Aurora magazine

Bliss and Ashleigh Coulter are an American couple living in North Texas. Five months ago they gave birth to the little Stetson, who spent the gestation in the womb before Bliss and then Ashleigh. This means that both women have carried on the same pregnancy, thanks to a type of in vitro fertilization called Reciprocal Effortless Ivf.

Reciprocal Effortless Ivf combines embryo transfer with Effortless Ivf, in which the woman acts as a natural incubator. The combination of the two procedures is less simple than it seems and has a low success rate. Nevertheless, the two women managed to complete the pregnancy.

Bliss, 37, has undergone hormonal stimulation. The doctors took the eggs and inserted them together with the sperm into a device called InvoCell. Then they inserted the capsule into the woman's vagina, at the level of the cervix. In the traditional IVF all this takes place in the laboratory, with higher costs. The warm and favorable environment of the body of Bliss has favored the development of the blastociti, remained inside of her for 5 days.

Later, the doctors froze the blastocysts and waited for the Ashleigh uterus to be ready to receive them. After a few days they made the plant, which was completely successful. The pregnancy went well and the baby was born on terms, perfectly healthy.

The case is unique, at least for the moment. Usually the woman who brings InvoCell is also the one who carries out the pregnancy: it is the first time that the practice is accompanied by embryo transfer.

Source: wired.it

The number of pregnancies and the age they have had influence the risk of breast cancer. Several researches have tried it, even if there are no precise explanations about it. A study on Norwegian and Danish women could clarify some points in this regard. According to the study, multiple pregnancies of 33-34 weeks reduce the risk of breast cancer.

Mads Melbye's team at the Statens Serum Institute analyzed data from 2.3 million Danish women and 1.6 million Norwegian women. Researchers looked for the long-term effects of pregnancies by monitoring breast cancer cases that occurred at least 10 years after delivery. They found a link between the risk of breast cancer and the duration of pregnancy.

In women who had a gestation of 33 weeks or less, the risk of cancer was 2.4% lower. In those with a gestation of 34 weeks and more, the risk was 163.6% lower. The risk dropped by 16.9% in those who had arrived beyond the 34th week of the second gestation. Indeed, it fell by 37.7% in women to the third pregnancy. It seems therefore that carrying out many pregnancies considerably reduces the chances of getting sick.

After the 34th week of gestation there seems to be no further benefit. Likewise, there is no evidence for or against breastfeeding. In addition, study leader Melbye points out that data also takes socio-economic factors into account. Despite these, it seems clear that the number of pregnancies carried over the 34th week significantly influences the risk of cancer.

The discovery could help to better understand the hormonal and cellular changes that occur in the last week of gestation.

Source: newscientist.com

Only 10-15% of the parts require the use of a caesarean section. Yet, a study by Aga Khan University shows how the caesarean sections in the world have doubled since 2000. A worrying trend, given that the procedure involves a number of risks for both the mother and the child. If there are no alternatives, these risks are acceptable. But when mother and child have no problems, there is no reason to subject them to what remains a surgical procedure.

Dr. Marleen Temmerman, the lead author of the study, is worried. Between 2000 and 2015, the number of caesarean sections grew by 4%, or 30 million new births compared to 16 million in 2000. The increase in caesarean sections is concentrated in the richest countries, usually for non-medical purposes . At the top of the ranking is South-Asia, where the use of the procedure has increased by 6%. However, Western countries are not less.

Caesarean sections are widespread especially in the United States, Canada, Europe and Latin America. In North America alone, the rate of caesarean sections rose from 24% in 2000 to 32% in 2015. Even nations such as Mexico and Cuba touched a rate of 40% of caesarean sections.

Caesarean delivery should only be used in case of medical emergencies such as unexplained bleeding, high blood pressure, a child in an abnormal position. Instead, in the last few years cesarean is used to reduce the uncertain timing of childbirth and to avoid pains. This also explains why the increase is concentrated above all in first world countries, where the procedure is available and accessible to everyone.

If 6 out of 10 nations practice too many Caesarean sections, 1 in 4 will practice too few. The scarce accessibility of the procedure puts many lives of mothers and children at risk. For this reason, caesareans should be made more available in some countries and risk awareness in others.

Source: medicalxpress.com

Tartu scientists have discovered how to improve the quality of assisted reproduction treatments. The results of the study, which appeared in the journal Human Reproduction, promise to optimize the procedures. Doctors will be able to use them in precision medicine to take account of the variables in the menstrual cycle of female patients. The personalized approach will be of help especially for the many couples who have tried without success with in vitro fertilization.

In 2017, over 2800 IVF procedures were performed in Estonia. Only 15% of these were successful, leading to the birth of 430 children in total. Why do the numbers remain so low? There may be problems along all stages of treatment, but the most critical moment is the implantation of the embryo. Transferring the embryo at the wrong time, when the conditions are not optimal, decrees the failure of the whole procedure.

In natural conception, the embryo can be formed at an unfavorable time and implanted when the endometrium is ready. It is one of the reasons why it is sometimes possible to get pregnant during bleeding. In vitro fertilization, on the other hand, it is necessary to identify the best day to transfer the embryo. Only in this way is it possible to increase the probability of success of the procedure. Doctors have devised several methods to measure endometrial receptivity as accurately as possible.

The study in question starts from a well-known fact: the internal lining of the uterus is made up of different types of cells. Previous studies had never considered the effect of the proportion between these cell types. In this case, however, the researchers looked for the link between this data and the profiles of the endometrial genetic expression. This allowed them to make genetic analysis more precise, improving tests based on gene expression in endometrial cells.

Source: etag.ee