Controlling Fertility Flashcards
How can hormones be used to affect fertility
Hormones can be used to reduce fertility or increase it
What can Oestrogen be used to prevent
Oestrogen can be used to prevent the release of an egg. This can be used as a method of contraception
How does Oestrogen need to be taken to prevent the release of an egg
It needs to be taken daily to keep the level of it permanently high so it inhibits the production of FSH. After a while egg development and production stop and stay stopped
How can progesterone reduce fertility
It stimulates the production of a thick cervical mucus which prevents sperm getting through and reaching the egg
When was the first version of the pill made and how
1950’s and it contained high levels of oestrogen and progesterone
Why did the pill have to change the amount of oestrogen in it
The pill used to have high amounts of oestrogen in it however it now has lowers doses as it used to have side effects like blood clots
What is the percentage of the pill being effective at preventing pregnancy
Over 99%
What else is the pill useful for
Reduces the risk of some types of cancer
What is a negative about the pill
It can cause side effects like headaches, nausea irregular menstrual bleeding and fluid retention.
What does the pill not protect you against
STD’s
Is there another type of the pill?
Yes, progesterone pill. It has less side effects but less effective
How do women with low FSH have a slim chance of becoming pregnant?
They do not have enough FSH for their egg to mature so It won’t be released therefore the woman won’t become pregnant
What way allows hormones to increase fertility
Being injected into the women (FSH & LH) to stimulate egg release in their ovaries
Does injecting FSH and LH always work in making a women become pregnant?
No, some women may have to do it may times which can become expensive
What could happen if too many ggs q stimulated?
Could result in multiple unexpected pregnancies e.g twins/triplets
What is another way to help couples have children
IVF (in vitro fertilisation)
How does IVF work
It involves collecting eggs from a woman’s ovaries and fertilising them in a lab using the mans sperm. These are then grown into embryo’s
Once the embryos are tiny balls of cells, one or two of them are transferred to the woman’s uterus to improve the chance of pregnancy
FSH & LH are given before egg collection to stimulate egg production
What is a negative to women of IVF
Some women have a strong reaction to the hormone e.g abdominal pain , vomiting , dehydration
What have been reports that can make IVF a negative
There have been some reports of increased risk of cancer due to the hormonal treatment
What is a negative about births of IVF
Multiple births can happen if more than one embryo grows into a baby. Also a high risk of miscarriage / still birth
