When you have committed to the physical, emotional, and financial demands of IVF, an unsuccessful cycle can be a huge blow, and the question of whether to try again is often fraught. Well-meaning friends and family watching a couple go through the repeated grief of failed IVF attempts, may apply subtle pressure to give up and move on. Patients themselves may have the impression that after the third or even fourth attempt, their prognosis is bleak. However, a study released by the University of Bristol in the UK has reported that hanging in there through multiple cycles may be worth it.
Serendipity and the “prepared mind” both played a role in uncovering evidence that most, if not all, couples seeking assisted reproductive technology should consider a genetic screening known as “karyotyping” prior to treatment. An oral presentation of a case report delivered at the annual meeting of the College of Reproductive Biologists on May 13, 2016, by Deborah Johnson, Embryologist, detailed how both serendipity and astute evaluation of the genetic outcome report of a blastocyst biopsy as part of a couple’s IVF attempt (and subsequent attempt) using an egg donor led to the discovery of a genetic variant called a “translocation” in the male partner. Translocations are a significant cause of infertility and early miscarriage.
Jenn:
It's late and I should have been asleep hours ago, but I'm so anxious and excited that I am still wide awake staring at the ceiling. And I know that I shouldn't count my chickens before they're hatched, but tomorrow is the big day. I'm wondering how many eggs we'll find tomorrow morning. It's kind of like the night before Easter in a weird, emotional sort of fertility treatment kind of way.
When you first step foot on the path to in vitro fertilization (IVF), the road ahead may seem very uncertain. You know your goal: a healthy baby, but knowing what to expect on the journey from here to there is a lot harder. While every case is unique, and it is impossible to predict exactly how your cycle will go, we can sketch out a basic timeline and tell you about the most important landmarks along the way. In order to understand what you will be experiencing throughout the IVF process, it is important to have a good grasp on what IVF actually is and how it works.
Peter:
I feel like a preacher in the middle of a sermon on a sweltering Sunday somewhere south of Savannah. That's the feeling that's overcome us today. Our donor is ready to go!
When couples are trying to get pregnant and instead meet with continual disappointment and heartbreak, the urge to track down both causes and solutions is strong. A consultation, diagnosis, and comprehensive treatment plan developed in partnership with qualified fertility experts is fundamental, but patients longing for results often look further afield for anything that can help. A generally healthy diet, exercise, and habits all have their roles to play in fertility, but researchers are constantly looking for more specific information to help patients conceive and carry a pregnancy to term. A recent study may have tracked down one potential factor in early pregnancy loss, a problem which causes untold anguish to prospective patients.
I think back on those dark days when I was going through radiation and chemotherapy, when life didn’t feel familiar and lacked the sweetness I preferred. All I wanted in that moment was to be my old self again. With great impatience, I couldn’t find it in me to honor the stillness, the dormancy, the break down, the shift.
You are going to yell and scream and cry and then laugh and then get chills and then feel excitement and fear like you've never felt in your life and then cry again and that will all repeat. That means that you are going through fertility treatment.
The prospect of welcoming a new baby is exciting for anyone, and modern Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) mean that the dream of building a family together is now a reality for more couples than ever. LGBT families have unique needs, and like all prospective parents, they often have many questions about what is possible, what is involved, and what they can expect. Some of these questions can only be answered in a consultation with your fertility professional, but we can make a start by covering the most common queries about LGBT family planning.
Centre for Reproductive Medicine, University Hospital, Brussels—In a study published online on May 10, 2016, in Molecular Human Reproduction, authors report that neonatal outcome data of over 2000 births indicates that embryos that underwent vitrification (flash freezing) with subsequent warming and embryo transfer were equal, if not slightly better than fresh embryo transfers.
