Judith Hoechst | Colorado Reproductive Law

Infertility affects a ‘staggering’ 1 in 6 people worldwide, WHO says

Judith Hoechst — Sat, 29 Apr 2023 22:20:34 +0000

Published 6:32 PM EDT, Mon April 3, 2023

CNN —

An estimated 1 in 6 people globally are affected by infertility, according to a new report from the World Health Organization, which emphasizes that the condition is common.

Rates of infertility – defined as not being able to conceive after a year of having unprotected sex – are similar across all countries and regions, Monday’s WHO report says.

“In our analysis, the global prevalence of lifetime infertility was 17.5%, translating into 1 out of every 6 people experiencing it in their lifetime,” Dr. Gitau Mburu, a scientist of fertility research at WHO, said Monday.

“Lifetime prevalence of infertility does not differ by income classification of countries,” he said. “Lifetime prevalence was 17.8% in high-income countries and 16.5% in low- and middle-income countries, which, again, was not a substantial or significant difference.”

Yet there are differences in how much people are spending on fertility treatments and how accessible such treatments are, according to the report.

“People in the poorest countries were found to spend a significantly larger proportion of their income on a single cycle of IVF or on fertility care compared with wealthier countries,” Mburu said, “exemplifying that this is an area with high-level risk of inequality in access to health care.”

Global public health groups typically call attention to overpopulation as a major public health concern, so the spotlight that the WHO report turns on infertility not only is surprising but is welcome, said Dr. David Keefe, reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist at the NYU Langone Fertility Center in New York.

“That report did not surprise me in terms of the content, because it’s been known for some time that infertility is much more prevalent than anyone wants to think about: Having a child and having a family is kind of a universal dream or aspiration for people from every country, from every region. What surprised me was the World Health Organization coming out in support of it,” said Keefe, who was not involved with the WHO research.

“It was a welcome acknowledgment of the other foot dropping on the population front,” he said. “The acknowledgment that this is a worldwide problem and that additional attention must be devoted to it in terms of policy and strategy is welcome.”

‘This is a worldwide problem’

The WHO report – described as the “first of its kind in a decade” – includes an analysis of infertility data from 1990 through 2021. The data came from 133 previously published studies on infertility prevalence.

“The purpose of this analysis was to generate updated data on the global and regional estimates of infertility prevalence by analyzing all available data from different countries, making sure that we take into account different study approaches,” Mburu said.

Based on that data, the researchers estimate that lifetime prevalence of infertility – representing the proportion of people who have ever experienced infertility in their reproductive life – was 17.5% in 2022.

The period prevalence of infertility, meaning the proportion of people with infertility at any given point currently or in the past, was found to be 12.6% in 2022.

Although the data showed some variation in infertility prevalence across regions – with the highest lifetime prevalence at 23.2% in the Western Pacific, compared with the lowest at 10.7% in the Eastern Mediterranean – those regional differences were not either substantial or conclusive based on the data, according to WHO’s report.

The researchers also did not determine whether global infertility rates have been increasing or decreasing over time.

“The data which we analyzed for this report was from 1990 to 2021, and during that period, we did not see evidence of increasing rates of infertility. However, the way the data was arranged, it was not really organized to answer that question,” Dr. James Kiarie, head of contraception and fertility care at WHO, said Monday. “We cannot, based on the data we have, say that infertility is increasing or constant – so we must say that probably the jury is still out on that question.”

Over time, various factors can affect a person’s fertility, and age is one of the most important, said Dr. Emre Seli, chief scientific officer for the maternal and infant health nonprofit March of Dimes. Seli, who is also a professor at Yale School of Medicine and medical director of Yale Fertility Center, was not involved in the new report.

“Fertility decreases as the age of the female partner increases,” he said.

“Fertility is really an emotionally taxing issue for those who are affected by it. It is a major source of stress to want to have a child and not be able to,” Seli said. “Most of my patients are women, and they do become affected by this at many levels, and they do suffer from lack of adequate research as well as lack of adequate insurance coverage to undergo the treatments that they need.”

When children are told they were born via assisted reproduction can affect outcomes, study finds

Judith Hoechst — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 16:25:55 +0000

When children are told they were born via assisted reproduction can affect outcomes, study finds

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN

Updated 9:51 PM EDT, Wed April 12, 2023

CNN —

At age 14, Helen wasn’t bothered by the fact she was born via surrogacy.

“My mum is still my mum. My dad is still my dad,” she told UK researchers conducting a study on the mental health and well-being of children born through egg donation, sperm donation and surrogacy. Helen is not her real name.

“I was talking to someone at school and they said they were an accident,” 14-year-old Simon (also not his real name) told the researchers. “I know I was no accident, I was really wanted, and it makes me feel special.”

Parents worried their children may experience difficulties as a result of learning they were conceived by assisted reproduction can stop fretting — the kids are just fine, according to the study published this week after two decades in the making.

“When we began this study more than 20 years ago, there was concern the absence of a biological link between the child and the parents could have a damaging effect on their relationship and on the well-being of the child,” said lead author Susan Golombok, professor emerita of family research and former director of the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge in the UK.

However, at age 20, children born via egg or sperm donation and surrogacy were psychologically well-adjusted, the study found, especially if parents told the children about their birth history before age 7.

“What this research means is that having children in different or new ways doesn’t actually interfere with how families function. Really wanting children seems to trump everything — that’s what really matters,” Golombok said.

Clinical psychologist Mary Riddle, an associate professor of psychology at Pennsylvania State University called the study “important, in that it represents research conducted over a long period of time.”

However, Riddle, who was not involved in the study, said the results aren’t completely applicable to the United States because surrogacy can be practiced differently in the UK in several ways.

Called “tummy mummies” by some of the children, surrogates in the UK may become part of the family, participating in the upbringing of the child they helped bring into the world, according to Golombok’s 2020 book, “We Are Family: The Modern Transformation of Parents and Children.”

“In the UK, intended parents often know their surrogate prior to the surrogate pregnancy whereas in the US, commercial surrogates are often matched through agencies and don’t have prior relationships with the families for whom they carry babies,” Riddle said.

The Importance of Folic Acid in Female and Male Fertility

Judith Hoechst — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 19:58:49 +0000

By Rachel Gurevich, RN

Updated on November 02, 2022

Medically reviewed by Leyla Bilali, RN

If you’ve been looking at supplements for fertility, you’ve likely come across recommendations for folic acid. One of the B-vitamins, folate (or folic acid, as it’s known in supplement form) is needed for the development of red blood cells and DNA production. Folate also plays an important role in cell division. Low folate blood levels are associated with a form of anemia.

Folic acid is clearly an essential nutrient in the body. But can folic acid help you conceive? Should men also be taking folic acid? Should you take a supplement, or can you get what you need from diet alone?

Folic Acid Benefits for Men

Folic acid can help with erectile dysfunction1 and it could potentially boost sperm count. Studies have been mixed on how well folic acid improves semen, but there’s no harm in trying. Folic acid is worth a shot if you are trying to boost your fertility.

Folic Acid and Male Fertility

The need for folic acid or folate in women of childbearing age is well-known. (More on female fertility and folate below.) But could folic acid improve male fertility? Before we get an embryo, we need an egg and a sperm.

While women are born with all the eggs they will ever have, the man’s body creates sperm on a daily basis. In fact, 1,500 new sperm cells are “born” every second.

The process from germline stem cell to sperm cell takes about 60 days. Folate is an essential nutrient when it comes to cell division and DNA synthesis

Folate levels measured in semen have been associated with sperm count and health. One study found that low folate levels in semen were associated with poor sperm DNA stability. From this, we may learn that folate plays an important role in sperm health.

Texas couple who donated frozen embryos 20 years ago meets biological teen triplets

Judith Hoechst — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 15:46:48 +0000

Brooke and Chris Martin donated their eight remaining embryos almost 20 years ago following a successful IVF treatment that resulted in the birth of their twin boys

By Elizabeth Pritchett | Fox News

A Texas couple experienced an amazing moment when they were given the opportunity to meet the children who were born from their donated frozen embryos 20 years ago.

Brooke and Chris Martin explained their story in an exclusive interview with Fox 26 Houston on Wednesday.

Brooke said she and Chris faced infertility struggles in her late 20s and eventually resorted to in vitro fertilization (IVF) to get pregnant. The couple, who lived in Tennessee at the time, went to a fertility clinic in Nashville to start the process.

The Martins ended up with two implanted embryos, and their twin boys Matthew and Christopher were later born.

They still had eight frozen embryos remaining and had to decide what to do: use them, let them thaw out, donate them to science or give them back to the fertility clinic.

The couple chose the latter option because that’s what they believed was right, Brooke told Fox 26.

“We always had faith that when we donated, that they would be taken care of. The couple would have to go through the same thing that we did, which was agonizing. I mean, people don’t realize all that couples go through while dealing with this,” Chris explained to the Texas outlet.

Fast-forward almost 20 years later and the Martins were told by a family member that a boy, who could be their son, found them and reached out.

Overturning Roe v. Wade raises stakes for patients who need IVF, experts say

Judith Hoechst — Sun, 10 Jul 2022 23:59:44 +0000

WELLNESS June 27, 2022

Cara Skowronski and her husband are the parents of a 2-year-old daughter who was born through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and a gestational surrogate, who carried their daughter.

Now, as the Skowronskis look to expand their family, they say they are afraid of the obstacles they may face after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Skowronski and her husband recently moved from Nebraska to Texas, where abortion will be banned under a trigger law that goes into effect 30 days after the Supreme Court’s decision.

The couple’s remaining frozen embryos are in Nebraska, where Gov. Pete Ricketts has said he will push for the state legislature to pass a total abortion ban in the wake of Roe being overturned.

“It’s challenging enough to have infertility treatment today,” Skowronski told ABC News. “I think the additional potential state legislation that ban or make IVF incredibly difficult will really take it away as an option to a lot of couples and a lot of individuals, and it’s heartbreaking.”

MAKE BABIES NOT WAR Russia’s invasion is damaging Ukraine’s booming surrogacy industry

Judith Hoechst — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 17:36:30 +0000

By Priyanka Vora

AUDIENCE EDITOR

Published February 25, 2022 Last updated March 8, 2022

As Russian forces continue their attack on Kyiv, Ukrainians have been forced to take cover; people young and old are streaming into underground bomb shelters. Among them are surrogate mothers, part of the country’s booming fertility industry.

Ukraine is the second most popular destination after the United States for foreign couples seeking surrogacy services, according to Growing Families, a nonprofit organization working with couples seeking surrogacy and fertility treatment in Ukraine and around the world. An estimated 2,000 to 2,500 children are born through surrogacy in Ukraine each year, and at least 1,500 couples living in the US, UK, Ireland, Australia, and elsewhere have surrogate mothers and embryos stored at clinics in Ukraine, says Sam Everingham, global director of Growing Families.

Fertility clinics are now fielding a barrage of calls from would-be parents outside Ukraine, who are desperate for updates on their surrogate mothers. Anticipating an attack, some facilities have already taken steps to ensure safety of their surrogates, transporting them toward the western regions of the country. BioTexCom, a fertility facility in Kyiv, even built a bomb shelter to protect its surrogates and infants. The shelter is equipped with gas masks, sleeping bags, canned food, and cribs. It can accommodate 200 people, BioTexCom legal advisor Denis Herman said in a YouTube video this week.

Employer fertility benefits have a dramatic and startling expansion amid the Great Resignation, experts say

Judith Hoechst — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 15:28:13 +0000

PUBLISHED FRI, MAY 27 202211:30 AM EDT

Michelle Fox

As employers try to entice new workers and keep the ones they have, more are turning to fertility benefits.

In fact, the trend has been moving upward for the past couple of years. In 2021, the number of large companies offering or enhancing their family-building benefit grew by 8% year-over-year, according to FertilityIQ. That may include egg freezing, drug therapy, intrauterine insemination (IUI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF).

The fertility-education website expects to report even larger numbers for this year based on data it has been collecting.

“We are seeing dramatic and startling expansion,” said Jake Anderson-Bialis, FertilityIQ’s co-founder.

“I don’t think any of us could have foreseen the generosity of coverage being extended to normal employers.”

The attention began picking up as companies focused more on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. It’s also a way for companies to stay competitive in the war for talent.

Nurse to Surrogate: Not a Far Leap

Judith Hoechst — Tue, 29 Mar 2022 15:46:44 +0000

Three local women share what it’s like to go from caring for mothers to carrying those mothers’ babies.

by Jamie Korf

Surrogates are like a thing of mommy lore. We may know of a couple going through surrogacy or have mutual Facebook friends who became the intended parents (“IP” is the industry term), but the person who played the vital role in building these families is usually cloaked in mystery. We don’t see a rash of images of her budding belly or sweat-beaded face as she lay crumpled out on the hospital bed, post-delivery. And that’s intentional; it’s not an overlooked aspect of the process. Surrogates just aren’t the showy type.

“Surrogates are women who foster animals, volunteer at their kids’ schools, give blood,” says Shannon Curry, surrogate business development manager at ConceiveAbilities, a surrogacy agency. “They work at ObGyn clinics, they are nurses, they are teachers …. And they have a lot of empathy for people who can’t carry a child as they find mothering to be one of life’s greatest experiences.”

When you consider the overlap between surrogates and health care providers, there’s no eureka moment—it makes complete and utter sense. At their core, health care professionals and surrogates embody a giving, self-sacrificial spirit. And humbled as they are, they’ll just tell you they’re here for the ride.

Infertility Support At Work Requires More Than Money

Judith Hoechst — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 18:01:56 +0000

Battling infertility can be an emotional experience.

GETTY

About one in seven couples will experience infertility issues. Despite the large number of employees potentially impacted, managers are often at a loss when figuring out how to best support their employees. Infertility and miscarriage remain taboo topics, particularly at work, and employees often go without the support they need.

Providing money is often the go-to for organizations that want to support infertile couples. Undergoing fertility treatment to become a parent can be a huge financial commitment, and more than half of larger companies currently provide some sort of financial coverage. For example, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google cover at least some of the expenses associated with in vitro fertilization (IVF), a common route for many experiencing infertility. While financial help is often needed, it isn’t the only support that infertile couples need from their employers.

Dr. Amy Beckley is the CEO of Proov, a company she founded after her own three years battling infertility and seven miscarriages. The Proov product helps women track their hormones which can aid in fertility. Beckley believes that employers need to do more to support their employees experiencing infertility. “You can’t just throw money at the problem and fix it,” she says. Instead, she believes employees need support, flexibility and education. And most employees aren’t getting what they need. Only a small portion of infertile couples (29%) felt supported by their employer, according to a new study of infertile couples.

I was the first IVF baby born in America, and here’s why it must be affordable

Judith Hoechst — Sun, 06 Mar 2022 21:08:35 +0000

Feb 26

The cost of reproductive medical treatments, and specifically lack of insurance coverage for infertility medical treatments, is a major barrier to family building.

Forty years ago, I was born the first in-vitro baby in the United States, thanks to the foresight of Drs. Howard and Georgeanna Jones at the Jones Institute in Norfolk, Virginia, who brought the then-groundbreaking procedure to this country.