Effects of American Ginseng on Preimplantation Development and Pregnancy in Mice.

In North America, a high proportion of pregnant women use herbal medications including North American ginseng. This medicinal plant contains high amounts of triterpene saponins (ginsenosides), which are the main bioactive compounds. It is important to assess ginseng's impact on all reproductive functions to ensure the safety of pregnant women and fetuses.

High Frequency of Imprinted Methylation Errors in Human Preimplantation Embryos.

Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) represent the best chance for infertile couples to conceive, although increased risks for morbidities exist, including imprinting disorders. This increased risk could arise from ARTs disrupting genomic imprints during gametogenesis or preimplantation. The few studies examining ART effects on genomic imprinting primarily assessed poor quality human embryos.

Ureteric injury during transvaginal ultrasound guided oocyte retrieval.

Background: Transvaginal ultrasound guided oocyte retrieval during in vitro fertilization is performed routinely around the world and has reduced the occurrence of intra-abdominal injury considerably over laparoscopic procedures. Despite this, injuries do occur.

Case: We report a case of a 37-year-old patient who underwent IVF and encountered a ureteric injury during oocyte retrieval, which was recognized early and treated with ureteral stents with full resolution.

Do multiple attempts at embryo transfer affect clinical pregnancy rates?

Objective: During an in vitro fertilization treatment cycle, having embryos retained in the catheter after embryo transfer is a relatively uncommon and frustrating event. The reported incidence of retained embryos varies between 1% and 8%. It can be difficult to explain this unwanted event to patients.