The experience of abortion for Cook Islands women: exploring the socio-cultural dimensions of abortion safety.

Abortion is significantly restricted by law in most Pacific Island countries, impacting the rights, health and autonomy of people who experience pregnancy. We undertook qualitative research between February and August 2022 on Rarotonga, Cook Islands, where abortion is illegal under most circumstances. We conducted interviews with women who had accessed or tried to access abortion services; people who had supported women to access abortion services; health workers; and advocates to understand their experiences regarding abortion.

Framings of abortion in Pacific Island print media: qualitative analysis of articles, opinion pieces, and letters to the editor.

Abortion is significantly restricted by law in most Pacific Island countries, and this has profound implications for the lives and health of women from this region. There are limited data on how abortion is framed in the Pacific Islands: that is, interpreted, discussed, and made meaningful as an issue in public forums. How abortion is framed can have implications for how it is treated in public and political debate and policy, abortion stigmatisation, and inform advocacy strategies.

Illegal abortion and reproductive injustice in the Pacific Islands: A qualitative analysis of court data.

The Oceania region is home to some of the world's most restrictive abortion laws, and there is evidence of Pacific Island women's reproductive oppression across several aspects of their reproductive lives, including in relation to contraceptive decision-making, birthing, and fertility. In this paper we analyse documents from court cases in the Pacific Islands regarding the illegal procurement of abortion. We undertook inductive thematic analysis of documents from eighteen illegal abortion court cases from Pacific Island countries.

Oral-health-related quality of life of dental patients: a hospital based study in far north Queensland, Australia.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence, extent, and severity of oral-health-related quality of life among dental patients in far north Queensland, Australia.

Methods: A questionnaire was designed consisting of two parts: socio-demographic questions and the short form of Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) in part 1 and 2 respectively. The survey was conducted from July to August 2014 among patients attending the James Cook University Dental Clinic.

IVF patients' attitudes toward multifetal pregnancy reduction.

Objective: To determine attitudes of in vitro fertilization (IVF) patients toward multifetal pregnancy reduction before and after embryo transfer.

Study Design: Women seeking IVF consultation were surveyed before and after embryo transfer regarding their attitudes toward multifetal pregnancy reduction.

Results: Thirty-one of 36 subjects completed the initial survey.

Circulating levels of total angiopoietin-2 and the soluble Tie-2 receptor in women during ovarian stimulation and early gestation.

Circulating levels of Ang-2 and sTie-2 receptor were detectable but invariant in women during COS cycles. During the postimplantation period, the rise in Ang-2 (but not sTie-2) levels probably reflects placental rather than luteal production.

Metabolite ligands of estrogen receptor-beta reduce primate coronary hyperreactivity.

Previous reports showed that 17beta-estradiol implants attenuate in vivo coronary hyperreactivity (CH), characterized by long-duration vasoconstrictions (in coronary angiographic experiments), in menopausal rhesus monkeys. Prolonged Ca2+ contraction signals that correspond with CH in coronary vascular muscle cells (VMC) to the same dual-constrictor stimulus, serotonin + the thromboxane analog U-46619, in estrogen-deprived VMC were suppressed by >72 h in 17beta-estradiol. The purpose of this study was to test whether an endogenous estrogen metabolite with estrogen receptor-beta (ER-beta) binding activity, estriol (E3), suppresses in vivo and in vitro CH.

Medroxyprogesterone acetate and dihydrotestosterone induce coronary hyperreactivity in intact male rhesus monkeys.

Coronary hyperreactivity (CH), characterized by persistent severe vasoconstrictions in response to vasoconstrictor challenge, is oppositely influenced by progesterone (P) and medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) treatment in surgically menopausal primates. In this study we tested whether multiweek MPA or dihydrotestosterone (DHT) exposure induced CH in intact male rhesus monkeys. Coronary angiographic experiments with intracoronary serotonin and the thromboxane A(2) analog U46619 stimulated brief vasoconstriction (for 1-3 min) in large epicardial coronaries in untreated male monkeys.

The role for preimplantation genetic diagnosis in balanced translocation carriers.

Objective: Preimplantation genetic diagnosis is an established technique that provides an alternative to prenatal diagnosis for patients who are at risk of transmitting a serious genetic disorder to their offspring. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis has been used for couples who have been at risk for having offspring with single gene or X-linked disorders and for screening for common age-related aneuploidy and in couples who themselves carry balanced chromosomal rearrangements. The aim of this study was to summarize our experience using preimplantation genetic diagnosis after the identification of a parental balanced translocation, specifically as it relates to the number of embryos that are suitable for transfer after preimplantation genetic diagnosis for a known translocation and aneuploidy screening.

Circulating levels of free and total vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A, soluble VEGF receptors-1 and -2, and angiogenin during ovarian stimulation in non-human primates and women.

Background: In a prospective study we measured circulating levels of vasoactive factors and their soluble receptors in women undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) for IVF who were at risk for ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), and compared them to those in a primate model, the rhesus monkey.

Methods: A total of 23 women were enrolled in the study and serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A (free and total), soluble (s)VEGF-R1 and -R2, and angiogenin levels were compared in pregnant and non-pregnant women, and in monkeys, during follicular stimulation, the luteal phase and early pregnancy.

Results: VEGF levels were similar during the period of follicular stimulation in pregnant and non-pregnant women, but a significant rise in both free and total VEGF occurred in pregnant women during the luteal phase (P < 0.

Prevention of coronary hyperreactivity in preatherogenic menopausal rhesus monkeys by transdermal progesterone.

Objective: To test if transdermal progesterone (P) confers coronary vascular protection in surgically menopausal preatherosclerotic rhesus monkeys.

Methods And Results: Ovariectomized rhesus monkeys fed an atherogenic diet (AD) for 19 months were treated with an investigational transdermal P cream (n=7) or identical placebo cream (n=5) for 4 weeks. Aorta and carotids showed fatty streaks and Oil Red O staining demonstrated lipid deposition.

Pregnancy outcomes using donor sperm insemination after failed in vitro fertilization with intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles in couples with complex infertility disorders.

Objective: To evaluate alternatives for couples with severe male factor infertility who fail to conceive with IVF-intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

Design: Outcomes of couples using artificial insemination with donor sperm (AID) after failed IVF-ICSI, assessing multiple risk factors affecting prognosis.

Setting: University infertility service.

Intrauterine insemination-ready versus conventional semen cryopreservation for donor insemination: a comparison of retrospective results and a prospective, randomized trial.

Objective: To compare fecundity rates following intrauterine insemination (IUI) with donor sperm frozen conventionally versus an IUI-ready preparation.

Design: Both retrospective results and a prospective, randomized study where recipients were assigned to one of two sperm cryopreservation methods in each cycle of intrauterine insemination are reported.

Setting: University-based infertility practice, affiliated private practices, and andrology laboratory.

Multiple gestations in assisted reproductive technology: can they be avoided with blastocyst transfers?

Objective: Blastocysts are advanced-stage embryos with high implantation potential; theoretically, limited numbers of blastocysts can be used for embryo transfer to achieve good pregnancy rates with low multiple pregnancy rates. Clinical outcomes of a newly implemented blastocyst transfer program were evaluated.

Study Design: This study is a retrospective analysis of 553 blastocyst transfer cycles performed by a university-based in vitro fertilization program; risk factors associated with multiple gestations were analyzed.

Oocyte donor screening: the selection process and cost analysis.

Objective: To evaluate the selection process and cost of screening oocyte donors.

Design: Retrospective analysis.

Setting: University-based IVF program.

Development and integration of an extended embryo culture program.

Objective: To study and evaluate a sequential, extended embryo culture system.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: University-affiliated IVF clinic.

Efficacy and safety of low, standard, and high dosages of an estradiol transdermal system (Esclim) compared with placebo on vasomotor symptoms in highly symptomatic menopausal patients. The Esclim Study Group.

Objective: Our purpose was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of 3 dosages of Esclim, delivering 0.025 mg, 0.050 mg, or 0.

Percutaneous absorption of progesterone in postmenopausal women treated with transdermal estrogen.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the serum levels of progesterone resulting from the application of a progesterone cream to the skin.

Study Design: Six postmenopausal women were evaluated at a university clinic over a 4-week period.

Results: Transdermal estradiol 0.

Initial experience with extended culture and blastocyst transfer of cryopreserved embryos.

Objective: Our purpose was to evaluate the viability and transfer efficiency of cryopreserved embryos allowed to develop into blastocysts in extended culture for in vitro fertilization.

Study Design: The embryos for in vitro fertilization that had been cryopreserved at either 2 PN (pronuclear) or cleaving stage (day 1-3) were thawed and cultured for uterine transfer on day 5. Outcome for day 5 embryo transfer was prospectively compared with previous outcomes from embryos transferred on day 2 or 3.

Fecundability trends among sperm donors as a measure of donor performance.

Objective: To examine fecundability trends among sperm donors.

Design: Retrospective analysis.

Setting: University-based sperm bank and donor insemination program.

Treatment-seeking women at menopause: a comparison between two university menopause clinics.

Objective: We wished to determine the expectations of women about the benefits of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and how these expectations may be influenced by cultural factors and previous experience of disease by the patient or in their families.

Design: The attitudes of patients seeking HRT in Belfast, United Kingdom (n = 218) and Portland, USA (n = 100) were compared at their first clinic attendance using a questionnaire. Physical and mental health issues, previous use of HRT and continuance on treatment were compared.