Infertility

"Should all women freeze their eggs?" This question was posed by Marcelle Cedars, MD, during a Tuesday afternoon session at ACOG's 61st annual clinical meeting. In a session offering late-breaking news from SGO, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), the American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS), and the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (SREI), Dr. Cedars pointed out that as of October 2012, ASRM no longer considers egg freezing experimental.

The Contraceptive CHOICE Project, a research study at Washington University in St. Louis, found that offering long-acting, reversible contraception (LARC) to women first, citing its low-failure rates, reduced rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion and increased continuation rates.

Uterine artery embolization for fibroids results in a tremendous reduction in menorrhagia. But while complication rates are low, up to 15% of patients are readmitted for indications like pain, bleeding and infection.

In October 2012, the American Society of Reproductive Medicine announced it no longer considers oocyte freezing experimental. This raises complex questions about how to counsel patients who wish to preserve eggs for social indications.

This young lady has abdominal pain and chest discomfort.She was undergoing treatment for infertility.What is your diagnosis?

In patients with an American Fertility Society class V or class VI septate uterus, hysteroscopic metroplasty is associated with a significant improvement in reproductive performance.

This patient presented with 18 months of secondary infertility following a second trimester dilation and extraction.

The use of a postoperative levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine device reduces the recurrence of painful periods in women with endometriosis.

Women with endometriosis who undergo surgery to treat the condition are less likely to have ovarian cancer develop later in life.

Recombinant pigment epithelium-derived factor (rPEDF) proposed as a novel physiological treatment for ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS).

For the long protocol of down regulation in in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles, are depot and daily gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa) equally effective?

Hysteroscopic removal of polyps in women with unexplained infertility may increase their chances of becoming pregnant, concludes an intervention review conducted by the Cochrane Menstrual Disorders and Subfertility Group.

Immediate start of hormonal contraception may reduce unintended pregnancies and increase method continuation, but the evidence is limited, according to the findings of an intervention review conducted by the Cochrane Fertility Regulation Group.

A registry-based study by researchers at UC San Francisco (UCSF) has shown an association between BRCA1/2 mutations and early menopause. The findings, published in Cancer, suggest that women who carry the genetic defect may be at risk of earlier infertility.

New drugs, new research, new guidelines… there’s a lot for ob/gyns to look forward to in the coming year. Here, the leaders of seven ob/gyn societies share the most interesting, important, exciting things on their radar for 2013.

From ASRM’s removal of the ‘experimental’ label from the procedure of oocyte cryopreservation, to discoveries into the complex genetic processes involved in ovarian cancer, 2012 was another important year in ob/gyn research. Here, the leaders of seven major ob/gyn societies reflect on the most exciting research of the last year.

Women should wait 12 to 18 months after weight-loss surgery before trying to become pregnant, according to an evidence-based literature review.

A study published online by the British Medical Journal has shown that women who undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF) are at increased risk of pulmonary embolism (PE) and venous thromboembolism (VTE) during the first trimester.

For women undergoing fertility treatments, the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors use may decrease pregnancy rates and increase miscarriage rates.

The available evidence that selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) can reduce the size of fibroids or improve clinical symptoms is inconsistent, according to the results of an updated intervention review conducted by the Cochrane Menstrual Disorders and Subfertility Group.

The controversial practice of prophylactic chemotherapy to prevent gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) in women with hydatidiform mole, or molar pregnancy, is not recommended, according to the results of a recent intervention review.

A Phase II trial is underway for Tefina, a testosterone-based treatment for female sexual dysfunction.

Preoperative measurement of intra-abdominal visceral fat, and the ratio of intra-abdominal visceral fat to subcutaneous fat, may help predict women at greater risk for difficulties during robotic surgery.

With AAGL 2012 right around the corner, we’re looking back at some of the most popular articles to come out previous AAGL meetings.

Some say ob/gyns should bring up family planning at every annual visit, and proactively counsel women about their future fertility. Do you have enough information to do so?

Frozen eggs are comparable to fresh eggs for IVF cycles according to a new ASRM report.

A study published online by the Journal of Advanced Nursing found that 87% of women seeking infertility treatment could not correctly identify which days of their menstrual cycle they were fertile, even though 68% said they had accurately timed intercourse in order to conceive.

New findings offer women with large uterine fibroids a nonsurgical treatment choice that can replace hysterectomy.

The success rates of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are improved when the embryo culture occurs under conditions that provide low oxygen concentrations, show the findings of a new systematic review and meta-analysis.

Anti-mullerian hormone testing is the most recent and reliable ovarian reserve test, and it can be used to help women make decisions about family planning early.