Topic 5 Controlling Fertility Flashcards
How can oestrogen prevent the release of the egg
If it is taken every day to keep its level permanently high it inhibits the production of FSH a and after a while egg development and production will stop and stay stopped
How can progesterone reduce fertility
By creating a thick mucus which prevents sperm getting through and reaching the egg
What is the combined oral contraceptive pill
A pill containing oestrogen and progesterone
How effective is the pill
99%
What are the side effects of the pill
Headaches and nausea
One con of the combine oral contraceptive pill
Doesn’t protect about sexually transmitted disease
What are adv of the progesterone only pill
Has fewer side effects and is just as effective
What is the contraceptive patch
Contains oestrogen and progesterone
And is a small patch stuck to the skin that lasts one week
What is the contraceptive implant
Inserted under the skin of the arm and releases a continuous amount of progesterone which stops the ovaries releasing eggs and makes it hard for sperm to swim to the egg and being fertilised
Lasts 3 years
Contraceptive injection
Contains progesterone and lasts 2-3 months
What is the intrauterine device (IUD)
T shaped device that is inserted into the uterus to kill sperm and prevent implantation of a fertilised egg
What are the two main types of IUD
Plastic that release progesterone
Copper that prevent the sperm from surviving in the uterus
Why are condoms good
Only form of contraception that will protect against sexually transmitted disease
What is the diaphragm
A shallow plastic cup that fits over the cervix (entrance to the uterus) to form a barrier
And can be used with spermicide (substances that kills or disables sperm)
How effective is spermicide when used on its own
70-80%
What is sterilisation
Cutting or tying of the fallopian tubes in a female
Cutting of the sperm duct I’m the penis for a male
What kind of procedure is sterilisation
Permanent solution but small chance tubes can rejoin
What are natural methods of avoiding pregnancy
Finding out when in the menstrual cycle the women is most fertile and avoiding having sexual intercourse on those days
What is abstinence
Only way is completely be sure that sperm does not meet the egg is not to have sexual intercourse
Pros of fertility drugs
Can you help women get pregnant
Cons of fertility drugs
Doesn’t always work
too many eggs can be stimulated resulting in multiple pregnancies
Pros of facility treatment
Given infertile couples a child
Cons of fertility treatment
Multiple births
success rate is low
emotionally stressful as well as physically stressful
Why are some people against IVF
Unused embryos or destroyed
genetic testing of embryos for implantation could lead to selection of preferred characteristics
What does ivf involve
Collecting eggs from a woman’s ovaries and fertilising them in a lab using a man’s sperm
What does ivf stand for
In vitro fertilisation
What is the ivf treatment called intra cytoplasmic sperm injection ICSI
Where sperm is injected directly into an egg
When is ICSI a useful
If a man has a low sperm count
Where are the eggs grown into embryos during ivf
In a laboratory incubator
What happens once the embryos are tiny balls of cells
They are transferred to the woman’s uterus to improve the chance of pregnancy
What is given to a woman before the eggs are inserted during ivf
Fsh and LH to stimulate several eggs to mature
Cons of ivf
Multiple births can happen and therefore there risky for the mother and the babies (miscarriage and still birth)
Success rate of ivf is low 26% process stressful upsetting and multiple failures
Emotionally and physically stressful for the woman as some may have strong reactions to hormones
E.g abdominal pain, vomiting, dehydration
What has helped improve techniques and therefore success rates
Microscope techniques
What have specialised micro tools need developed for
To use on eggs and sperm under a microscope
Also used to remove single cells from an embryo for genetic testing
What is used to continuously monitor the embryos to see which ones are more likely to result in successful pregnancy
Time lapse imaging (using microscope and built in camera in the incubator)
Why are some against genetic testing
Some think it could lead to selection of preferred characteristic such as gender or eye colour
