Infertility

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A 29-year-old gravida 10, para 3 (1 term gestation, 1 preterm gestation of twins, 1 stillbirth at 5 months, 2 spontaneous abortions, and 4 elective abortions) presented to the clinic at about 5 weeks’ gestation with abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding. She described the pain as sporadic, mostly on the left side, exacerbated by movement, and resolving with rest, and the bleeding as initially intermittent but then heavier “like a period.”

Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome affects at least 1 in 4500 female births.1 The syndrome consists of vaginal aplasia with other müllerian duct abnormalities. The characteristic feature of MRKH syndrome is congenital absence or underdevelopment of the upper vagina and uterus; it is rarely associated with unilateral renal agenesis, ectopia, or horseshoe kidney.

After peaking at 4,316,233 births in 2007, the birth rate in the United States fell 4 percent by 2009, and a provisional count in 2010 indicates the number is continuing to decline, according to a March data brief released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.

One in 8 women and men are diagnosed with infertility. In honor of National Infertility Awareness Week, RESOLVE is busting myths and misconceptions about infertility. Click through the slideshow to learn more about these misconceptions and share some myths you've heard in our comments section.

Higher serum polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentration levels that are within the normal range for women in the general U.S. population are associated with failed implantation in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to a study published online Feb. 24 in Environmental Health Perspectives.

The 2009 H1N1 pandemic caused anxiety and concern, especially for pregnant women and their physicians. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recognized this special patient population and the increased risk for serious problems and negative outcomes-both for the women and their unborn babies. As such, the CDC advised doctors to provide antiviral medicines to those with symptoms of the flu and vaccines to those pregnant women who were eligible. They further partnered with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecology, the American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Family Physicians to educate clinicians and urge their participation in the 2009 H1N1 vaccination programs.

Is there a way to predict which patients will have the best outcomes following an assisted reproductive intervention? Dr William Gibbons, director of the Family Fertility Program at Texas Children’s Hospital and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine, and colleagues examined birth weight and gestational age of singleton pregnancies from in vitro fertilization, donor egg, and gestational carrier cycles to determine which factors most influence outcomes.

I was recently asked by WebMD to comment on a newly published study that highlights a possible link between epilepsy, its treatment, and infertility, but a finding in the study has broader implications for all patients trying to conceive. First, a little about the study, and afterwards I will show how it applies to everyone trying to build a family.

MONDAY, Jan. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Women with occupational exposure to phthalates or pesticides appear to have a higher risk of adverse fertility and pregnancy outcomes, including prolonged time to pregnancy (TTP) and lower birth weight, according to a study published online Dec. 20 in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.