A study in the journal Fertility and Sterility has found that children born from assisted reproduction are as healthy and well-educated as their naturally conceived peers. Lead researcher Jane Halliday, of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia, wrote about her work in The Conversation. She said that: “most IVF offspring have grown into healthy young adults with a quality of life and educational achievement comparable to those of non-IVF conceived peers.”
Questions hover over the long-term safety of IVF because of the great differences in the early environment. Hormonal stimulation, fertilisation outside the body and living in a Petri dish for a couple days are not the way that most people begin life.
IVF children clearly have an increased risk of preterm birth and lower birth weight compared to other children. They are also more susceptible to some birth defects. However, little research has been done on the effect of IVF upon the health of older children. Dr Halliday and her colleagues studied the health of young adults aged 18 to 28, and reached generally positive conclusions. The only caveat was that
“We did find that IVF children had a slightly higher chance of asthma and other respiratory allergies, such as hay fever, which are common conditions in the whole community. But the difference was small with 30% for IVF children and 23% for others.”
There were some limitations to the research. First of all, the good news was self-reported by mothers and children and was not based upon medical examinations. In fact, the information was gathered over the phone. There may have been a degree of selection bias, as a high percentage of couples fail to tell their children that they were conceived through IVF. Mothers were excluded if their child had died (which is the ultimate confirmation of bad health). And only singletons were studied, but much of the ill-health for IVF babies is linked to multiple births.
What the study may show is that if women have singleton IVF babies, it is unlikely that they will be less healthy as young adults. But the question of whether they have a lower life expectancy due to health problems in middle age remains unanswered.
Nice reading. The typical IVF timeline from start to finish can take anywhere from four to six weeks — from the first day of IVF treatment to the transfer of embryos and final pregnancy test. Before beginning an IVF cycle, your fertility specialist should discuss a timeline with you, which may need to be updated throughout the process depending on how your body responds to fertility medications and procedures. While fertility clinics and specialists have general guidelines on how quickly or slowly the process should move, don’t be discouraged if your particular case requires additional time. This all is done to make sure your chances are the highest with this very shot. So it's worthy to be patient!
ReplyDeleteI did some research previously. It's critically important to get enough folic acid. Folic acid helps prevent neural tube defects – serious birth defects of the spinal cord and the brain. It affects about 3,000 pregnancies a year in the US. Neural tube defects occur at a very early stage of development, before many women even know they're pregnant – which is why it's important to begin taking folic acid before you start trying to conceive.Some research suggests that folic acid may help lower your baby's risk of other defects as well, such as cleft lip, cleft palate, and certain types of heart defects. It may also reduce your risk of preeclampsia, a serious blood pressure disorder that affects about 5 percent of pregnant women. Your body needs this nutrient to make normal red blood cells and prevent a type of anemia. It's also essential for the production, repair, and functioning of DNA, our genetic map and a basic building block of cells. Getting enough folic acid is particularly important for the rapid cell growth of the placenta and a developing baby.
DeleteI like the idea of screening process during which potential surrogates undergo thorough medical and psychological screenings to make sure they are good candidates for this process. If both intended parents are going to be the biological parents to the child, providing egg and sperm, they will need to be screened as well. (These usually are screenings for infectious diseases, sexually transmitted diseases, and other medical exams and blood work.) When the factor in the cost for the medical workup, legal fees, and fertility treatments, surrogacy can get pretty expensive. But in Ukraine it IS 50% reduced comparing with the US. It's important to make sure you work with a fertility clinic you trust. Success rates is the thing to watch at first.
Good reading.
ReplyDelete7 years of trying, 6 failed IUIs, and an IVF cycle that was called off, to finally have 1 single additional test done that could have told us 7 years ago that it wasn’t going to happen. I was so mad at the universe and everyone around me. I couldn’t hear anything about other people having babies. It was more than I could handle. I played it off that I didn’t like children, just so that no one would ask me why we weren’t having kids. My husband was afraid to talk to me about any of our friends having kids, because he never knew how badly I would take it. Sometimes I wish they had done that ONE test from the get go and we could have just moved forward vs being in the ‘spin cycle’ for 7 long years. But then looking back maybe it was almost better that it gave me time to start to process. Even once we had confirmed that DE surrogacy was our only path I still needed time. We took a couple years off. We diid some traveling to really see if something really did seem like it was missing. Ultimately for me the answer was
YES. Even then it took sometime to get it straight in my mind. I’m sure no matter what you want this family and that you are ok with it, any hesitance will only make the process that much harder. Also you should know if you want to be open about the process or you will be open with your child about how hard you worked to have them. I have found that this subject is a tough one to talk to people about. It isn’t widely accepted for everyone. Just like IVF15 years ago was still only whispered about DE surrogacy is there now. But it’s making progress by people being open and talking about it. Just like this valuable post. Another side of the question is that surrogacy cost in US 50k vs package of 29k in Ukraine sounds really great!
To be fair, there are other clinics in Ukraine that are great as well, and you will find similar plans there. The reason we chose biotex is because we independently read a lot of great reviews online. There isn’t as much info in the US forums as there are in European forums, as Ukraine is only a two or three hour flight for most, and since they are in different languages, we had to use Google Translate to gather the intel on some the forums. Here's a super blog to read for those planning to undergo surrogacy asiu.us.
DeleteI did some kind of research some time ago. Just thought it might be useful to know. Sharing ~
ReplyDeleteCommon Questions and Answers
Is spotting normal after embryo transfer?
If you start to have vaginal spotting or light bleeding, don't panic. It is possible to be pregnant and spot as well. Some women are more prone to bleeding. The bleeding may be cause by the embryo embedding into the endometrium ( the so called „implantation bleed“ ). Rest as much as you can and in case you have any concerns call your local clinic.
Does it mean I'm pregnant if I have symptoms of pregnancy?
Some of the early physical signs of pregnancy such as breast tenderness, bloating, tiredness and nauzea can also be caused by the drugs you are taking, such as progesterone. Symptoms of pregnancy can come and go in some women. You may feel very pregnant one day and feel nothing the next day.
Am I allowed to swim and exercise post transfer?
It is better to take it easy and avoid exercise as some types of exercise can elevate your body temperature and pulse rate excessively. Gentle walking is fine.
You should also avoid swimming after embryo transfer as it is best to avoid the chemicals in the water. The same applies to baths, saunas and jacuzzis. Excessive heat may damage the embryos and the moisture and warmth may icrease the risk of infection.
Is it OK to drink coffee and have an occasional glass of wine?
It is better to avoid drinking coffee on a regular basis due to the caffeine content. You can still enjoy a mug of coffee every now and then, even when pregnant. Just make sure that you don't have more than 200mg of caffeine in a day. That's two mugs of instant coffee or one mug of brewed coffee. Remember to also count teas (including green tea), coca cola, energy drinks and chocolate. Drinking more than 200mg of caffeine a day when pregnant increases a risk of miscarriage.
No alcohol should be consumed after embryo transfer.
Should I avoid sexual intercourse?
It is recommended to avoid sexual intercourse until you get your pregnancy test result.
Will using a home pregnancy test be accurate?
The most accurate test is the blood test. It provides accurate information about the level of HCG in your blood so it is more effective. Research has shown that home (urine) pregnancy tests do not always spot pregnancy early.
It's just a miracle! With all its pros and cons. I do believe one day it will work for us. Though I understand why people won't talk when they are going through this process. I think it is fantastic that they talk about it at all! It is so painful to discuss when it has failed, but I think it may actually be more beneficial because so many people share that experience. I am very cynical about the scientists' statements like infertility will be treatable for all within a decade as that also risk holding out false hope women believe. God is the one who decides over this creation. Just promises over fertility don't help people now. They are struggling, they're seeking constantly for a high qualified fertility expert/clinic which will do their best help them. And they do understand it doesn't happen with a finger snap. I also believe, surrogacy relationships can take many forms. Some parents and surrogates become lifelong friends and even plan joint family vacations years after their journeys are over. Others stay in frequent communication during the process but seek a relationship that is less tight-knit after the birth. Of course either is fine. Parents and surrogates enjoy a variety of types of relationship after the process ends.The specific nature of the relationship is up to everyone’s comfort level. I guess the more you share about your matching preferences during application and consultation phases, the easier it is to match with a good fit. Just like this one!
ReplyDeleteMultiple embryo transfer is done to increase success rate in severe cases of infertility. Often parents also opt for it in hope of reducing the cost of the procedure. Multiple pregnancies are documented to be a major cause of developmental disorders in the offspring. Also ICSI is an IVF procedure. It is recommended for severe form of male infertility or after traditional IVF failures. In this type of IVF a single sperm is extracted (surgically or from ejaculation sample) and is injected directly into an egg which can cause some damage if preformed unprofessionally. On the other points IVF babies proved to be as healthy as naturally conceived ones. We are among those who used IVF shots at BTC to conceive a little one. I gave birth to an absolutely healthy strong DS. I personally don't see any barrier for everyone who needs to apply for IVF fertility help.
ReplyDeleteI've heard all these concerns quite often. Moreover, this was the first question my dh's parents asked when we were just in search for. I was a bit reluctunt to answer at once. So did a huge research on the IVF procedure. On its risks and benefits. And the more I read the more I got to know IVF kids are just like naturally conceived. I believe there's nothing to worry about unless there are any specific issues.
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