More on controlling fertility

Question 1

What may be a reason why a women cannot get pregnant and eggs cannot be released?

Answer 1

• some women have levels of FSH but too low to cause their egg to mature

Question 2

What hormones can be given to stimulate ovulation?

Answer 2

• FSH and LH in a fertility drug

Question 3

pros of fertility drug

Answer 3

• helps a lot of women get pregnant when they previously couldn’t

Question 4

cons of fertility drug

Answer 4

• It doesn’t always work = some women do it many times = expensive
• Too many eggs could be stimulated = unexpected multiple pregnancies

Question 5

If a women cannot get pregnant using a fertility drug, what may she use?

Answer 5

IVF

Question 6

procedure of IVF 1-3

Answer 6

1) collect egg from woman’s ovaries and fertilise them in lab using mans sperm

2) IVF treatment may also involve a technique called intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection where sperm is directly injected into egg, useful is man has low sperm count

3) Fertilised egg grow into embryo in lab incubator

Question 7

procedure of IVF 4-5

Answer 7

4) once embryo are tiny balls of cell = one or two are transferred to women uterus to improve chance of pregnancies

5) FSH and LH given before egg collection to stimulate several eggs to mature

Question 8

Pros of IVF

Answer 8

• CAN GIVE INFERTILSE COUPLE A CHILD

Question 9

Cons of IVF

Answer 9

Multiple births can happen if more than one embryo develops into a baby - risk for mother and baby for example: still births or higher risk of miscarriage

Success rate of IVF is low, around 26% = makes process stressful and upsetting especially if it ends in multiple failures

Its physically stressful = some women have strong reactions to hormones, for example : vomiting , dehydration

Question 10

What has been used to improve the technique of IVF and success rate?

Answer 10

• advance in microscope technique
• specialised micro tools have been developed to use on egg and sperm under microscope and remove single cells from embryo for genetic testing

Question 11

What has the development of time-lapse imaging led to?

Answer 11

• Growth of embryo can be continuously monitored to help identity those who are likely to be more successful in pregnancies

Question 12

Why may some be against IVF?

Answer 12

• the IVF process often results in unused embryos that are eventually destroyed = unethical = each embryo is a potential human life
• Genetic testing of embryo before implantation could be seen as unethical as some people think it can lead to selection of preferred characteristics such as gender