Editor’s Choice Main Category: Cancer / Oncology Also Included In: Fertility;Public Health Article Date: 16 May 2012 – 10:00 PDT

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In recent decades, the incidence of many human diseases and disorders including diabetes, breast and prostate cancer, and male infertility has increased significantly and many scientists believe this is due to increasing levels of exposure to mixtures of some chemicals in widespread use.

The report also highlights that EDCs negatively effect early development of the brain, immune, reproduction and metabolic systems. These affects are often unnoticeable until several years or decades after exposure.

Jacqueline McGlade, EEA Executive Director explained:

Even though there is sufficient evidence of harm from EDCs in some wildlife species and in laboratory studies using rodent models for human health, it is difficult to demonstrate the effects of EDCs on humans due to the length, cost and methodological challenges with these types of studies.

Furthermore, it is difficult to assess the risk factors of EDCs as mixtures of similarly acting EDCs in combination may contribute to an overall effect, whilst each of these chemicals alone may not cause harm – thus making it difficult for researchers to detect what levels of exposure cause no effects.

Both humans and animals may be exposed to EDCs in the environment, or through water or via the food chain. According to the report there is strong evidence that exposure to EDCs causes thyroid, reproductive, neurological, and immune problems in animals. These disorders and diseases have also been seen increasing in human populations.

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Rising Infertility And Cancer Rates Possibly Linked To Pharmaceuticals And Household Chemicals

May 17, 2012 4:00pm

Four rounds of in vitro fertilization couldnt help Sara Conyers conceive, according to the U.K.s Daily Mail.

But thefifth time was the charm for Conyers, 33, who now has twins. Conyers says the only way she could get pregnant was with the help of an experimental fertility method called intralipid infusion, Conyers, who lives in the U.K., told The Daily Mail.

The procedure, more commonly used in the U.K. than in the U.S., is usedto supplement another fertility treatment ,such as in vitro fertilization. The woman is intravenously given a fat solution consisting partly of soybean oil and egg yolk.

Some experts who tout its success say it can prevent miscarriage by limiting activity of overactive so-called natural killer immune cells found in the body that would otherwise destroy the embryo.

But many fertility experts in the U.S. are not so sure about its effectiveness, since there are no definitive studies to suggest that the method works or is even safe.

Before I can endorse this theoretical therapy for my patients, I need at least some evidence, said Dr. Michael Murray, director of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Northern California Fertility Medical Center.

This procedure is one of many that some of Murrays patientsask him about,who are grasping at straws for a solution to their recurrent miscarriages, he says.

And some experts agreed, comparing the fertility-boosting procedure to others that are seemingly inexpensive with unknown risks for side effects, such as herbal supplements.

Previous studies done on animals or in lab dishes have found conflicting results about whether intralipid infusion works. Studies are also conflicted about the role that natural killer cells play in fertility.

See more here:
Egg Yolk Drip to Treat Infertility?

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The main take home fact is that simply having suffered from infertility will increase a couple’s risk for birth defects regardless of the treatment and this may be true even for children conceived later without the help of assisted reproduction.

See abstract of the article below:

Reproductive Technologies and the Risk of Birth Defects

Michael J. Davies, M.P.H., Ph.D., Vivienne M. Moore, M.P.H., Ph.D., Kristyn J. Willson, B.Sc., Phillipa Van Essen, M.P.H., Kevin Priest, B.Sc., Heather Scott, B.Mgmt., Eric A. Haan, M.B., B.S., and Annabelle Chan, M.B., B.S, D.P.H.

N Engl J Med 2012; 366:1803-1813May 10, 2012

Background

The extent to which birth defects after infertility treatment may be explained by underlying parental factors is uncertain.

Methods

We linked a census of treatment with assisted reproductive technology in South Australia to a registry of births and terminations with a gestation period of at least 20 weeks or a birth weight of at least 400 g and registries of birth defects (including cerebral palsy and terminations for defects at any gestational period). We compared risks of birth defects (diagnosed before a child’s fifth birthday) among pregnancies in women who received treatment with assisted reproductive technology, spontaneous pregnancies (i.e., without assisted conception) in women who had a previous birth with assisted conception, pregnancies in women with a record of infertility but no treatment with assisted reproductive technology, and pregnancies in women with no record of infertility.

Results

Of the 308,974 births, 6163 resulted from assisted conception. The unadjusted odds ratio for any birth defect in pregnancies involving assisted conception (513 defects, 8.3%) as compared with pregnancies not involving assisted conception (17,546 defects, 5.8%) was 1.47 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.33 to 1.62); the multivariate-adjusted odds ratio was 1.28 (95% CI, 1.16 to 1.41). The corresponding odds ratios with in vitro fertilization (IVF) (165 birth defects, 7.2%) were 1.26 (95% CI, 1.07 to 1.48) and 1.07 (95% CI, 0.90 to 1.26), and the odds ratios with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) (139 defects, 9.9%) were 1.77 (95% CI, 1.47 to 2.12) and 1.57 (95% CI, 1.30 to 1.90). A history of infertility, either with or without assisted conception, was also significantly associated with birth defects.

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Joe Cassar and Giovanna Debono have repackaged natural family planning into a ‘science’ that does not offend any religious faith.

Matthew Vella

It is tagged as “an emerging science” because it tackles women’s infertility problems by treating gynaecological health problems. But in reality, naprotechnology is simple, natural family planning being repackaged as a ‘science’ that is morally acceptable to people of allfaiths.

News that naprotechnology – ‘discovered’ at the Pope Paul VI institute in Nebraska, USA – has been introduced at the Gozo hospital was welcomed by the Gozo diocese. And the health ministry’s official statement took note, welcoming “with pleasure the positive reaction of the Gozo diocese.”

On the sister island, IVF is taken seriously by Gozo bishop Mario Grech, who through his well publicised sermons often calls on legislators to hold themselves accountable to their consciences.

But there is trepidation over how government regulation will affect or limit the so-far-unregulated sector of in vitro fertilisation in Malta, and what chances, if any, will exist to freeze additional embryos created during hyper-stimulation of the ova.

The health ministry is keen to point out that naprotechnology is not IVF, describing it as “a completely natural” system to tackle infertility “without resorting to artificial methods”.

But is this even ‘science’? Prof. Pierre Mallia, the ethics advisor to the Medical Council, says naprotechnology is nothing new.

“It’s nothing new really, but simply an extension of what before we used to call ‘natural procreation’ – or natural family planning, which can be used both to have babies or to prevent pregnancies. It was ‘invented’ (not really true – other than the name) by an American physician who pioneered it and in fact offered it as a Catholic alternative to IVF; this gave him a direct club class passage to be a permanent member of the Pontifical Academy for Life.”

Thomas W. Hilgers is the director of the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction and the National Center for Women’s Health in Omaha, Nebraska. He was appointed to permanent membership to the Pontifical Academy for Life after his ‘discovery’ of naprotechnology, which distinguishes itself by monitoring the biomarkers of the mucus patterns during the course of the menstrual and fertility cycle.

Originally posted here:
Cassar, Debono placate Gozitan opinion with Catholic ‘infertility science’

By CHARLES WILSON Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – An Indiana diocese asked a federal court on Monday to reject a lawsuit by a former parochial school teacher who claims she was fired for violating Roman Catholic doctrine by using in vitro fertilization to try to get pregnant.

The Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend and St. Vincent de Paul school in Fort Wayne argued in court documents that Emily Herx’s lawsuit should be barred by a federal law that prevents religious workers from suing their employers for job discrimination. That so-called “ministerial exception” law was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in January.

Further, diocese attorneys say any court review of church teachings or employment practices would violate the constitutional separation of church and state and guarantees of religious freedom.

The Roman Catholic Church shuns in vitro fertilization, or IVF, which involves mixing egg and sperm in a laboratory dish and transferring a resulting embryo into the womb.

Herx, 31, of Hoagland, Ind., sued the diocese last month, saying she was fired last June despite exemplary performance reviews in her eight years as a language arts teacher. She said that the church pastor told her she was a “grave, immoral sinner” and that a scandal would erupt if anyone learned she had undergone IVF.

The diocese denies that the pastor used such a phrase. It also says that Herx wasn’t fired but that the diocese simply chose not to renew her teaching contract. The diocese says it was within its rights because teachers are required by their contracts to abide by Catholic tenets.

Herx’s lawsuit alleged the diocese violated the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act by discriminating against Herx based on gender and on infertility, which is considered a disability. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission upheld Herx’s complaint in January and gave her the go-ahead to file a lawsuit.

Herx’s attorney, Kathleen Delaney, and a spokesman for the diocese had no immediate comment.

Delaney said last month that the ministerial exception didn’t apply to Herx because she wasn’t ordained and didn’t teach religion. The Supreme Court ruling didn’t define who was or wasn’t a religious employee.

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Hometownstations.com-WLIO- Lima, OH News Weather SportsInd. diocese denies discrimination over IVF

Medications used to treat male baldness or an enlarged prostate that contain the active ingredient finasteride have been linked to sexual dysfunction and infertility, according to a notice about changes to the drugs’ labels from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The changes to the labels of the male hair loss drug Propecia and the prostate drug Proscar were announced in April (http://tinyurl.com/6qp8nnb). In 2011, the drug labels had been updated to note the possibility that users may experience erectile dysfunction even after they stop taking these drugs. However, the new labeling indicates that a number of other sexual adverse events may also be associated with use of these medications.

The new labels will indicate that both Propecia and Proscar have been associated with male infertility and poor semen quality that improved after discontinuation of the medications. In addition, men who take Proscar may experience reduced libido during and

Read this article:
Prostate, Baldness Drugs Linked to Sexual Dysfunction [Medical News & Perspectives]

Study Finds Certain Kinds of Assisted Reproduction Are Linked to Higher Rates of Birth Defects

By Brenda Goodman, MA WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD

May 5, 2012 — Babies born after the use of certain infertility treatments have a higher risk of birth defects than babies born to couples with no history of infertility, a large new study shows.

But experts say it’s still not clear whether fertility treatments or the underlying medical problems that cause infertility are behind the increased risk.

The study also found that couples who eventually conceived naturally after a least a year of trying, a group doctors call “subfertile,” had a risk of having a baby with a birth defect that was about 40% higher than couples with no fertility problems. The risk seen in subfertile couples was also nearly equal to the risk seen in couples who used any assisted reproductive technology (ART) to conceive.

Still, one expert puts the risk into perspective, saying while the overall risk for birth defects due to assisted reproduction may be higher, the real risk is still just somewhat higher than that for a couple having a baby through unassisted conception. Another doctor even called the research “reassuring.”

ART includes procedures like in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

“People who receive ART are having fertility problems, and that does raise the risk of malformations in the infant by itself, because people are having trouble, and there could be some genetic or hormonal reason they would have an increased risk,” says Alfred A. Rimm, PhD, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics in the School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

Rimm studies the risk of birth defects associated with ART, but he was not involved in the current research.

Continue reading here:
Infertility Treatments May Raise Birth Defect Risk

America has been marking National Infertility Awareness Week, with more than two million US couples suffering this plight, but few able to afford the $15k a cycle needed for IVF treatment.

National infertility charity Resolve has termed this financially infertile, but says the answer may lie with a Cambridge company, Cambridge Temperature Concepts and DuoFertility, already much in the press here.

DuoFertility, which is non-invasive and uses body temperature as the key to success, has just been approved by the US authorities for medical use and at 795 for a full year, it will obviously be putting the pressure on IVF providers.

Whats more, the DuoFertility success rate after six months of use is very much the same as that from a cycle of IVF.

The rest is here:
DuoFertility may be set for Stateside success

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyw2kz53q68

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Dr. Moshe Peress, Boca Fertility on WPTV News Speaking About Egg Donation – Video

I didn’t always want children. I know that’s not the typical confession from someone who has dealt with infertility, but I married young, and resisted and resented the almost immediate pressure I felt to have children. I was in a new exciting world where women had a choice. I was insulted by the inference that my biology would decide my place in the world, not my own thoughts, decisions, and talents. My husband was a little more traditional, but he also knew who he had married and that I could only have children when I was ready. I spent many years brushing off unwanted questions about when we were going to conceive, building up a persona of the career woman who wasn’t interested in having children.

It wasn’t just about the career, though.

I thought it was important to have children when I was ready, and not before. I wanted to be a mother who was fully present for her children, not resentful of her stolen youth. I also wanted to feel the maternal urge. So I waited. At times I wasn’t sure it was going to arrive, but it ambled up to me in my mid-30s. By the time I first conceived, I was in its full grip. Whether it was simply biology (hormones and that ticking clock), my own natural wishes at the right time, or peer pressure … I don’t know and will never know.

But I do know I genuinely wanted to be a mother.

Of course, as is obvious now, it is not that easy. A long story short: after two ectopic pregnancies and later, two failed IVFs, I knew I would never have children. I got the news on my 41st birthday. I’ve had better birthdays.

Coming to terms with the news was not easy. In retrospect, I realize that the persona I built up in the early years of my marriage — that I didn’t want children — protected me as I dealt with the realisation that I would never be a mother. But still, it was hard. At first, the truth of my situation hit more and more deeply. Each time I thought “when I have a baby” or “my children will …” the pain hit anew.

I wouldn’t be having a baby. My children would never … And this got worse before it got better, like punching a bruise that is already tender. But it did get better. Gradually I realized that punching the bruise was pointless. My brain trained itself not to think about the babies I didn’t have, would never have. My brain stopped me thinking of myself as a mother.

This took time. But the good minutes, then hours, then days, then weeks, came more frequently. At times I fought against it, feeling guilty that — on the good days — I was not grieving enough. I wondered, if I didn’t continue to grieve and mourn the life I thought I would have, then maybe that meant I didn’t really ever want it … or if it meant I was upset simply because I didn’t get what I thought I wanted. I wondered if my pain was fake. I wondered if I didn’t really have permission to feel pain … if, in fact, I deserved what had happened.

Now I look back and know my grief and pain was legitimate, but the recovery process itself made me feel guilty.

Back in the early days, immediately after my ectopic losses, I felt the power of joy, even with something as simple as a joke on a sit-com, or the warmth of the sun on my back, a favourite song, or sitting looking out at the sea and a blue sky. Grasping joy as it came, even when it was fleeting, was what healed me.

Original post:
Linda Rooney: Infertility: Was I Grieving Enough?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiqPVy3W9P4

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Infertility in men-Doctor Live April 23,Part 2 – Video

Giuliana Rancic, the bubbly E! host whose struggles with infertility, miscarriage and, most recently, breast cancer, have played out publicly thanks to the Style network reality show that chronicles her marriage, will welcome a child later this summer via a gestational carrier, she announced on the “Today” show Monday morning.

“To finally get that call from the doctor that you’re pregnant and you’re having a baby …,” Rancic says. “It was just another world.”

The baby has the couple’s DNA but will be carried to term by the surrogate, who lives out of state but whom Rancic and husband Bill have been accompanying to doctor’s visits, she says. “She’s a dream come true,” Rancic says of her “baby mama.”

Rancic, who suffered a miscarriage in 2010, discovered she had breast cancer last year only after undergoing a mammogram suggested by her fertility doctor. That diagnosis led to a lumpectomy and later a double mastectomy.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Giuliana and Bill Rancic to welcome baby via surrogate

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvnJHQwGWGw

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Infertility in men-Doctor Live April 23,Part 1. – Video

Giuliana Rancic appeared on the Today show last fall to tell the world she had cancer.

To reach Lisa Gutierrez, call 816-234-4987 or email lgutierrez@kcstar.com.

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TV’s Giuliana Rancic opens up about her cancer, infertility

In a 1932 painting called “Henry Ford Hospital,” Mexican artist Frida Kahlo offers a self-portrait of herself bleeding on a hospital bed, grieving after a miscarriage.

Surrounding her image are pictures of an unborn fetus, a pelvic bone, a female abdomen and three other images that symbolize her pain, confusion and intense desire to understand why her body could not carry a baby to term.

A new study offers an explanation for at least some of Kahlo’s many health woes. She may have had Asherman’s syndrome — scarring in the uterus that can cause infertility and repeated miscarriages, according to the new theory. Her fertility struggles had a profound influence on her artwork.

“A very common theme in her work was fertility, fertility, fertility,” said Fernando Antelo, a surgical pathologist at the Harbor UCLA Medical Center. “In one painting, she draws pelvic bones. In another, a uterus is directly drawn. Another is showing the fetus. She’s telling us what she’s thinking about, but she never put her finger on what exactly was wrong.”

PHOTOS: The Face of Da Vinci: An Enduring Mystery

In September of 1925, Kahlo was riding in a Mexican bus that collided with a trolley car, sending a metal handrail into her abdomen and forever changing her life. Over the following years, she suffered multiple miscarriages, extreme fatigue and chronic pain, and she endured 32 surgeries.

Instead of continuing an education in medicine after the traumatic collision, Kahlo chose to pursue art. Today, she is most well known for her colorful self-portraits.

Historians have long attributed Kahlo’s infertility to the accident, Antelo said, but most explanations offer only vague references to a damaged skeleton or small ovaries. In his search for a more detailed diagnosis, Antelo began by taking a closer look at the clues embedded in her art.

Again and again, he found, Kahlo explored themes of fertility with anatomical details that she pulled from extensive readings of medical texts. In a 1943 painting called “Flower of Life,” for example, she drew an upside-down plant in the form of a uterus exploding with sperm.

“What her paintings were telling me was that Frida was actively thinking about this,” Antelo said. “When I was looking at her paintings, I had a lot of questions, and I think Frida had a similar spirit when physicians told her she was going to have difficulty her whole life having children but they couldn’t tell her why.”

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What Caused Frida Kahlo's Infertility?

ATLANTA, GA and SAN FRANCISCO, CA–(Marketwire -04/24/12)- In support of the estimated 10 million Americans affected by infertility, SharecareNow, powered by WCG, today announced “SharecareNow 10 – Infertility,” a list of the most prominent experts and patients driving online conversation around infertility and helping to educate individuals about this medical condition.

The release of the SharecareNow 10 – Infertility list coincides with National Infertility Awareness Week, a nationwide campaign led by RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, in an effort to raise awareness about the possible causes for infertility, enhance public knowledge about various treatment options and educate legislators about the severity of the disease.

“Infertility is a condition affecting millions of people in America and while it is most often associated with women, many people don’t know that men are also at an equal risk,” said Jeff Arnold, chairman and CEO of Sharecare. “That’s why it’s important that men and women have easy access to credible online experts or other individuals coping with infertility to share experiences, empower others with information, learn about different treatment options, and find comfort in knowing that they’re not alone in their journey to become parents.”

In the United States alone, approximately one in every eight couples will be affected by infertility.(1) In fact, about 10 percent of women in the U.S. aged 15 to 44 years old have difficulty getting pregnant or staying pregnant.(2) However, 85 to 95 percent of infertility cases can be treated by adopting healthy lifestyle habits or undergoing conventional medical therapies such as medication and surgery.(3)

Infertility is a disease of the reproductive system that is often diagnosed after a couple is unable to conceive following at least one year of unprotected intercourse or unable to carry a pregnancy to a live birth. A variety of physical or emotional factors may contribute to infertility for both men and women, which is why the SharecareNow 10 – Infertility list and organizations like RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association aim to promote reproductive health by providing helpful tools and resources for all individuals experiencing infertility or other reproductive disorders.

In order to be included in the SharecareNow 10 – Infertility list, influencers must have demonstrated a consistent impact on infertility-specific conversations online over the past year. An individual’s influence is measured and quantified through a proprietary algorithm based on more than 40 individual metrics, including infertility relevance, syndication, presence and reach. These influencers are then ranked from most to least influential based on a unique scoring structure.

The following top influencers make up the SharecareNow 10 – Infertility list:

1. Melissa Ford – http://stirrup-queens.com 2. Keiko Zoll – http://theinfertilityvoice.com 3. JM – http://meiermadness.blogspot.com 4. Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen – http://theadventurouswriter.com/blogbaby 5. Bonnie Rochman – http://healthland.time.com 6. Busted Kate – http://bustedplumbing.com 7. Sandy Robertson – http://infertility-fertility.blogspot.com 8. Sarah Holland – http://fertilemindset.com 9. Dr. Frederick Licciardi – http://infertilityblog.blogspot.com 10. Naomi – http://999reasonstolaugh.com

A downloadable version of the SharecareNow 10 – Infertility list can be found here: www.sharecare.com/static/sharecare-now-infertility-top-ten-infographic. Additional information, including bios and the methodology behind the influencer list, is available at http://now.sharecare.com.

About SharecareNow, powered by WCG SharecareNow, powered by WCG was developed in partnership with Sharecare, an interactive social Q&A platform, and WCG, a market-leading digital communications agency. Sharecare Now, powered by WCG is an online platform developed to access real-time analytics on various health topics, conversations and influencers, and to use these insights to meaningfully impact the conversation through strategic engagement. The platform allows health and wellness professionals, organizations and brands to leverage the most accurate data, solutions and best practices to participate in the social service of expert health and wellness content and communities.

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SharecareNow Names the Top 10 Influencers of Online Infertility Conversation

GTEBORG, Sweden–(BUSINESS WIRE)–

Regulatory News:

Vitrolife (STO:VITR.ST – News):

First quarter in brief

April 19, 2012

Gothenburg, Sweden

VITROLIFE AB (publ)

Thomas Axelsson CEO

Vitrolife is required to publish the information in this press release in accordance with the Swedish Securities Market Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication on April 19, 2012 at 3 p.m.

This is a translation of the Swedish version of the press release. When in doubt, the Swedish wording prevails.

Excerpt from:
Vitrolife AB (publ): Interim report January-March 2012

Continued here:
Well: Life, Interrupted: A Young Cancer Patient Faces Infertility

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Life, Interrupted: A Young Cancer Patient Faces Infertility

CALGARY A tweet that questioned Alberta Wildrose Alliance leader Danielle Smiths childlessness has forced the 40-year-old to disclose her family struggles with infertility.

The posting from Progressive Conservative staffer Amanda Wilkie suggests Smiths political promises to Alberta families are insincere because if she really liked children, she would have some of her own.

The controversy erupted on Twitter on Friday night when Wilkie posted the tweet, which has since been removed.

If ElectDanielle likes young and growing families so much, why doesnt she have children of her own? #wrp family pack insincere, wrote Wilkie, who has since resigned from her job in Redfords Calgary office.

Smith responded with a written statement Saturday, explaining only that she and husband David Moretta wanted to have children but could not.

When David and I married in 2006 we intended to have children together. After a few years we sought help from the Calgary Regional Fertility Clinic, Smith said.

I appreciated the support and assistance of the caring staff as we went through tests and treatments, but in the end we were not successful.

Smith said she feels fortunate to have a terrific stepson, a big family and numerous nieces and nephews.

Family is very important to me and I consider this to be a very personal matter. I will not be commenting on it further.

Tory Premier Alison Redford said she was appalled by the tweet and immediately called Smith to address it.

View original post here:
Party leader’s childlessness brought up in Alberta election campaign

OWINGS MILLS, Md., March 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ –Chesapeake Urology Associates (CUA) is pleased to announce the creation of the Vasectomy Reversal Center of America (VRCA), the first dedicated program in the mid-Atlantic region to offer the expertise of fellowship-trained male infertility specialists who are dedicated to helping couples conceive children naturally. A new website, www.vasectomyreversalcenterofamerica.com, was launched simultaneously with the center. More and more couples are seeking reversals for a variety of reasons: men who remarry and want to father a child with a new wife, couples who lose a child, or couples who thought they had finished having children and have a change of heart.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120330/PH79031)

In fact, more than 50,000 vasectomy reversals are performed in the U.S. annually, but there are only 600 fellowship-trained male infertility microsurgeons nationwide.

Dr. Karen Elizabeth Boyle, Dr. David M. Fenig and Dr. Brad D. Lerner are co-directors of the Vasectomy Reversal Center of America and are among the top vasectomy reversal specialists in the United States. Their high success rate of 92 percent is nearly triple that of physicians without specific male infertility microsurgery training and ranks among the best in the country. General urologists without microsurgical training realize only a 30-to-40-percent success rate with vasectomy reversal.

“In creating the Vasectomy Reversal Center of America, we wanted to offer couples in this region the best chance for success,” says Dr. Sanford Siegel, president and CEO of Chesapeake Urology Associates. “We provide fellowship-trained microsurgeons, specially trained nurses and support staff, and dedicated surgical equipment, which demonstrates our commitment to the needs of couples in this area.”

A vasectomy reversal is a microscopic operation that restores the connection of the vas deferens, previously severed during a vasectomy. The vas deferens is the tube that carries sperm from the testes to the ejaculate. Vasectomy reversal is one of two options for couples. Others may choose a more complicated and expensive alternative which involves surgical extraction of the sperm and then invitro fertilization in the hopes of developing a successful pregnancy. Most couples prefer vasectomy reversal which enables the more natural and joyful way to conceive a child, Siegel says.

With their combined years of experience, Drs.Boyle, Fenig and Lerner have performed almost 2,000 successful vasectomy reversals. All three trained at the country’s leading program for Male Reproductive Medicine and Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. Their expertise provides patients with accessibility to the highest quality of vasectomy reversal. The physicians also have expertise with the more complex microsurgery called epididymovasostomy, which is required during some vasectomy reversal cases when a blockage in the epididymis is discovered.

A successful vasectomy reversal is not dependent on the time that has elapsed since the vasectomy or based on a man’s age, but is more dependent on the surgeon’s training and expertise. Men continue to produce healthy sperm well into their 70s.The physicians at Vasectomy Reversal Center of America routinely succeed in reversing vasectomies that were performed more than 15 to 20 years ago and have one patient whose vasectomy was successfully reversed after 42 years. They also perform many successful “re-dos” for patients who have had failed vasectomy reversals at other practices.

Vasectomy reversals take place in a fully-equipped microsurgical suite, certified by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care. The experienced operating room team includes microsurgery-trained nurses and board-certified anesthesiologists. The channel of the vas deferens through which the sperm swim is only .2 to .3 millimeters in diameter. Therefore, microsurgical vasectomy reversal is performed with a microscope that provides 16 times magnification of the operating image.

Patients come to the Vasectomy Reversal Center of America from all over Maryland, the U.S. and even outside the country.The Vasectomy Reversal Center of America considers itself a boutique practice dedicated to the comfort and return to fertility of its patients. The goal is to help couples have a baby naturally. The doctors often receive news of pregnancies, birth announcements and baby photos.

Continued here:
New Vasectomy Reversal Center of America Created to Help Couples Conceive Naturally

Rancho Mirage, CA, March 30, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — New Life Agency, Inc. has joined forces with RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, in the effort to create awareness of the issues facing the infertility community and ongoing medical and technological advances that are offering exciting new hope.

New Life Agency, the only company specializing exclusively in Assisted Reproduction Insurance(R), is a National Infertility Awareness Week (NIAW) partner supporting RESOLVE once again in 2012 with NIAW, being held April 22 – 28 in Washington, DC.

For more than a decade, New Life Agency, Inc. has played a vital role in helping all people who are struggling with infertility and who are unable to carry a child, realize their dream of creating a family – by creating insurance policies specifically for IVF procedures, surrogacy, egg donors, intended parents, and industry professionals.

“New Life Agency is happy to stand with RESOLVE and support National Infertility Awareness Week by providing education and information to patients,” said Trish Taylor, President and Founder of New Life Agency.

“Our core belief is that healthy babies are born to healthy families. We ensure that healthy babies are born through our fertility and maternity health insurance programs, created to help families afford treatment for their assisted reproduction journey. Further evidence of our commitment to raising awareness year round is our outreach to OB/GYN’s, RE’s, fertility pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and health insurers alike to join forces and bring affordability to the patient. We have made great progress, recently adding eight new centers to our ARI Program.”

RESOLVE works tirelessly with partners and constituents in promoting and growing the fertility movement through a content-rich informational website, special events, marketing and fundraising.

New Life Agency and their Assisted Reproduction Insurance(R) program provide a tremendous cost savings, as well as a peace of mind, to patients in need of in vitro fertilization (IVF). The ARI Program ensures that the patients pay one global fee upfront for their IVF treatments. And patients pay nothing else out of pocket for the entire IVF program (18 months and includes insurance, consults, fertility treatment, testing and service within the chosen ARI Program Plan).

Currently, the ARI Program is offered at: California Fertility Partners in Los Angeles, the Diamond Institute for Infertility in New Jersey, the Pacific Fertility Center in Los Angeles, and all center locations within the Huntington Reproductive Clinic Fertility Medical Group. Eligibility and plans differ at each center.

About New Life Agency, Inc.

New Life Agency provides Assisted Reproduction Insurance(R) for maternity, in vitro fertilization complications, intended parents, surrogates, egg donors and professional liability exclusively to the assisted reproduction medical industry since 1998. In 14 years, New Life has helped parents welcome over 1,700 babies into their families and has processed over 100,000 claims and paid over $20,000,000 in benefits. New Life Agency is a fully licensed Surplus Lines Company in most every state across the nation as a Lloyd’s of London Coverholder and underwriter offering insurance products secured and “A” rated superior security by A.M. Best, financial size XV (excess of two billion dollars). New Life Agency has a division; New World Administrators, Inc. that is a licensed full service health claims Administrator/TPA providing benefit administration services for employer groups and customer care and claims handling services exclusively to New Life Agency, Inc. This division is dedicated to service providing World Class Customer Care in claims management and administration. New Life is located at 41-750 Rancho Las Palmas Drive, Suite F-1 in Rancho Mirage, CA. For more information: 877-952-5433 or www.NewLifeAgency.com

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New Life Agency Partners With Resolve To Educate Public On Infertility

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