Intimate and medicalized, natural and technological, reproduction poses some of the most challenging ethical dilemmas of our time. Reproduction presses the boundaries of humanity and ethical respect, the permissible limits of technology, conscientious objection by health care professionals, and social justice. This volume brings together scholars from multiple perspectives to address both traditional and novel questions about the rights and responsibilities of human reproducers, their caregivers, and the societies in which they live. Among issues treated in the volume are what it is to be a parent, the responsibilities of parents, and the role of society in facilitating or discouraging parenting. May gamete donors be anonymous? Is surrogacy in which a woman gestates a child for others ethically permissible when efforts are made to prevent coercion or exploitation? Should it be mandatory to screen newborns for potentially serious conditions, or permissible to sequence their genomes? Are both parties to a reproductive act equally responsible to support the child, even if one deceived the other? Are there ethical asymmetries between male and female parents, and is the lack of available contraceptives for men unjust? Should the costs of infertility treatment be socially shared, as they are for other forms of health care? Do parents have a duty to try to conceive children under the best circumstances they can - or to avoid conception if the child will suffer? What is the status of the fetus and what ethical limits constrain the use of fetal tissue? Reproduction is a rapidly changing medical field, with novel developments such as mitochondrial transfer or uterine transplantation occurring regularly. And there are emerging natural challenges, too, like the Zika virus. The volume gives readers tools not only to address the problems we now know, but ones that may emerge in the future as well.

Millions of Americans rely on the likes of birth control, IVF, and genetic testing to make plans as intimate and farreaching as any over a lifetime. This is no less than the medicine of miracles. It fills empty cradles, frees families from terrible disease, and empowers them to fashion their lives on their own terms. But accidents happen. Pharmacists mix up pills. Lab techs misread tests. Obstetricians tell women their healthy fetuses would be stillborn. Political and economic forces conspire against regulation. And judges throw up their hands when professionals foist parenthood on people who didn't want it, or childlessness on those who did. Failed abortions, switched donors, and lost embryos may be first-world problems. But these aren't innocent lapses or harmless errors. They're wrongs in need of rights. This book lifts the curtain on reproductive negligence, gives voice to the lives it upends, and vindicates the interests that advances in medicine and technology bring to full expression. It charts the legal universe of errors that: (1) deprive pregnancy or parenthood of people who set out to pursue them; (2) impose pregnancy or parenthood on those who tried to avoid these roles; or (3) confound efforts to have a child with or without certain genetic traits. This novel architecture forces citizens and courts to rethink the reproductive controversies of our time, and equips us to meet the new challenges-from womb transplants to gene editing-that lie just over the horizon.

The success of Assisted Reproductive Technology is critically dependent upon the use of well optimized protocols, based upon sound scientific reasoning, empirical observations and evidence of clinical efficacy. Recently, the treatment of infertility has experienced a revolution, with the routine adoption of increasingly specialized molecular biological techniques and advanced methods for the manipulation of gametes and embryos. This textbook - inspired by the postgraduate degree program at the University of Oxford - guides students through the multidisciplinary syllabus essential to ART laboratory practice, from basic culture techniques and micromanipulation to laboratory management and quality assurance, and from endocrinology to molecular biology and research methods. Written for all levels of IVF practitioners, reproductive biologists and technologists involved in human reproductive science, it can be used as a reference manual for all IVF labs and as a textbook by undergraduates, advanced students, scientists and professionals involved in gamete, embryo or stem cell biology.

In Taking Baby Steps, Jody Lynee Madeira takes readers inside the infertility experience, from dealing with infertility-related emotions through forming treatment relationships with medical professionals to confronting difficult medical decisions. Based on hundreds of interviews, this book investigates how women, men, and medical professionals negotiate infertility's rocky terrain to create life and build families-a journey across personal, medical, legal, and ethical minefields that can test mental and physical health, friendships and marriages, spirituality, and financial security.

Men with cancer rendered infertile by surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and hormone therapy that are needed to control or cure their disease are increasingly being offered the chance to preserve their reproductive potential through artificial reproductive technologies. Cryopreservation of sperm and testicular tissue have increasingly helped boys and men preserve their fertility. There is a growing subspecialty within reproductive medicine aimed at fertility preservation in this population. Furthermore, strategies are being developed that may in the future revolutionize the approach to such patients. Written by international authorities in the field of fertility preservation, this comprehensive book is aimed at clinicians dealing with male cancer patients, in particular, urologists, andrologists, oncologists, pediatricians and nursing staff as well as clinicians in reproductive endocrinology. The text reviews the impact of cancers and their treatment on male fertility, the available fertility preservation strategies and post-treatment management.

In the mid-1990s, the international community pronounced prenatal sex selection via abortion an "act of violence against women" and "unethical." At the same time, new developments in reproductive technology in the United States led to a method of sex selection before conception; its US inventor marketed the practice as "family balancing" and defended it with the rhetoric of freedom of choice. In Gender before Birth, Rajani Bhatia takes on the double standard of how similar practices in the West and non-West are divergently named and framed. Bhatia's extensive fieldwork includes interviews with clinicians, scientists, biomedical service providers, and feminist activists, and her resulting analysis extends both feminist theory on reproduction and feminist science and technology studies. She argues that we are at the beginning of a changing transnational terrain that presents new challenges to theorized inequality in reproduction, demonstrating how the technosciences often get embroiled in colonial gender and racial politics.

Understand the rapidly growing complexities of obstetric hematology and high-risk pregnancy management, with experts in the field. Now in its second edition, this comprehensive and essential guide focuses on providing the best support for patients and clinical staff, to prevent serious complications in pregnancy and the post-partum period for both mother and baby. Wide-ranging and detailed, the guide offers discussions on basic principles of best care, through to tackling lesser-known hematological conditions, such as cytopenias and hemoglobinopathies. Updated with color illustrations, cutting-edge research, accurate blood film reproductions, and practical case studies, the revised edition places invaluable advice into everyday context. This unique resource is essential reading for trainees and practitioners in obstetrics, anesthesia, and hematology, as well as midwives, nurses, and laboratory staff. Clarifying difficult procedures for disease prevention, the guide ensures safety when the stakes are high. Reflecting current evidence-based guidelines, the updated volume is key to improving pregnancy outcomes worldwide.

Intrauterine insemination and ovulation induction is effective first-line treatment for infertility in many straightforward cases and is preferred by many clinicians because they are less invasive than in-vitro fertilization and its variants. This is a comprehensive account of how to set up and run a successful IUI program. The book addresses the practical aspects of treatments that will produce optimum results in terms of pregnancy outcome and safety, as well as the pharmacological and physiological reasons for their use. Chapters on how to prevent complications of ovulation induction such as multiple births and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome are included, as well as how to diagnose infertility in both sexes. Laboratory procedures for sperm preparation are described in detail. Worldwide resources for obtaining donor sperm and legal issues that surround the management of patients are included. This 2009 manual is of interest to reproductive medicine specialists, general practitioners and general obstetrician gynecologists.

It is widely believed that reproductive cycles are very similar between human females. However, there are in fact considerable variations both between individuals and within the reproductive life of any given individual. 'Normal' reproductive cycles cover a wide range of eventualities, and the likelihood of successful monthly egg release and ensuing pregnancy can be modified by a large number of factors. In this book, the variability of human fertility is examined by first looking at the physiological processes regulating reproduction, and the roles of metabolic adaptation and metabolic load. Inter-population variation in normal ovarian function is then discussed, covering the importance of factors such as age, disease and breastfeeding in modifying ovarian function. First published in 1996, this is an important book for all those interested in human fertility.

Jahrlich werden in Deutschland ca. 1.000 kunstliche Befruchtungen durchgefuhrt (sog. heterologe kunstliche Befruchtung). Insbesondere der Samenspender, aber auch alle anderen beteiligten Personen gehen dabei ein rechtliches Risiko ein - haufig ohne es zu wissen. Die Autorin entwickelt Moglichkeiten der zivilrechtlichen Haftungsfreistellung des Samenspenders und stellt ihre Alternative vor: die "rechtsfolgenlose Vaterschaftsfeststellungsklage." "

Selecting the best embryo to transfer to the uterus is key to successful in vitro fertilization (IVF). A huge amount of research has been devoted to this topic and there are numerous methods used, from simple morphological assessment to molecular biological techniques to assess the genome and metabolism of the newly fertilized embryo. For many of these techniques, an adequate evidence base is lacking, and expert opinion is valuable. Clinical imperatives require ranking all embryos in a cohort according to their viability, thereby enabling the selection of the best embryo to optimize live birth outcome: a key indicator used to measure and rate IVF Clinics worldwide. This clear and informative manual will provide embryologists and clinicians with an overview of the tools now available to assist in embryo selection, as well as evidence for their efficacy and safety and the broader considerations that must underlie these important clinical decisions.

Cambridge Pocket Clinician Neonatology covers a wide variety of topics related to neonatal medicine, as well as clinical questions on maternal and neonatal conditions, symptoms, and procedures that will challenge providers in both the outpatient and inpatient settings. The topics are organized under headings on different diagnoses, evaluation, treatment, complications, and prognosis so that the user will find the desired information quickly and easily. More than 200 diseases and conditions are discussed in detail. Editors Richard A. Polin, M.D. John M. Lorenz, M.D. An electrionic version of this book can be purchased at http: //www.

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.

Cosa si prova a non poter avere un figlio? Quanto e difficile comunicare alla coppia una diagnosi di sterilita? Come affrontare il 70% dei fallimenti delle tecniche di PMA? Come una legge puo' incidere sul futuro di un embrione? Il testo, nato dalla fusione multidisciplinare medica, psicologica e sociologica, vuole riflettere su queste domande e accompagnare il lettore in una nuova forma mentis sulle criticita nella fecondazione assistita. La trama scientifica si accompagna a un linguaggio diretto dove hanno un posto rilevante le emozioni, cosi' centrali in campi quali la ginecologia, la riproduzione e la psicologia dell'infertilita, che vanno al cuore del bisogno psico-sessuale piu forte e arcaico: quello riproduttivo. Al centro del volume e la relazione medico-paziente che, nel campo dell'infertilita, e caratterizzata dall'attivazione di forti echi emotivi da parte di entrambi. Il volume, a tale riguardo, propone il protocollo SAHARAI che comprende due metodi inediti (il questionario e il nurse-ring) capaci di intervenire, rispettivamente, nella fase diagnostica e in quella terapeutica della fecondazione. I metodi e le riflessioni proposti sono volti alla riduzione dei disagi psicologici delle coppie e al riequilibrio del rapporto medico-paziente. Dal testo emerge forte una nuova idea di formazione per gli operatori dei centri di fecondazione assistita e un percorso di qualificazione per le nuove figure professionali (gli psicologi addetti alla PMA) in accordo con le nuove direttive della legge."

Reproductive technology is typically discussed in the future tense. Yet doctors have always treated involuntary childlessness. This book looks at the recent history of infertility and the different ways medicine has treated it. It traces the reluctance to allow infertility a past to a new tension that has emerged between utopian and anti-utopian fears about the growth rate and composition of population.

"The Stork and the Syringe" argues that although doctors' approach to infertility is formed in response to the exigencies of the political economy of medical practice, it also accommodates a persistent gender bias: the tendency to regard women's bodies as inviting intervention and men's as demanding caution. This bias is manifest in relation to gametes (eggs and sperm), sex hormones, in the form of medical investigations and treatment, and the frequency and enthusiasm with which the latter are carried out. Departures from this theme are rare and controversial, as the history of artificial insemination using donor semen demonstrates.

This book is a major contribution to the history and sociology of reproduction, fertility, population and medicine.

This is a practical guide to the optimal clinical management of preterm labour, using the best available evidence. Preterm labour remains a challenge today, even with the latest developments summarised here. The editors and authors (mostly practising clinicians) are all actively involved in research into the mechanisms, aetiology, treatment and associated outcomes of preterm labour. The chapters are based on common clinical scenarios and each provides a comprehensive literature review followed by evidence-based recommendations on appropriate management. A summary of the pathophysiology of parturition is provided, and the obstetric scenarios cover management of threatened preterm labour, management of preterm premature ruptured membranes and management of preterm labour with specific complications (such as intrauterine growth restriction). Other chapters include the epidemiology, the prediction and the prevention of preterm labour. Anaesthetic and paediatric issues are explored in depth, and there are chapters on legal and organisational issues around preterm labour.

Selecting good-quality sperm for use in in-vitro fertilization is a key step in assisted reproduction. For many years purely morphological attributes have been used to assess suitability, but increasingly biochemical and molecular biological techniques are now identifying sperm with the best chances of producing viable and healthy embryos. Focusing on modern sperm function testing, this manual provides technical details of commonly used tests and gives an overview of the laboratory techniques used to evaluate sperm samples. Covering a variety of testing methods in detail, from manual and computer-assisted semen analysis to zona pellucida binding assays, and tests assessing sperm DNA damage such as the TUNEL assay. Describing the underlying science, practical advice for performing the tests is given, including tips for optimizing outcomes and trouble-shooting. This is an essential guide for reproductive medicine specialists, clinical andrologists, urologists and gynecologists working with sub-fertile men.

A basic understanding of human genetics is vital for all those working in the field of assisted human reproduction. Genetic makeup can hamper reproduction and insight into this is making genetic diagnosis and counselling increasingly important. This fully updated textbook continues the clear structure of the original edition, beginning with a chapter on the basics of genetics and cytogenetics. Genetic causes of infertility and the effect of epigenetics and transposons on fertility are discussed in detail. Several new chapters are included in this edition, reflecting the advances of the field, including preconception genetic analysis and screening in IVF and mitochondrial genetics. Combining genetics, reproductive biology and medicine, this is an essential text for practitioners in reproductive medicine and geneticists involved in the field looking to improve their knowledge of the subject and provide outstanding patient care.

In addition to covering clinical topics and surgical procedures, this essential textbook provides detailed commentary on the contemporary social, psychological and economic issues that affect women's health. Acknowledged authorities in respective research fields have contributed specific sections to address the topics of women's mental health, genetics, prescribing for women, health promotion, hormones throughout the life cycle, psychological and behavioral issues.

Scientists investigating germ cells have, over the past 15 years, originated discoveries and innovations that give us valuable insights into the mechanisms that regulate not just stem cell function, but human development in its widest sense. With contributions from some of the leading researchers in the field, Male Germline Stem Cells: Developmental and Regenerative Potential assesses the implications of these discoveries for understanding the fundamental biology of germline stem cells as well as their potential for human stem cell-based therapies. This monograph covers many of the fundamental issues now being explored by today's generation of stem cell researchers, including the field's potential for regenerative medicine. Ranging from an assessment of the pluripotency of primordial germ cells and their possible applications in treating testicular cancer, to the recovery of once-mordant fertilization-competent sperm, this volume has it all. It is a reference point for any scientist involved in related research as well as being a timely summation of what could prove to be a hugely exciting and very fruitful area of inquiry.

Asserting that there are many more organic codes in nature than just the genetic code, Marcello Barbieri states that the existence of these codes and their corresponding organic memories can be used to explain the key steps in the evolutionary history of life. With major events corresponding to the appearance of new codes, the organic codes and their corresponding organic memories can also shed new light on the problems of epigenesis and how embryos generate their own complexity.

Women's reproductive tract infections and other gynecological disorders are an enormous global health burden. This significant book helps focus research in this important, neglected area. It is a vital tool for doctors, epidemiologists and public health professionals to formulate effective ways of evaluating the scale of this problem within the local community. The book takes an international perspective and recognizes that gathering gynecological information in different societies requires a sensitive and multidisciplinary approach. This research highlights the social significance of these disorders for women's health and casts new light on effective medical and behavioral interventions.

This insightful and thought-provoking collection of chapters describes the rapid advances that have revolutionized reproductive medicine. From oogenesis and spermatogenesis, through to fertilization, embryogenesis, and cloning, this volume looks at cutting-edge technologies and scientific advances. Subsequent chapters focus on infertility and its diagnosis and treatment using the full armory of assisted reproductive technologies. A concluding section surveys the impact of these developments on the provision, regulation, and financing of reproductive health care in the global community.

This well-illustrated new publication provides concise yet comprehensive practical information on the modern-day approach to the diagnosis and treatment of infertility. The author explains basic principles of reproductive physiology, before moving on to the medical causes of infertility. The full armory of techniques from IVF to ICSI and even newer technologies used to treat infertility in all its manifestations is described and detailed. The aim throughout is to explain issues clearly, simply, and directly in a way that will be understood by doctors, scientists, and nurses alike. By combining basic science and medical aspects, along with "how it is done" descriptions of techniques and medical interventions, this book offers an unsurpassed introductory account of this fast moving area.