This practical 2003 handbook provides an extremely comprehensive and highly illustrated guide to micromanipulation techniques in assisted conception in a clinical setting. It includes detailed, illustrated descriptions of all the common micromanipulation systems currently in use in IVF laboratories around the world and clearly explains how to optimise their successful use. The volume covers state-of-the-art techniques including intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), and procedures such as assisted hatching and the blastomere biopsy (for preimplantation genetic diagnosis PGD). Valuable information on troubleshooting the potential mechanical and technical difficulties that can arise is provided to help all the practitioners of these techniques, including trainee embryologists and consultant obstetricians, and technicians and scientists involved in animal transgenesis and cloning. It will undoubtedly be of immense value to all doctors and scientists working with assisted reproductive technologies.

IVF is now established worldwide as a clinical service. Units are striving to improve their success rates, and many treatments are being advocated as 'yet another breakthrough'. The purpose of this book is to help clinicians to evaluate each of these new treatments. Each chapter is written by a recognized international expert in the field and the chapters are short and succinct, summarizing the latest evidence-based information for each topic and treatment. Sections cover patient selection and preparation, the role of AIH before IVF, stimulation, monitoring, laboratory techniques, embryo transfer, ancillary treatments and assessment of results. How to Improve your ART Success Rates: An Evidence-Based Review of Adjuncts to IVF is essential reading for all clinicians working with infertility and assisted reproduction, and is also a valuable addition to any medical library.

In vitro fertilization and other forms of assisted reproduction are no longer experimental procedures. Indeed, in Denmark in 2004, 4% of all babies born were conceived by IVF. In the near future, every kindergarten classroom will quite possibly have at least one IVF child.
In this fascinating account, two of the world's leading authorities present a detailed and readable account of assisted reproduction, describing how this technique is applied to help infertile couples have a baby. Bart Fauser and Paul Devroey describe the latest technologies, placing them in their scientific and clinical settings, outlining such procedures as IVF, sperm injection techniques, egg donation, fertility preservation, single embryo transfer, and reproductive surgery. Fauser and Devroey also discuss fertility treatments in patients who are not infertile (such as single women or lesbians). One of the great controversies swirling around assisted reproduction is the furor over "designer babies" (manipulating genetic material to produce babies with blue eyes or a high IQ, or of a particular sex), but the authors contend that the only acceptable aim in "designing" a baby is to insure a safe pregnancy and delivery. The book also reveals that a key challenge of fertility research is to perfect a treatment that avoids multiple pregnancy, a trend that has blighted IVF throughout its thirty-year history. Fauser and Devroey also discuss the issue of increasing age-related infertility ("the infertility epidemic") and the possible use of IVF to meet this challenge and improve birth rates. The final chapter looks to the future and proposes that the limits to assisted reproduction will be set more by ethical considerations than by scientific progress.

ART treatment is vulnerable to the hazard of potential infection from many different sources: patients, samples, staff and the environment. Culture of gametes and embryos in vitro provides multiple targets for transmission of potential infection, including the developing embryo, neighbouring gametes and embryos, the couple undergoing treatment and other couples being treated during the same period. This unique situation, with multifaceted opportunities for microbial growth and transmission, makes infection and contamination control absolutely crucial in the practice of assisted reproduction, and in the laboratory in particular. Originally published in 2004, this practical book provides a basic overview of microbiology in the context of ART, providing a guide to infections in reproductive medicine. The relevant facets of the complex and vast field of microbiology are condensed and focused, highlighting information that is crucial for safe practice in both clinical and laboratory aspects of ART.

Infertility is a significant health issue and one that has received increasing media attention in the UK and elsewhere in recent years. For affected couples, it is the cause of substantial distress and feelings of isolation that can lead to associated anxiety and depression. This is compounded by a perceived lack of support from health services as well as a lack of available information regarding its management. This book provides current information and practical advice on the underlying causes, diagnosis and management of infertility in a clear and concise style that is accessible to patients. The book covers all aspects of infertility from investigation, treatment, successful pregnancy and coping with childlessness. The text is written in a plain-spoken style that is easy to read and absorb, with liberal use of bullet points, diagrams, graphs, photographs, tables and other illustrations. Case studies and patient perspectives are included throughout the text to bring key concepts to life.

Meet Woody. Former journalist. Die-hard Oasis fan. High energy. Low sperm count. Training to be a vicar. Obviously. Matt Woodcock's frank, funny real-life diaries reveal what it was like for him to train as a vicar while struggling against all odds to become a father. In them he lays bare his joys and struggles as he attempts to reconcile his calling as a vicar with his life as a party-loving journalist, footie-freak and incorrigible extrovert. Becoming Reverend is a compelling and original account of how faith can work in the midst of a messy life, combining family, fertility, faith and friendship with the story of a divine - but unlikely - calling.

This book is a practical guide to the detection, diagnosis and treatment of infertility. Beginning with an overview of human reproduction, the importance of accurate history taking and examination, and general preconception evaluation, the following chapters discuss the different investigational methods in the assessment of female infertility. The final sections examine male infertility and the role of semen analysis in understanding the potential of fertility. Genetic, environmental and behavioural risk factors are also covered. This comprehensive text is enhanced by clinical images, diagrams and tables. Key Points Practical guide to detection, diagnosis and treatment of infertility Covers assessment of both female and male infertility Covers genetic, environmental and behavioural risk factors Enhanced by clinical images, diagrams and tables

This innovative book is one of the first resources to describe in detail the technique of digital time-lapse microscopy, a state-of-the-art analytical tool which is revolutionizing the field of assisted reproduction. Over 180 high-quality video sequences, accessible online via the password included in the book, provide a practical and highly visual guide to this new technology and the wealth of detail it can reveal about human embryo development. Written by a team of experts from across numerous clinical and scientific subspecialties, this book is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of the technique. It covers both the general principles of time-lapse microscopy and the specifics of working with various devices, with chapters on EmbryoScopeTM, Primo VisionTM and EevaTM as well as set-up and troubleshooting. Full electronic access to all text, images and supplementary videos makes this the ideal everyday reference for embryologists, clinicians and others working in IVF laboratories.

Reproductive tract infections and other gynaecological disorders among women represent an enormous global health burden. This significant book will help focus research on this important though neglected area. The primary aims of the book are to provide an overview of reproductive tract infections and other gynaecological disorders, to highlight the conceptual and methodological challenges associated with undertaking research on this subject, and to serve as a reference for future research in this area. The book focuses on developing country settings, and recognizes that gathering this sort of information requires a multidisciplinary and culturally sensitive approach. Findings from the research described in this book will undoubtedly assist physicians, social scientists, epidemiologists and public health practitioners in evaluating the magnitude of this problem within the community at large and in identifying potentially effective medical and behavioural interventions to address this problem.

Infertility Counseling: A Comprehensive Handbook for Clinicians, 2nd edition, is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary textbook for all health professionals providing care for individuals facing reproductive health issues. It is the most thorough and extensive book currently available for clinicians in the field of infertility counseling, providing an exhaustive and comprehensive review of topics. It addresses both the medical and psychological aspects of infertility, reviewing assessment approaches, treatment strategies, counseling for medical conditions impacting fertility, third-party reproduction, alternative family building and post infertility counseling issues. Each chapter follows the same format: introduction, historical overview, literature review, theoretical framework, identification of clinical issues, suggestions for therapeutic interventions, and future implication. This edition also includes extensive appendixes of clinical tools useful to the clinician, including an Internet database of resources and an extensive glossary of terminology.

As we enter the twenty-first century, a number of medical, environmental, and social changes have profoundly affected human reproduction. This book discusses some of the more dramatic changes in an accessible manner, illustrating the ways in which human biology and culture can affect fertility. It provides a unique interdisciplinary perspective on the subject. Topics of discussion include medical technological advances that equip us with potential cures for many causes of infertility; diseases, such as AIDS, that have a devastating impact on the reproductive and social lives of humans; increasing industrialization and the development of fabricated materials that pollute our environment in unforeseen ways with possibly devastating effects on human health and fertility; and social revolutions that profoundly alter human relationships, such as nonmarital unions between heterosexual couples, same-sex relationships, and adoption and surrogacy.

The increasing understanding of individual differences in response to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment, resulting from genetic and ethnical differences, has increased the potential for individualized treatment for patients, resulting in improved pregnancy and live-birth outcomes. This illustrated book summarizes, and provides updates on, the most recent developments in individualized infertility treatment and embryo selection techniques. Individualization is not only confined to the different steps in the ovarian stimulation process and the luteal phase support, but also to embryo selection techniques, which include, among others, the analysis of embryo development pattern and genetic testing. Chapters cover a multitude of topics, ranging from oocyte maturation and immunological testing to fertilization technique in the IVF laboratory and preparation for optimal endometrial receptivity in cryo cycles. Essential reading for IVF specialists and embryologists in IVF Clinics and also an important text for medical consultants specializing in reproductive medicine, gynecology and embryology.

"Introducing the only clinically proven program--steeped in ancient Chinese healing traditions--that has enabled hundreds of infertile couples to conceive.
"At Wu's Healing Center in San Francisco, miracles are happening. Women and their partners come to the clinic--often from across the country-- to fulfill a passionately held yet fragile dream: to conceive and deliver the healthy baby that mainstream doctors have told them they cannot have. Using traditional Chinese medical techniques, sometimes integrated with Western fertility treatments, Dr. Angela Wu is helping these couples experience the miracle of birth.
In this book,"" Dr. Wu details a proven 6-part self-care regimen that helps create the internal harmony and balance vital to conception. Her techniques not only enhance the results and reduce the side effects of in vitro and other Western fertility treatments, they also shorten labor and speed postpartum recovery. Babies benefit too, adopting regular sleep patterns more quickly and getting sick less frequently.
At a time when one in five U.S. couples is struggling with fertility problems, this practical and uplifting volume, filled with the inspirational stories of Dr. Wu's grateful patients, will be a godsend.

A critical analysis of white, working class North Americans' motivations and experiences when traveling to Central Europe for donor egg IVF Each year, more and more Americans travel out of the country seeking low cost medical treatments abroad, including fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization (IVF). As the lower middle classes of the United States have been priced out of an expensive privatized "baby business," the Czech Republic has emerged as a central hub of fertility tourism, offering a plentitude of blonde-haired, blue-eyed egg donors at a fraction of the price. Fertility Holidays presents a critical analysis of white, working class North Americans' motivations and experiences when traveling to Central Europe for donor egg IVF. Within this diaspora, patients become consumers, urged on by the representation of a white Europe and an empathetic health care system, which seems nonexistent at home. As the volume traces these American fertility journeys halfway around the world, it uncovers layers of contradiction embedded in global reproductive medicine. Speier reveals the extent to which reproductive travel heightens the hope ingrained in reproductive technologies, especially when the procedures are framed as "holidays." The pitch of combining a vacation with their treatment promises couples a stress-free IVF cycle; yet, in truth, they may become tangled in fraught situations as they endure an emotionally wrought cycle of IVF in a strange place. Offering an intimate, first-hand account of North Americans' journeys to the Czech Republic for IVF, Fertility Holidays exposes reproductive travel as a form of consumption which is motivated by complex layers of desire for white babies, a European vacation, better health care, and technological success.

Has the college experience of women been an influence on the number of children desired and the number and spacing of their children? Do women come to college with their attitudes and values in this regard already formed? This study of 15,000 women, freshmen and seniors in 45 American colleges and universities, both secular and nonsecular, attempts to answer this question and to determine how such characteristics as religious preference, career intentions, and the number of children in her own family influence a woman's fertility values. Attention is paid to an earlier finding that Catholic college graduates have higher fertility than Catholic high school graduates, although higher education is usually associated with lower fertility. Originally published in 1967. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

For people experiencing infertility, wanting a baby is a craving unlike any other. The intensity of their longing is matched only by the complexity of the emotional maze they must navigate.
With insight and compassion, Drs. Janet Jaffe, Martha Diamond, and David Diamond-specialists in the field of Reproductive Psychology who have each experienced their own struggle with infertility-give couples the tools to:
*Reduce their sense of helplessness and isolation
*Identify their mates' coping styles to erase unfair expectations
*Listen to their "unsung lullabies"--their conscious and unconscious dreams about having a family--to mourn the losses of infertility and move on.
Ground-breaking, wise, and compassionate, Unsung Lullabies is a necessary companion for anyone coping with infertility.

Why do American couples differ in the number of children they have? To answer this question the first major longitudinal study in American fertility was begun in 1957 with a series of interviews with parents of two children. Family Growth in Metropolitan America (1961) and The Third Child (1963) reported the results of the first two phases of this research project. In this book, in addition to evaluating the longitudinal design of the study, the authors report the results of the third and final interviews, a decade after the first, and attempt to answer such questions as: How well are couples able to predict their own fertility over the years? To what extent does the number of children desired affect the spacing of births? How is fertility affected by peer group relations, by the wife's participation in the labor force, by religion? Originally published in 1971. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

"Selected by" Choice" magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title for 1996""[Marsh and Ronner make for] a highly successful combination in which faultless clinical detail and a broad social and cultural approach are seamlessly woven to produce a very impressive and beautifully written historical work of the first importance." -- Irvine Louden, "Journal of the Social History of Medicine"

In "The Empty Cradle," Margaret Marsh and Wanda Ronner delve into the origins of the many misconceptions surrounding infertility as they explore how medical and cultural beliefs emerged throughout its controversial history. Drawing on a wide variety of sources -- including intimate diaries and letters, patient records, memoirs, medical literature, and popular magazines -- "The Empty Cradle" investigates the social, cultural, scientific, and medical dimensions of infertility over the past three hundred years.

Marsh and Ronner explore reactions -- among both physicians and husbands -- to the emerging scientific evidence that infertility was a condition for which men and women bear equal responsibility. The book concludes that infertility is still a subject affected by myth and misunderstanding. A lively and compelling history of a complex medical and cultural phenomenon, "The Empty Cradle" brings a valuable perspective to current debates about how we should think about and address the experience of infertility in our own time.

"Marsh and Ronner have sought to go beyond the published medical literature to disclose the voices of those most affected by the physiological and cultural condition of infertility... they have restored to the historical record the anguish and the hopes of women whoexperienced infertility." -- Rima D. Apple, "American Historical Review"

"The book's lucid explanations of medical terms and procedures will allow me to recommend it to my infertility patients. I plan to do so, trusting that it will give them a new perspective on their predicament. Knowing that it provided me a new perspective on both infertility and the practice of gynecology, I will also assign it an honored place in my medical library." -- Janet E. Shepherd, M.D., "Journal of the American Medical Association"

" "The Empty Cradle" demonstrates the profound impact of politics as well as culture on the development of medical practice. It is an excellent model for future scholarship on the complex relationship between science and society." -- Elaine Tyler May, "Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences"

Approximately five million children have been born worldwide as a result of assisted reproductive technology (ART). These techniques are now practised independently in most of the world's nations. Although the vast majority of ART parents and children are healthy following the procedures involved, there is an imperative to maintain a high standard of practice and monitor outcomes carefully. Interpretation of outcome data is difficult for a variety of reasons. As ART technologies evolve and new variants are established, the need for robust assessment of outcomes increases. This book gives a thorough review of potential complications of ART, with detailed analysis of outcome data for the various conditions described. A worldwide perspective is given throughout, with an international team of chapter authors.

'Reproflexology' - the study and treatment of male and female reproductive and fertility conditions using reflexology - is aspecialist therapy that has been pioneered and carefully developed by Barbara Scott over 20 years. The therapy can be applied either as a stand-alone treatment to support natural conception or alongside fertility treatment. This is the first book to be published on treating fertility issues using reflexology.Reproductive reflexology can be a minefield with much conflicting advice being given about what practitioners can and cannot do. Because of this many practitioners choose not to work with clients who are having fertility issues. In this book Barbara Scott gives clear guidance on how to gain information from clients, how to interpret that information, how to plan treatment and what reproflexology techniques to use. This will give practitioners the knowledge and confidence to work with clients who have a wide range of reproductive conditions and who are trying to conceive.

Male factor infertility is receiving greater emphasis in IVF programs. This book reviews the scientific evidence for various medical, environmental and lifestyle factors that can affect male fertility, such as chromosome abnormalities, age, anti-sperm antibodies and endocrine disruptors. Part of a four-book series on improving IVF success, this volume subsequently explores a range of treatments and strategies to improve sperm quality, including FSH treatment and antioxidants. It also discusses methods to prevent male infertility from childhood through to adulthood. Concise, practical and evidence-based - and with insights from global experts in the field - this text will enable gynecologists, urologists and andrologists to make evidence-based decisions that can influence the success rate of fertilization in subsequent IVF cycles.

Thirty-five years after its initial success as a form of technologically assisted human reproduction, and five million miracle babies later, in vitro fertilization (IVF) has become a routine procedure worldwide. In Biological Relatives, Sarah Franklin explores how the normalization of IVF has changed how both technology and biology are understood. Drawing on anthropology, feminist theory, and science studies, Franklin charts the evolution of IVF from an experimental research technique into a global technological platform used for a wide variety of applications, including genetic diagnosis, livestock breeding, cloning, and stem cell research. She contends that despite its ubiquity, IVF remains a highly paradoxical technology that confirms the relative and contingent nature of biology while creating new biological relatives. Using IVF as a lens, Franklin presents a bold and lucid thesis linking technologies of gender and sex to reproductive biomedicine, contemporary bioinnovation, and the future of kinship.

Despite incredible and previously undreamed-of advances in modern medicine, for many women the issue of infertility remains a heart-breaking reality. Using a combination of traditional and modern astrological techniques, the author has delved deeply into the charts of hundreds of infertile women, and in many cases has unravelled what might be at the root of the problem. Sometimes it's a matter of location or timing, or it could be psychological issues in the relationship that are causing the block; whatever the reason, the author works closely with the couple - and often the medical profession - to produce results that are frequently positive where there has been no hope before. Although this is an advanced textbook for astrologers, the human element of the case histories is nothing short of inspiring, and from that perspective can be enjoyed by readers with no knowledge of astrology.

This extensively updated new edition provides an indispensable account of modern in-vitro fertilization practice, building upon the popularity of previous editions. The authors initially give a comprehensive review of the biology of human gametes and embryos, before outlining basic to advanced IVF techniques. New developments in practical techniques and understanding are discussed, including in-vitro maturation, vitrification, preservation of fertility for cancer patients, stem cell technology, preimplantation genetic testing, and the role of epigenetics and imprinting. The revised introduction also incorporates a 'refresher' study review of fundamental principles of cell and molecular biology, now updated with current knowledge of meiosis in human oocytes, embryo metabolism and basic principles of genome editing. With high-quality illustrations and extensive, up-to-date reading lists, it is a must-have textbook for trainee and practising embryologists, as well as clinicians who are interested in the scientific principles that underpin successful IVF.