffered her first miscarriage after six weeks of pregnancy in March 2005.

In May 2005, the couple visited a fertility clinic, which broke the news that Marie had abnormal hormone levels.

They lost another baby at 13 weeks in February 2006 and another at 11 weeks in September the same year, before deciding to take a break from trying.

In May 2008 Marie and Mirco married in Italy and decided their only option was to use fertility treatment - but lost hope when they were told of the lengthy waiting list for IVF.

Shortly after, Marie noticed an advert for DuoFertility - a small patch the size of a coin which takes 20,000 temperature readings every night to pinpoint the exact moment of ovulation.

She began using the product in January 2009 and was delighted when she fell pregnant just months later.

Alec was born in Italy at 1.54am on March 20 after a gruelling 19 hour labour.

Marie added: 'When they showed me Alec I couldn't believe he was my son. I remember he was so warm and soft.

'Micro was full of joy and happiness and also could not believe that this was his son. Still now we can't believe that this little person is our baby.

'When they brought me back to my room and laid Alec at my breast I was so proud. Finally, my little boy.'
DuoFerility was developed by scientists and fertility experts at Cambridge Temperature Concepts in 2008.

The non-invasive device comprises of a tiny patch thermometer - the size of a £1 coin - that is worn under the arm.

It promises to alert a woman to the moment her temperature rises half a degree as a result of ovulation.

A small wireless hand-held reader processes data from the patch to tell the wearer whether she has ovulated in the last two days and whether she is likely to in the next six.

Women are most fertile on the day of the temperature spike and on the few days before - meaning chances of conception are massively increased by trying on those days.

Information from the reader can be loaded onto a computer, which allows couples - and experts in Cambridge - to analyse the monthly fertility cycle.

Dr Shamus Husheer, who invented the device said the company was "delighted" with their success and the birth of baby Alec.

He said: 'What we now know as a result of our work, is that for certain causes of infertility, DuoFertility is as effective as IVF.

'Clearly there are some infertility issues where the use of the device is unable to aid pregnancy such as a complete lack of sperm, however for a range of common causes such as moderate male factors, cycle irregularity, secondary or unexplained infertility, our monitoring device is achieving great results.'

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1334466/Marie-Mirco-Martinelli-conceive-using-fertility-sat-nav.html#ixzz17aH1WGTi

IVF treatment is delayed by NHS trusts as they try to cut costs

Couples are being told their IVF treatment is being suspended or axed completely as NHS trusts battle to cut costs, it emerged today.
Primary care trusts are also making patients wait months longer for common operations in an attempt to slash their budgets.

A shortage of funding has hit thousands of patients waiting for operations such as hip and knee operations.
NHS trusts are planing to save £20billion by 2014 to cope with an aging population, and overall health funding is receiving limited increases.

Groups have attacked the plans, calling the cuts 'desperate' and 'appalling' but figures show that many PCTs are facing a cash crisis.

At least nine PCTs have culled IVF treatment, despite guidance that infertile women should be given three cycles of treatment.

Susan Seenan of the Infertility Network said she was angry about the cutting of IVF treatment.

'Infertility is an illness, people who cannot have children have no cloice over the matter...They deserve medical treatment the same way anyone suffering from any other illness does,' she says.
Katherine Murphy, head of the Patient's Association told the Sunday Telegraph: 'These decisions will absolutely ruin the quality of life for people.

'For years the NHS has wasted money paying managers over-inflated salaries. Now times are getting tight, and it's not the bureaucrats who suffer, but the most vulnerable groups of patients.'

She says the Patient's Association has been contacted by several elderly people worried about the cancellation of their operations, with many reporting long delays in seeing specialists at pain management clinics.
Other areas which could be affected include non-urgent diabetes, rheumatology and oral treatment. Reviews of other non-urgent specialist procedures are also taking place.

The Health Service Journal reports that many trusts have changed the rules to reduce the number of patients who are allowed surgery.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: 'We have been very clear that NHS organisations should not interpret efficiency savings as budget and service cuts.

'We would expect the NHS to make decisions locally, based on the clinical needs of their patients and with regard to the need to make the most efficient use of funding.'

For more on the story follow the link:: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1335833/Common-operations-IVF-treatment-axed-NHS-attempts-cut-costs.html#ixzz17aGQjj55

Putting to rest fears that IVF may be linked to cancer

In the wake of Elizabeth Edwards' death, many women are wondering whether the fertility treatments the former Senator's wife underwent to bear children late in life — she leaves behind two young children, ages 10 and 12 — could have contributed to the breast cancer that killed her.

It's a plausible concern, given that fertility treatment exposes women to unnaturally high levels of hormones, including estrogen and progesterone — often repeatedly, and sometimes at an age when those hormones would normally be declining. Previous data have suggested that these fertility drugs may be associated with increased risk for breast, uterine and ovarian cancers.

But a large new study published this month in Human Reproduction suggests that women who undergo in-vitro fertilization (IVF) — the procedure Edwards used to conceive her youngest children — do not put themselves at a higher-than-usual risk of cancer. The study examined data on all IVF births in Sweden between 1982 and 2006, comparing the rate of cancer in 24,058 women who conceived via IVF with that of nearly 1.4 million Swedish mothers who did not require fertility treatment.

The study found that the risk for any cancer was actually 26% lower in women after they had children through IVF, compared with those who had conceived the old-fashioned way. Breast cancer risk was reduced 24% and cervical cancer risk 39%, over the eight-year follow-up period.

"The ultimate message is that there is no increase in cancer risk associated with IVF," says Dr. Don Dizon, associate professor of obstetrics-gynecology at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, who was not associated with the research.

However, women who underwent IVF started out with higher rates of cancer than those in the general population; the fact that these women were more likely to have been treated for cancer, which causes infertility, is probably why they sought IVF. This risk was especially elevated for ovarian cancer: in women seeking IVF the risk of ovarian cancer was nearly four times greater than in other mothers before conception. That is likely because the same problems that contribute to ovarian cancer may also produce infertility. "If you have an ovary that has a tendency to develop into cancer, it might also be poorly functioning reproductively," says Dr. Bengt Kallen, professor emeritus at the University of Lund and lead author of the study.

However, the study found that the risk of ovarian cancer in women who were able to conceive and give birth to a baby through IVF was only twice as high as in mothers who conceived naturally. The effect was not because IVF reduces the odds of developing ovarian cancer, the authors say; instead, it's more likely that women who are able to conceive and successfully carry a pregnancy by IVF are probably healthier than other women, and are more likely to undergo regular screening for cancer. The same phenomenon is likely to explain the lower risk of breast and cervical cancers in the same group.

The new study is consistent with most previous research, says Kallen.

For more on the study follow the link: http://healthland.time.com/2010/12/08/putting-to-rest-fears-that-ivf-may-be-linked-to-cancer/#ixzz17aFND9Gk

10 proven sperm killers...

When it comes to conceiving a child, there are lots of things that can go wrong—sperm allergies, poor egg quality, and ineffective sperm. Of the approximately 1 in 10 couples who are infertile, it has been estimated that male factors alone contribute to 30 percent of these cases.

Though men produce millions of sperm a day (compared to the 300–400 eggs that women release during their lifetime), external factors (like temperature) can affect the health of these little swimmers. And because sperm cells take about 75 days to grow to maturity, harming them can affect your fertility.

Follow the link below for 10 surprising factors that may affect a man’s sperm:

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=100256368

New mum astonished as her baby girl is born with TEETH

It is a milestone that many babies take a year to reach.

Yet when Faye Armstrong was born, to the astonishment of her parents and midwives, she already had her two front teeth.

Now, a fortnight on, two molars are beginning to appear. Yesterday her mother Patricia told of her amazement at her daughter’s dental development.

‘When she was born, I noticed two white slits on her bottom gum,’ said Miss Caulfield, 25. ‘The next morning, when I was feeding her, I felt a sharp pain and saw they had come through fully.

'My midwife told me this is really rare. Children are sometimes born with buds but hardly ever full teeth.’

Faye was born three weeks early at Ormskirk Hospital in Lancashire. Miss Caufield said: ‘I keep joking that if the pregnancy had gone full-term, she would have been born with a full set!’

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1336055/New-mother-astonished-baby-girl-Faye-Armstrong-born-TEETH.html#ixzz17aDeHzpV

Mother's blood test could be used to predict disorders in unborn baby

A blood test that could predict an unborn baby's risk of numerous disorders has been devised by scientists.

Using a tiny sample of the mother's blood, researchers can piece together the child's entire genetic code and search its DNA for the flaws behind conditions such as Down' s syndrome and autism.

The technique would remove the risk of miscarriage associated with current invasive tests, saving the lives of hundreds of unborn babies each year.

But there are fears that it could be exploited to predict an unborn child's risk of problems from Alzheimer's to cancer and heart attacks, creating worry for parents before their baby has even entered the world.

There are also concerns that parents could abuse the technology to select the 'perfect child', with those not fitting the bill in terms of looks, health or even personality being aborted.
Currently, pregnant women thought to be at high risk of having a baby with a condition such as Down's syndrome have the choice of two procedures, amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling.
Both involve putting a needle into the womb and raise the risk of miscarriage.

To remove the risk, research teams around the world are trying to find a way of gleaning genetic information from tiny pieces of foetal DNA that have worked their way into the mother's blood.

For instance, NHS-funded researchers at Great Ormond Street Hospital are developing a blood test for Down's syndrome.

But the new technique, reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine would allow multiple conditions to be picked up at once.

Using a sample of blood taken from a woman who was 12 weeks pregnant, researchers led by Dr Dennis Lo painstakingly pieced together the entire genetic code of her unborn child and then scanned it for key genetic flaws.

They already knew that the child's parents were both carriers of beta-thalassaemia, a life-threatening blood disorder, raising the possibility that the child would have it.

By studying the child's genome, or entire cache of DNA, the researchers were able to reassure the parents that their child would merely carry the illness, rather than suffer from it.

The technique currently costs £125,000 per baby but the price is expected to drop dramatically over time.

Dr Lo, of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said: 'The power of this technology is that by using one test you can see the entire foetal genome.'

But he cautioned that parents might not want to know all the information available and said the test should only be given in conjunction with professional counselling.

He said: 'I think the eventual utility of this technique will be to target a number of common genetic disorders that are prevalent in a particular population.'

However Dr Helen Wallace of GeneWatch UK said: 'Clearly there are benefits in terms of specific tests that can be done in a safer way.

'But the danger is that the test will be used to predict the risk of a range of diseases and even personality and many of these predictions will be misleading.'

Dr Christine Patch, chairman of the British Society for Human Genetics, said: 'While this is a potentially interesting approach that may have benefit for some families with serious genetic disorders, there are many concerns.

'It is too early to apply the technology widely as we are not yet able to interpret many of the results accurately.'

Dr David King, of Human Genetics Alert, said: 'The danger of this new method is that it will encourage parental choosiness about minor imperfections, or even cosmetic features.'

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1337025/Mothers-blood-test-used-predict-disorders-unborn-baby.html#ixzz17aCgTVwV

Childless couples win right to pay a surrogate mother to bear their child

A couple who illegally paid a surrogate to have their baby will keep the child after a landmark court ruling.

In a case which may open the floodgates to foreign surrogacies, the Britons paid an American an unspecified sum to carry their child.

It is forbidden in England and Wales to pay more than 'reasonable expenses' to a surrogate mother – even if she is abroad – because it would encourage a profit motive.

But a High Court family judge yesterday backed the couple, while making clear that the sum they paid was far in excess of what is allowed.

Their surrogate lives in the state of Illinois where no restrictions on payments apply and British authorities allowed the baby toenter the UK temporarily on an American passport pending court proceedings.

Mr Justice Hedley saved the youngster from limbo when he 'retrospectively authorised' the payments made to the surrogate mother and recognised the couple as the lawful parents.

In making the decision, the judge said the child's welfare was of paramount concern.

Issuing a parental order, he described the couple as 'most careful and conscientious' and said they had fully met all the other criteria for surrogacy.
'It is clear to me that payments in excess of reasonable expenses were made in this case,' he added.
'Welfare is not merely the court's first consideration, but becomes its paramount consideration.

The effect of that must be to weight the balance between public policy considerations and welfare decisively in favour of welfare.'

He added that the court would rule against surrogate parents only in the clearest case of the abuse of public policy.

He described the concept of reasonable expenses as 'somewhat opaque' but said the surrogacy process must continue to be policed by the courts.

The first case of surrogacy in the UK was in 1985 and while there have been more than 700 cases since, the practice is still controversial.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act states that parents must be over 18, and either married, civil partners or living together in an enduring family relationship.

At least one must be a biological parent of the child and at least one must have permanent roots in the UK.

They must offer the child a home and the court must be convinced the surrogate mother acted of her own free will, fully understanding what was involved.

It is the second time Mr Justice Hedley has allowed parents to flout the law on surrogacy payments.

In 2008, a couple using eggs from an anonymous donor were allowed to keep their twins, borne by a Ukrainian surrogate they had paid £23,000.

At the time, the judge expressed deep sympathy for the couple's anxiety and said: 'The court shares their hope that their experiences may alert others to the difficulties inherent in this journey.'
UK law recognises the surrogate mother as the legal parent of a baby unless a parental order is made, although she has no genetic link to the children.

Gamble and Ghevaert LLP, a law firm based in Poole, Dorset, which specialises in surrogacy law, warns: 'While foreign surrogacy arrangements can seem attractive, great care needs to be taken over the legal issues.

'English law will not automatically recognise your status as the parents even if you are named on a foreign birth certificate and this can lead to difficulties over immigration and citizenship.'

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1337005/Childless-couples-win-right-pay-surrogate-mother.html#ixzz17aBuPLUf

'We've lost our children': Lesbian couple at centre of controversial court case describe their devastation at facing Christmas alone

As the judge began to make his ruling, two women clutched each other’s hands tightly.

It was not a standard scene in the family court. The women, a lesbian couple who
have been together for 19 years, were there to hear whether the father of their two children, conceived by artificial insemination, would be awarded custody for the
first time after a bitter legal battle.

The couple claimed in court that the man, himself in a long-term gay relationship, reneged on a promise to have limited involvement in the upbringing of the children.

They say he became controlling and domineering and bribed the children to
visit him with the promise of expensive gifts and pets.

In contrast, the man wept in court as he told the judge that he simply wanted to see his children more often.

He claims that he made clear his intention to be part of their day-to-day care from the outset.

Ultimately, the judge found in his favour and ruled that he should have custody of the children for 152 days a year.

This week, the Appeal Court upheld that decision and urged both parties to put aside their differences for the sake of their young children.

None of those involved can be identified for legal reasons, to protect the children, now aged ten and seven.
It was a highly unusual case that began a decade earlier when Sarah and Jenny answered an advert in Gay Times in which the man, Robert, a wealthy businessman, explained that he wanted to be a father but required minimal involvement in the child’s upbringing.

Thus, the two parties came together in a thoroughly modern and controversial
way to do what neither could alone, outside the regulatory framework
of a fertility clinic.

Now, Sarah and Jenny have broken their public silence to tell The Mail on Sunday about their devastation at the court’s decision.

The couple claim Robert became increasingly demanding while Sarah was pregnant with their son, which raised alarm bells. What has happened since proves that they were right to be concerned.

However, what cannot be explained is that, despite their worries, they agreed to have a second child with Robert. Indeed, they accept they have been astonishingly naive.

Sarah said: ‘I was holding Jenny’s hand when the ruling was passed and whispered to her, “We’ve lost the children”.

'Listening to that ruling was the worst thing I’ve ever had to do. There are no words to
describe that, and that fear is something every parent must be able to
relate to, regardless of how your family is made up.

‘I understand some people will see us as weirdos because we’re a same-sex couple with children, but that’s so far from the people we are. We’re a quiet and loving couple.

‘We love our children and knew we could provide a solid, caring environment for them.

‘I don’t regret what we did. I have to say that because I don’t regret the children, although we do regret the way we went about having them.

‘We would certainly advise others not to go down the same route and I’m sure an anonymous sperm donor would have been more sensible. We were horribly naive and did so many things just to keep the peace.’

Sarah, who works for a property letting business, and Jenny, a former bank worker, live with their children in an immaculate three-bedroom home in a seaside town.

Every spare wall and surface in their living room is filled with photographs of their
smiling children, including one taken at the couple’s civil partnership ceremony in March this year.

Sarah is the children’s biological mother. Jenny has never wanted to give birth.

The couple met through a mutual friend in 1991 when they were in their early 20s and have been together ever since.

While Jenny had experienced relationships with women before, Sarah found it more difficult to accept her sexuality.

‘I had always assumed I would meet a bloke, get married and have children – always,’ she said.

‘I thought this might be a phase I was going through and that I’d end up back on what I saw as my natural path. Jenny had a few friends who were gay but I didn’t know anyone.

‘But there was something incredibly strong keeping us together.’

Both eventually told their families, who, despite their initial shock, were supportive. In time, their thoughts turned to children.

They accept that their decision to introduce children into a same-sex partnership is controversial.

Sarah said: ‘Society’s view of us as a lesbian couple wanting children did worry us, of course.

‘What helped us is we had two close gay friends who had children. That opened my eyes and made us realise it was possible.’

Jenny added: ‘We did think about and discuss the prejudices the children could face at school. But it’s becoming more rare. You do worry about it but we have a good network of friends and family. It’s no big deal.’

‘His exact words were that he wanted to be a “rich uncle-type figure” and have contact once a month for a couple of hours. He also said he would like photos and updates. We thought we could live with that.'They also agreed that the children should have access to a father, should they want him. Neither could imagine using an anonymous sperm donor.

Jenny said: ‘I’ve got friends who are adopted and we wanted our children to have the opportunity – if they wanted it – to meet their father. We didn’t feel it was our place to make that decision for our children because our families are so important to us.

‘We had male friends we could have gone to, and one did offer. But that would have meant a third person was part of the package.

‘This was about me and Sarah bringing up our children.’


Read more on this story, follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1335760/Lesbian-court-case-couple-face-Christmas-Weve-lost-children.html#ixzz17NYsYxGp

Broody again at 72: She became the world's oldest mother at 66. Now her little girl's five - and she wants ANOTHER

Charming though they look together, walking hand in hand to school, Adriana Iliescu — at 72 — looks more like her five-year-old daughter Eliza’s slightly doddery great grandparent than her mother.

Heavily lined and with dyed black hair, even she — who in January 2005 became the world’s then oldest mother — admits she looks every one of her years, if not more.
‘I try not to look in the mirror, because I don’t enjoy it,’ says Adriana, a writer and part-time ­university lecturer in Romanian literature, who lives with Eliza in a two-bedroom flat in the ­Romanian capital, Bucharest.

‘The mirror is unkind to women, but if we are talking about my energy then I feel like a young woman. I feel like I’m 27 and when I feel a bit more tired, I feel like I’m 37. I am healthier than women more than half my age.

‘People think they are being funny when they call me granny, but I didn’t have Eliza to make me look younger. I never feel my years.’

Could this be why, in what must surely be a ­triumph of attitude over age, Adriana is now ­defying all her critics by talking about the ­possibility of having another child?
‘Medically, it’s possible,’ she says. ‘I ­understand there are trials going on with a 70-year-old woman in England, so it could be done. I am fine and healthy and I think it would be possible to have another child in the future, but I’m not in a rush at the moment.’

Not in a rush? She’s 72! How much time does she think she has?

But her caution, she insists, has nothing to do with age, exhaustion at caring for a young child or the fear of dying. It is the love she feels for Eliza and their strong bond, that makes ­Adriana ­reluctant to test it with the ­rigours of another baby.

‘I am so close to Eliza, so bonded with her, I’m not sure I’d be able to ­consider having another child if it actually came to it,’ she says.

‘Eliza is energetic and fun — a very happy child. She is everything to me and nothing else counts or matters. The child is mine and that’s all I care about, but medically it is not ­impossible for me to have another child.

‘I don’t smoke and I don’t drink. If I live as long as my parents did, Eliza will be 20 by the time I pass away. I think I still have a lot to give her.’

When I first met Adriana, two years ago, she cut a rather lonely and ­eccentric — if immaculately dressed — figure, mingling with other much younger mothers as she watched Eliza, then aged three, playing on the swings near their ninth-floor flat in a drab, high-rise concrete apartment block.

Back then, she admitted that ­sometimes she was so busy with Eliza it was ‘hard to have the time to even wash my hair’, before adding defiantly: ‘Motherhood is so much more than I hoped for. It is relaxing looking after a child. It’s everything else that’s tiring.’

Eliza is now in school and Adriana believes the challenges of the past few years will continue to ease a little.

She admits it took some adjusting to having a child for the first time at her age and that she was nervous when Eliza started pre-school, aged three.

I was really tense as I wanted her to do well. I’ve invested a lot of energy into the past two years,’ she says. ‘But, Eliza makes friends and plays with them, which gives me a break.’
The result of Adriana’s complete focus on her daughter is that Eliza can already read and write and is academically advanced for her years.
She has friends and is happy, which is all that matters to Adriana, who gives not two hoots for the opinions of others.

A deeply private woman, she doesn’t like to engage in school gate tittle-­tattle and deflects questions from other mothers, curious as to how she copes or what might happen to her daughter if she dies.

Conceived via IVF, courtesy of donated sperm and eggs implanted by a Romanian fertility expert seemingly keen to make medical history, Eliza’s birth continues to divide opinion.

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1329255/Worlds-oldest-mother-Adriana-Iliescu-broody-72.html#ixzz164V3GeGg

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1329255/Worlds-oldest-mother-Adriana-Iliescu-broody-72.html#ixzz164UbEFxl

NHS Surrey to stop providing IVF

NHS Surrey is the latest Primary Care Trusts to stop providing IVF for new patients. Facing a £125 million budget deficit this year, the trust has decided to suspend all new courses of the treatment, although women nearing 40 will be considered and ongoing treatments will be continued. Previously it funded up to two full cycles of IVF per couple, if the woman was aged between 23 and 39.

'By stopping doing things which aren't clinically necessary, we can safeguard and continue to do what's clinically essential or urgent, such as cancer referrals and life-threatening trauma cases in A&E', said Dr John Omany, the trust's medical director. Other treatments to be discontinued include acupuncture, spinal epidural injections for chronic back pain and some cosmetic procedures - such as those for male baldness, facial blushing and removing tattoos.

The decision was taken after the trust's board met to discuss 'serious financial challenges'. Treatments were categorised under a 'Fast, Steady, Stop' programme - those under 'Fast' are to be provided immediately, with those under 'Steady' to be available in turn and on time. 'Stop' treatments will not be provided at all. 'If you don't need it the NHS won't pay for it', said the board. The IVF policy is set to be reviewed next November.

The cuts come after several other trusts stopped offering new cycles of IVF. A recent survey conducted by Pulse magazine revealed nine out of the 124 trusts who participated in the survey had not funded treatment since September 2008, despite the government pledging to end the 'postcode lottery' when launching the 2004 NICE guidelines. Since then NHS West Kent has also suspended all non-urgent IVF until April 2011. The guidelines recommend the NHS should provide up to three full cycles of IVF for eligible patients.

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.bionews.org.uk/page_82507.asp

American soldier uses internet to see birth of his baby girl

A Watertown soldier, who is stationed overseas, didn’t let distance get in the way of seeing his baby girl's birth, thanks to the Internet.

“The laptop was right by my side for most of it,” said Vera Kurek, the mother.

Vera’s husband Peter, who is stationed in Kuwait, was not missing the birth of his 7pound baby girl, Rose Marie.

With 7,000 miles separating Vera and Peter, both the military and the Mount Auburn Hospital were able to hook the couple up live - they had audio and video, and were ready to deliver a baby.

“I did my normal joking around. I told her if she wanted I could get a bag of popcorn and just sit here and watch the show,” said Peter Kurek, the father.

Even though Peter was just sitting in his bunk, that is not at all what this First Lieutenant did.

“He was coaching me through everything and helping me breath,” said Vera Kurek.

“I breathed loud into my microphone so she could hear the rhythm of my breathing,” said Peter Kurek.

This went on for some time, but then the moment came for Vera to deliver.

“Towards the end my laptop got pushed back so he could see Rose Marie being born,” said Vera Kurek.

“I told her how great she was doing, and how brave and strong she was, how much I loved her and how much I was going to love this baby. I think it was just three pushes and Rose was in the world,” said Peter Kurek.

Communicating over the internet is the way things will remain for the couple. Peter said there is no set date for his next leave, but he said it should be before his little girl is walking.

For more on this story follow the link: http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/12002816264488/soldier-uses-internet-to-see-birth-of-his-baby-girl/

The botched epidurals making women terrified of giving birth: Is this the real reason for soaring Caesareans?

After 18 hours in labour with her first baby, Sarah Sergeant was exhausted and decided she needed an epidural to relieve the ­agonising pain.

An epidural is a form of anaesthetic administered through a tiny tube in the small of your back — it works by ­numbing the nerves so you no longer feel the pain of labour contractions. ­
Epidurals are given to around a third of women during childbirth and are a standard procedure.

But when Sarah’s anaesthetist arrived, it took him at least four attempts to get the needle in the right place in her spine.

Even then the epidural didn’t work, ­leaving Sarah, now 37, from Ashtead, ­Surrey, still able to feel the contractions.

Two hours later, with the birth not ­progressing as it should, Sarah was told she needed an emergency Caesarean section to deliver her baby.

In theatre, doctors tried three times to top up the epidural, but when the ­surgeon made the first incision in her abdomen, Sarah was still able to feel it and she was in terrible pain. She had to undergo a general anaesthetic and was therefore unconscious when her daughter, Molly, was born.

Each year around 150,000 women — a quarter of new mothers — don’t get the pain relief they need during labour, according to the Birth Trauma Association.

Often this is linked to a failed epidural, with doctors experiencing difficulty administering them. This can trigger an excruciating headache as well as much anxiety and unnecessary pain — there is also the longer term emotional impact.

Indeed, campaigners believe the failure of epidurals is responsible in part for soaring Caesarean rates.

Almost three times more babies are born by Caesarean section compared with 30 years ago.

Last week, midwives revealed that expectant mothers are increasingly demanding a surgical birth second time around because their first birth was so traumatic they have been left afraid to give birth naturally.

Some maternity units have seen the number requesting the ­procedure increase by 40 per cent in the past year alone.

Meanwhile, other mothers have been left so traumatised by their childbirth experience that they put off or even abandon plans to increase their family.
There’s no doubt this fear can be linked to failed pain relief. So why do epidurals go wrong?

It is a combination of lack of expertise, timing and anatomical differences in patients, explains Dr Deirdre Guerin, lead consultant in obstetric anaesthesia at London’s private Portland Hospital.

‘The most important factor in whether an epidural is successful or not is the level of expertise of the anaesthetist,’ says Dr Guerin.

‘In many NHS hospitals, it is ­junior anaesthetists administering an epidural rather than specialist obstetric anaesthetists — the ­specialists tend to work in the operating theatres.’

To administer an epidural, the anaesthetist has to get the woman to lie on her side with her knees drawn up, or sit on a bed or chair and lean forward. The anaesthetist then uses the bony joints in the back as a guide to where to insert the needle.

Anaesthetic is injected into the space around the spinal cord, using a fine, ­hollow tube known as a catheter inserted into the lower back. The anaesthetic should start working within five to ten minutes (and lasts two to four hours, although it can be topped up during labour).

Doing the procedure by feeling for the right spot (performing it ‘blind’, as it were) results in ­difficulties — leading to more than one attempt to insert the drug in a quarter of cases, according to research by Dr Graeme McLeod, a consultant anaesthetist at Ninewells Hospital Medical School, Dundee.

However, it’s not just specialist expertise that matters: even the most experienced anaesthetists can have problems inserting an epidural if the woman doesn’t keep still because of the pain she’s in.

‘Women, particularly those ­having their first baby, sometimes leave it too long to have an ­epidural or are encouraged not to have one in case it slows down labour,’ Dr Guerin says.

‘And if they can’t keep still while it’s being given, there is a risk of them having a dural tap, where the needle punctures the dura membrane close to the ­spinal cord, causing a ferocious headache.’

Doctors can also find it very ­difficult to accurately insert an epidural if the patient is obese — the usual bony signposts in the back aren’t visible (more than 15 per cent of women are obese at their first antenatal appointment, according to research).
Staffing shortages which prevent midwives from holding one-to-one antenatal sessions with mothers to allay concerns is another factor in the rise in numbers asking for a Caesarean, says Sue McDonald, of the Royal College of Midwives.

‘But there is little doubt that if a woman doesn’t have a successful epidural, it can impact on whether she chooses a Caesarean section in subsequent pregnancies.’

Sarah Sergeant believes she would not have needed a Caesarean section if her epidural had been administered properly. The operation was carried out under general anaesthetic to deliver daughter Molly, now four.

‘The epidural wasn’t in the right place, so topping it up was a waste of time,’ she says.
‘If the epidural had worked, I may have relaxed more. I am convinced I wouldn’t have needed a Caesarean and a general ­anaesthetic, and I wouldn’t have missed the birth of my first child.’

However, there is hope new technology will end such an experience. Instead of anaesthetists having to guess the right place in the spine, high-resolution ultrasound images means they can guide the needle to the precise spot.

Research in Canada shows­ successful insertion rate for epidurals when using such equipment increases to 91.8 per cent. Dr McLeod’s hospital is the first in the UK to use a form of the new technology developed by Zonare.

‘This is a delicate and tricky procedure, as the space in the spinal column varies from woman to woman,’ says Dr McLeod.

‘Why do this blind when there is equipment available to make pain ­control 91.8 per cent effective?’

Dr Guerin agrees the machines can guide doctors, but says they don’t replace clinical expertise.

Meanwhile, despite her traumatic first delivery, Sarah had a second child, Henry, in 2008, with an epidural that worked.

‘I wasn’t worried second time around, but I was determined not to have a Caesarean. I had an ­epidural that worked, so I couldn’t feel anything. Now I know what it should feel like and the difference it can make,’ she says.

‘Anything that ensures women get the pain relief they want in labour has got to be a good thing.’


For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1332129/Botched-epidurals-making-women-terrified-giving-birth-Is-real-reason-soaring-Caesareans.html#ixzz164ABqrl8

The pope's reversal on condom use

The pontiff has softened his stance on condom use in the war against AIDS — but does that mean the Vatican is easing opposition to birth control?

To date, Pope Benedict XVI's stance has been that condoms could be making the AIDS epidemic worse by encouraging casual sex. Now, in a potentially significant shift, the pope has told a German interviewer that condom use by certain people, such as male prostitutes, could be morally justified as a way to reduce the risk of infection. Vatican officials say there's nothing "revolutionary" about the remarks, but church historians disagree. Is the pope really easing Catholic opposition to condom use?

"Benedict's so-called condom concession was not a huge one," says Howard Chua-Eoan at Time. He is merely saying that male prostitutes — whose actions the church, of course, condemns — should use condoms to prevent HIV, because making such a conscious choice at least constitutes a step out of darkness and toward morality. But the pope still proscribes using condoms as birth control.

Conservative Catholics may not like it, says Damian Thompson at Britain's Telegraph, but the Holy Father is now on record saying that using a condom is "a lesser evil than the transmission of the virus." Sure, Pope Benedict says that only applies in extreme cases, such as male prostitution. But, come on, the same "lesser-of-two-evils argument" obviously applies to sex between infected men and women.

Maybe allowing condoms only for homosexual sex — which can't produce a baby — isn't a big change in Vatican policy, says Bryan Cones at U.S. Catholic, but "anyone who wants to tame the HIV epidemic will be happy to hear this news." Catholic agencies provide some 30 percent of medical care in developing parts of the world. Now that Pope Benedict has opened the door to using condoms solely in the name of fighting AIDS, these groups "will be freer to employ the ABC model (abstinence, being faithful, condoms) that many see as the gold standard."

For more on this story follow the link: http://theweek.com/article/index/209627/the-popes-reversal-on-condom-use

Genetic infertility treated successfully at Mumbai hospital

A woman with a rare genetic disorder 'Robertsonian Translocation', resulting in infertility, has delivered a healthy baby girl at the Jaslok Hospital and Research Center.

"With this first Invitro fertilisation (IVF) using pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), India joins a handful of countries that have accomplished successful management of this disorder," Dr Firuza Parikh, Director, Assisted Reproduction and Genetics at Jaslok and former Professor at the Yale University School of Medicine, USA, said.

The baby girl was delivered yesterday at city's Jaslok hospital, Parikh said adding that this case report was published as a cover article in the peer reviewed 'Journal of Prenatal Diagnosis and Therapy' (January- June 2010).

Attributing the success to her team of 40 individuals particularly Dr Prochi Madon, Dr Arundhati Athalye, Mr Nandkishor Naik and Dattatray Naik, Parikh explained, "We are born with 46 chromosomes which occur in pairs. Each chromosome of a pair is a mirror image of the other. Although this harmony ismaintained in nature, an occasional slip results in a translocation."

"As the name suggests, a segment or an arm of one chromosome transports itself onto another chromosome and one such rearrangement is called a RobertsonianTranslocation after the American geneticist Dr W Robertson," she said.

"The rearrangement can occur in males and females who do not manifest any clinical symptoms. The problem manifests when the couple tries to conceive," Parikh said.

"An embryo derives half its chromosomes from the father and half from the mother. Hence if the chromosome with extra genetic material goes into the embryo, the amount of genetic material of that chromosome triples resulting in miscarriage or mental retardation," the In-vitro fertilization (IVF) expert said.

The embryos were screened using Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD).

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_genetic-infertility-treated-successfully-at-mumbai-hospital_1469862

Few Singaporean sperm donors due to fear of incest

The recent case of the in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment mix-up at Thomson Fertility Centre cast the spotlight on assisted reproductive treatments and their challenges in Singapore.

One major challenge is the lack of sperm donors. A recent report in The Straits Times revealed that there have been only eight sperm donors at Singapore General Hospital in the past five years.

Professor P.C. Wong from National University Hospital was quoted in the same article as saying that for every sperm donation in Singapore, there would be about eight couples who need it.


He says the reason for the shortage of sperm donors could be because Singaporeans are not altruistic enough.

There is no monetary gain from being a sperm donor. Moreover, the process of donating sperm is a lot more tedious than most imagine, requiring interviews and multiple medical checkups and tests.

However, a report in Shin Min Daily yesterday highlighted another reason - many men are worried that donating sperm to another couple might result in incest among their offspring in future.

An informal survey by AsiaOne showed that this was indeed a concern among Singaporean men.

"Singapore is so small - there's a high chance that your biological child might meet your own children in future," noted a civil servant in his thirties, who declined to be named. "What if they fall in love and get married, not knowing that they are actually half-siblings?"

This fear of incest, or consanguinity (the marriage of close relatives), seems especially real, given Singapore's small size. However, doctors have described this in previous news reports as only a 'remote possibility'.

Another respondent said he felt that IVF was 'unnatural'. He points out that there are other options for childless couples, such as adoption, but also says that a couple has the right to seek fertility treatment, just as men have the right to choose not to be sperm donors if they are not comfortable with the idea.

For more on this story follow the link: http://health.asiaone.com/Health/News/Story/A1Story20101117-247746.html

Scotland has just 26 sperm donors with NHS forced to bring in supplies from London

THERE are just 26 sperm donors left in Scotland five years after the right to remain anonymous was removed.

NHS boards are being forced to bring in supplies from London to meet demand here.

Now there are calls for a review of the system to help encourage more men to register.

Donation rates have dropped dramatically since 2005, when donors' rights to anonymity were removed, meaning children conceived could contact them 18 years later.

Only 13 joined the register last year, with NHS Fife and NHS Lothian in particular struggling to meet demand.

Spire Shawfair Park hospital in Danderhall, Edinburgh, have launched an urgent appeal for donors. They have had only 10 volunters since opening in March, forcing them to get samples from the London Fertility Clinic.

Jaime Oswald, embryologist at the hospital, called for changes to the expenses system. She added: "What scares a lot of people away is that in 18 years, you get a knock on the door."

For more on this story follow the link: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/2010/11/20/scotland-has-just-26-sperm-donors-with-nhs-forced-to-bring-in-supplies-from-london-86908-22726914/

Scared to give birth - tocophobia on the rise in the UK

A surge in cases of birth trauma being reported in the UK, are causing scared mothers to abandon plans for another baby as Tocophobia rates rise.

It has often been said that if women fully remember the trials and agony of a first labor, they would never have a second child. Apparently, this is exactly what is occurring in the UK right now. On Nov. 14, 2010, the British newspaper The Guardian, reported that a surge in birth trauma incidents is causing first-time mothers to dread ever going through the process again. Tocophobia, or the fear of childbirth, is on the rise. Why?

Traumatic first births are elevating cesarean requests by second-time mothers
According to The Guardian's, Denis Campbell, Britain's National Health Service, (NHS), is being forced to step in to deal with surging requests for cesarean sections by pregnant mother's terrified of the labor process, after enduring a traumatic first birth. Campbell writes in, "Too Scared to Push: Big Rise Reported in Birth Trauma," that in one area hospital, Liverpool's Women's Hospital, "The number of mothers who have asked for an elective caesarean with their forthcoming child, because they suffered trauma the last time, has risen 40%."

There are a number of factors seen as contributors to tocophobia but common sense must ask, why are first-births so traumatic in the first place? One entity under fire is the NHS itself, whose budget cuts have led to a serious deficit in the availability of qualified midwives. On Dec. 16, 2009, Verena Burns of The Daily Mail, reported the story of a former midwife spilling the beans on a standard shift in one of Britain's labor and delivery unit's


"Midwives in Meltdown," was a shocking read that told how a woman in labor, was virtually ignored throughout the entire labor process because her designated midwife, was too overloaded with patients. Unfortunately, wrote Burns, this was just one of several questionable practices that occurred on a regular basis such as mothers-to-be who were drugged to the max.

"Drugs keep the mother nice and quiet," the midwife told Burns, "which, of course, suits staff," too overwhelmed to be effective.

Consider these recent childbirth horror stories
On Sep. 29, 2010, The Daily Mail reported that Britain's NHS had formerly apologized to a mother whose baby was severely damaged in a forceps delivery. The mother's obstetrician had pulled on the baby so hard, that the mother was pulled down the birthing table. Furthermore, reported Jane Feinmann in "Forceps Left this boy Brain Damaged," when the baby did finally emerge, one of his eyeballs rested on his cheek and he endured a fractured skull and bleeding in the brain.


Jennifer Block of Time Magazine, reported on Mar. 12, 2010, that Amnesty International had released a report called "Deadly Delivery." Amnesty noted in this report that too many mothers were losing their lives in the US when having babies. Block's article, "Too Many Women Dying in U.S. While Having Babies," says that Amnesty claims, "Every day in the U.S., more than two women die of pregnancy-related causes, with the maternal mortality ratio doubling from 6.6 deaths per 100,000 births in 1987 to 13.3 deaths per 100,000 births in 2006."

Is Tocophobia an under-reported condition?

There are no official current statistics on tocophobia rates in the US. Are these phobia rates naturally low in the US or are they going unreported? Tocophobia as a medical condition, is not well documented online by any reputable medical authority either. Yet, unsurprisingly, the condition can be found as a popular topic between mothers on pregnancy forums.

With the small amount of information able to gleaned, tocophobia appears to be downplayed as something easily overcome; transient in nature and according to the website, Wrongdiagnosis.com, classified, "An exaggerated or irrational fear of childbirth." Considering the current state of affairs coupled with Amnesty's report, can tacophobia remain labeled as irrational, when due to a traumatic first birth experience, requests for c-sections by mothers at a UK hospital, jumped a staggering 40-percent?


To find out more on this story follow the link: UK http://www.suite101.com/content/scared-to-give-birth-tocophobia-is-on-the-rise-in-the-uk-a309604#ixzz15UJIdJOf