Patient-centered elective egg freezing: a binational qualitative study of best practices for women's quality of care.

Purpose: How can elective egg freezing (EEF) be made patient centered? This study asked women to reflect on their experiences of EEF, which included their insights and recommendations on the optimal delivery of patient-centered care.

Methods: In this binational, qualitative study, 150 women (114 in the USA, 36 in Israel) who had completed at least one cycle of EEF were recruited from four American IVF clinics (two academic, two private) and three in Israel (one academic, two private) over a two-year period (June 2014-August 2016). Women who volunteered for the study were interviewed by two medical anthropologists.

The National Physicians Cooperative: transforming fertility management in the cancer setting and beyond.

Once unimaginable, fertility management is now a nationally established part of cancer care in institutions, from academic centers to community hospitals to private practices. Over the last two decades, advances in medicine and reproductive science have made it possible for men, women and children to be connected with an oncofertility specialist or offered fertility preservation soon after a cancer diagnosis. The Oncofertility Consortium's National Physicians Cooperative is a large-scale effort to engage physicians across disciplines - oncology, urology, obstetrics and gynecology, reproductive endocrinology, and behavioral health - in clinical and research activities to enable significant progress in providing fertility preservation options to children and adults.

Ten pathways to elective egg freezing: a binational analysis.

Purpose: What are the specific pathways that lead women to freeze their eggs? In this binational study, women were asked directly about the life circumstances that led them on the path to elective egg freezing (EEF).

Methods: From June 2014 to August 2016, 150 women (114 in the USA, 36 in Israel) who had completed at least 1 cycle of EEF were interviewed by two medical anthropologists. Study participants were recruited through four American IVF clinics (two academic, two private) and three in Israel (one academic, two private).

Euploidy in relation to blastocyst sex and morphology.

Purpose: The objective of our study is to assess the relationship of embryo ploidy status in relation to embryo sex, morphological characteristics, and transfer parameters.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study at an academic medical center of patients who underwent in vitro fertilization with preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) from 2010 to 2015. Embryos were screened with 24-chromosome preimplantation genetic screening with day 5/6 trophectoderm biopsy.

Medical egg freezing: How cost and lack of insurance cover impact women and their families.

Medical egg freezing (MEF) is being recommended increasingly for women at risk of losing their reproductive ability due to cancer chemotherapy or other fertility-threatening medical conditions. This first, binational, ethnographic study of women who had undergone MEF sought to explore women's experiences under two different funding systems: (i) the USA, where the cost of MEF is rarely covered by private or state health insurance; and (ii) Israel, where the cost of MEF is covered by national health insurance. Women were recruited from four American and two Israeli in-vitro fertilization clinics where MEF is offered.

Cross border reproductive care (CBRC): a growing global phenomenon with multidimensional implications (a systematic and critical review).

Purpose: Many people travel abroad to access fertility treatments. This growing phenomenon is known as cross border reproductive care (CBRC) or fertility tourism. Due to its complex nature and implications worldwide, CBRC has become an emerging dilemma deserving more attention on the global healthcare agenda.

Medical egg freezing: the importance of a patient-centered approach to fertility preservation.

Purpose: This binational qualitative study of medical egg freezing (MEF) examined women's motivations and experiences, including their perceived needs for patient-centered care in the midst of fertility- and life-threatening diagnoses.

Methods: Forty-five women who had undertaken MEF were interviewed in the USA (33 women) and in Israel (12 women) between June 2014 and August 2016. Interviews lasted approximately 1 h and were conducted by two senior medical anthropologists, one in each country.

Freeze-only versus fresh embryo transfer in a multicenter matched cohort study: contribution of progesterone and maternal age to success rates.

Objective: To compare implantation and ongoing pregnancy rates in freeze-only versus fresh transfer cycles.

Design: Retrospective matched cohort study.

Setting: Not applicable.

In vitro fertilization outcomes after fresh and frozen blastocyst transfer in South Asian compared with Caucasian women.

Objective: To study pregnancy outcomes between South Asian and Caucasian women undergoing frozen blastocyst transfer cycles.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Not applicable.

Expression of interleukin-22 in decidua of patients with early pregnancy and unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss.

Purpose: Researchers have hypothesized that an imbalance of immune cells in the uterine decidua and a dysfunction in cytokines they produce may contribute to recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL). The objective of this study was to determine if IL-22, IL-23 and IL-17 are expressed abnormally in the decidua of patients with RPL compared to those women with a normal pregnancy. We also sought to confirm that uterine natural killer (uNK) cells are lower in the decidua of patients with RPL, as well as identify IL-22 expression by uNK cells.

The role of serum testosterone in early pregnancy outcome: a comparison in women with and without polycystic ovary syndrome.

Objective: Hyperandrogenic conditions in women are associated with increased rates of miscarriage. However, the specific role of maternal testosterone in early pregnancy and its association with pregnancy outcome is unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare serum testosterone levels during early pregnancy in women with and without polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) who either had successful pregnancies or miscarried.

Comparison of epigenetic mediator expression and function in mouse and human embryonic blastomeres.

A map of human embryo development that combines imaging, molecular, genetic and epigenetic data for comparisons to other species and across pathologies would be greatly beneficial for basic science and clinical applications. Here, we compared mRNA and protein expression of key mediators of DNA methylation and histone modifications between mouse and human embryos, embryos from fertile/infertile couples, and following growth factor supplementation. We observed that individual mouse and human embryos are characterized by similarities and distinct differences in DNA methylation and histone modification patterns especially at the single-cell level.

Fertility issues in cancer survivorship.

Breakthroughs in cancer diagnosis and treatment have led to dramatic improvements in survival and the need to focus on survivorship issues. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy can be gonadotoxic, resulting in impaired fertility. Techniques to help cancer survivors reproduce have been improving over the past decade.

Pregnancy During Recovery from Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant for Mycosis Fungoides.

We report a case of spontaneous pregnancy with subsequent full-term live birth following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for mycosis fungoides in a 24-year-old nulligravida with 4 years of prior infertility due to primary ovarian insufficiency. Four months post-transplant, the patient was found to be 10 weeks pregnant. Her pregnancy was complicated by first trimester fetal exposure to mycophenolate mofetil (pregnancy category D), delayed-onset acute gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease, and multiple systemic infections.

Stress and anxiety scores in first and repeat IVF cycles: a pilot study.

Background: The role of stress in reproduction, particularly during treatment for infertility, has been of considerable interest; however, few studies have objectively measured stress and anxiety over the course of the IVF cycle or compared the experience of first-time and repeat patients.

Methods: This prospective cohort pilot study enrolled 44 women undergoing IVF at a university-based clinic to complete the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Infertility Self-Efficacy Scale (ISES) at three time points prior to ovarian stimulation (T1), one day prior to oocyte retrieval (T2), and 5-7 days post embryo transfer (T3).

Results: Mean STAI State scores were significantly elevated at all three time points (p<0.

Frequency of the male infertility evaluation: data from the national survey of family growth.

Purpose: An estimated 7 million American couples per year seek infertility care in the United States. A male factor contributes to 50% of cases but it is unclear what proportion of infertile couples undergoes male evaluation.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed data from cycles 5 to 7 of the National Survey of Family Growth performed by the Centers for Disease Control to determine the frequency of a male infertility evaluation, and associated reproductive and demographic factors.

Outcomes of trophectoderm biopsy on cryopreserved blastocysts: a case series.

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is an increasingly common adjunct to IVF. The information gained from PGD may be used to reduce the incidence of chromosomally abnormal pregnancies and augment the current selection process of embryos. As such, patients may choose to utilize PGD in either fresh or cryopreserved IVF cycles.

Testosterone concentrations in early pregnancy: relation to method of conception in an infertile population.

This prospective cohort study of infertility patients compared testosterone concentrations in early pregnancy in infertility patients who conceived naturally or after treatment. Although all groups demonstrated some increase in pregnancy testosterone from baseline concentrations, subjects who conceived following ovulation induction showed a significantly increased rise in testosterone as compared with controls (P<0.01).

Age-Related Success with Elective Single versus Double Blastocyst Transfer.

Background. Although the optimal outcome of assisted reproductive technology (ART) is a healthy singleton pregnancy, the rate of twin gestation from ART in women over the age of 35 is persistently high. Methods/Findings.

Integration and safety of fertility preservation in a breast cancer program.

Young women diagnosed with breast cancer typically face systemic treatments that may delay childbearing or permanently impair their fertility. These concerns add to the stress experienced by young cancer survivors. Timely counseling and providing fertility preservation through cryopreservation of eggs or embryos have become an important quality of life issue.

Early pregnancy testosterone after ovarian stimulation and pregnancy outcome.

Objective: To examine early pregnancy (EP) testosterone (T) after ovarian stimulation and its effect on singleton pregnancy outcomes.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: University-based tertiary care center.