Infertility and Treatments

Birth Defects One-Third More Common In IVF Babies
By Melissa
updated 4/20/2012 9:05:11 AM ET

Babies conceived through certain fertility treatment techniques are about one-third more likely to have a birth defect than babies conceived without any extra help from technology, according to a review of several dozen studies. However, the researchers – whose findings were published in the journal Fertility and Sterility – did not determine why fertility treatments are tied to a higher risk of birth defects or whether the technology is even responsible.

In vitro fertilization (IVF) – in which the mother’s egg is fertilized outside of her body and then transferred to her womb – has been available to would-be mothers for more than three decades, and numerous studies have looked at the potential hazards of these techniques.
Zhibin Hu at Nanjing Medical University and colleagues collected the results of 46 studies that compared the number of birth defects among children conceived using an IVF technique to children conceived normally. For more than 124,000 children born through IVF or using ICSI, in which a single sperm is injected directly into the egg, the risk of having a birth defect was 37 percent higher than that of the other children, they found.

“Children conceived by IVF and/or ICSI are at significantly increased risk for birth defects, and there is no risk difference between children conceived by IVF and/or ICSI,” the team wrote.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, major birth defects, such as malformation of a limb or organ, occur in about three out of every 100 babies born in the United States. A 37 percent increase would bump that rate to four out of every 100 babies.
“(The report) confirms what most people accepted anyway, that, yes, there is an increased risk in congenital abnormality associated with assisted reproductive technology,” said William Buckett, a professor at McGill University, who was not involved with the review.

The increase in birth defect risk was apparent across a range of functions and body systems, including the genitals, skeleton, digestive system and the nervous system, the authors reported. The question of why most studies find birth defects to be more common among IVF-conceived babies, though, remains to be answered. It’s possible that the same reasons people have trouble conceiving and seek out fertility treatment could influence their increased risk of having a baby with a birth defect. It’s also possible that the IVF techniques themselves, the jostling and handling of the embryos, or the drugs that go along with fertility treatment, could be involved. A third theory is that birth defects only appear to be more common in babies conceived through fertility treatments because they’re monitored more closely than other babies, Buckett said.

“Couples who have had babies born as a result of IVF are followed up more closely, and therefore subtle abnormalities may be detected that otherwise might not have been detected.”
As far as trying to reduce the risk of birth defects for parents using IVF, Hu said in an email that “it is really too early to find out ways to reduce the risk, because the reasons accounting for the risk are largely unknown.”

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012.

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Caffeine and its Link to Endometriosis

Caffeine and its Link to Endometriosis

Much of the research surrounding endometriosis concludes that estrogen is the primary hormone that makes endometrial cells grow and reproduce. Women who suffer from endometriosis normally show estrogen dominance, much of it caused by environmental factors.

One of these environmental factors is caffeine, which when consumed increases the estrogen level in women.

  In clinical studies women who drank one cup of coffee were shown to have higher estrogen levels than women who did not. As the consumption of caffeine increased for each woman so did their estrogen levels. In one study women who drank over 500 mg of caffeine, or four to five cups of coffee, had an increase in estrogen in their bodies of almost 70%.

  Women produce three different types of estrogen: estrone, estradiol, and estriol. Of the three caffeine increases estriodol the most and of the three estriodal is the most dangerous for women as it is a known carcinogen.

  Caffeine also produces undesirable affects on several of the body’s organ systems. The liver is responsible for detoxifying and removing excess estrogen from the body. Caffeine has not only been shown to increase estrogen but it also interferes with the livers ability to remove this excess estrogen. By removing caffeine from the diet estrogen creation is reduced and any excess can more easily be removed by the liver, thus lowering the overall estrogen supply in the body.

  Progesterone is the hormone that the body uses to naturally counter act the affects of estrogen. Progesterone is created from pregnenolone which is produced in the adrenal glands. Caffeine, particularly in large continued doses, can lead to adrenal gland exhaustion. Not only will this lead to a reduction in the production of progesterone, leading to estrogen dominance, but it will also affect the production of over 50 hormones created by the adrenal glands.

  When the adrenal glands become exhausted and the liver cannot effectively remove the excess estrogen an estrogen dominance begins to build in the female body. This excess estrogen not only exacerbates the endometriosis but it also leads to many of the symptoms associated with the disease such as, fatigue, bloating, depression, and back and neck pain.

  Women who suffer from endometriosis should avoid caffeine consumption from coffee, tea, sodas and energy drinks. Caffeine not only can make the condition worse but also affects many of the organs the body needs to mitigate the symptoms caused by endometriosis.

Thyroid Issues and Progesterone

Thyroid Issues and Progesterone

Endometriosis was associated with a thyroid problem - In clinic with Dr Sandra Cabot

Georgina had come all the way from New Zealand to see me as she was desperate to find relief for her chronic abdominal and pelvic pain. This was caused by endometriosis growing on her bladder and bowel despite having had a hysterectomy, which unfortunately had provided only partial relief. She was in her late 30s and had not had children. Georgina was a lovely lady with a bright bubbly personality and I admired her positive attitude and toughness, as she had managed to keep working despite this chronic pain.

  Georgina was using a progesterone cream that was not strong enough to reduce the endometriosis growing on her bowel and bladder and when I checked the strength of her cream it was only 4 % (40mg per gram) and she had been using only half a gram providing her body with a daily dose of 20mg of progesterone.

I prescribed progesterone vaginal pessaries of 200mg strength and she was to insert a pessary once daily into her vagina as high up as possible. I also prescribed a progesterone cream of 10% strength (100mg per gram of cream) which she was to rub into the skin of her inner upper arm once daily after her shower. If natural progesterone was going to be able to control her severe endometriosis we had to use an adequate dose.

I explained to Georgina that it was vital to strengthen her immune system and reduce inflammation with nutritional medicine.

To achieve these goals I recommended the following –

• Liquid fish oil in a dose of one tablespoon just before every meal

• An ultra strong magnesium powder in a dose of ½ teaspoon twice daily to ease her bladder and bowel cramps

• A probiotic

• Raw vegetable juices from fresh green herbs (parsley, basil, mint, etc), carrot, ginger, citrus, cabbage and apple. This would reduce inflammation and improve liver function.
• A powerful liver tonic containing the herb St Mary’s Thistle, B vitamins and sulfur bearing amino acids. In all cases of oestrogen dominance it is vital to improve liver function, so that the liver can break down the excessive oestrogen produced from the ovaries and fat tissue.
  I also noticed that she had a slight goitre with a few small nodules on her thyroid gland and on checking her serum vitamin D levels I found these to be deficient. Her urinary spot iodine concentration was very low thus revealing a deficiency of iodine. Thyroid problems are often caused by deficiencies of vitamin D, iodine, zinc and selenium.

Thyroid problems will often cause imbalances in the function of the ovaries leading to progesterone deficiency. Progesterone deficiency leads to oestrogen dominance and this worsens endometriosis. Thus it was vital to improve her thyroid function so I prescribed a capsule containing vitamin D, selenium, zinc and iodine to improve thyroid health.

Posted by Dr Sandra Cabot MD at 4:33 PM

http://blog.liverdoctor.com/2012/02/in-clinic-with-dr-sandra-cabot.html

Endometriosis Angel's Purpose

The purpose of Endometriosis Angel is to provide as much helpful, accurate information as possible. We compile helpful articles, stories and support group information to help bring all our endo sisters together. It is meant to be used as a guide and not in substitution of actual medical treatment(s).

We provide information to help women learn more about Endometriosis as well as the diseases that are commonly suffered along with it. There are many components that play a part in pelvic pain.

The average Endometriosis sufferer is not diagnosed for several years. Once it is confirmed the other pelvic disease can be easily overlooked. Including pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD), Pudental Nerve Entrapment (PNE) and Interstitial Cystitis (IC) can cause pain that is mistaken for Endometriosis.

Once we have the full picture we can get better treatment to improve our quality of life! We hope that this information is helpful.

If you have any questions please feel free to let us know via comments.

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