Free Access Articles
Baby factories taint surrogacy in Nigeria
The practice of reproductive medicine in Nigeria is facing new challenges with the proliferation of ‘baby factories’. Baby factories are buildings, hospitals or orphanages that have been converted into places for young girls and women to give birth to children for sale on the black market, often to infertile couples, or into trafficking rings. This practice illegally provides outcomes (children) similar to surrogacy. While surrogacy has not been well accepted in this environment, the proliferation of baby factories further threatens its acceptance.Spermatogenesis, DNA damage and DNA repair mechanisms in male infertility
Spermatogenesis is a complex process of proliferation and differentiation during male germ cell development involving mitosis, meiosis and spermiogenesis. Endogenous and exogenous physical, chemical and biological sources modify the genome of spermatozoa. The genomic integrity and stability of the sperm is protected by DNA repair mechanisms. In the male germline cells, DNA repair mechanisms include nucleotide excision repair, base excision repair, DNA mismatch repair, double strand break repair and post-replication repair.Adenomyosis and reproductive performance after surgery for rectovaginal and colorectal endometriosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis
The relationship between rectovaginal–bowel endometriosis and fertility is unclear. Nevertheless, extirpative surgery, including colorectal resection, is being fostered as a fertility-enhancing procedure. Adenomyosis and deep endometriosis often coexist. As the uterine condition may further impact on reproductive outcome, this work performed a systematic literature review with the objective of identifying all English-language reports on surgical treatment for rectovaginal and colorectal endometriosis, including bowel resection, in which participants were screened preoperatively for uterine adenomyosis.Cassandra’s prophecy: education, education, education
This is a commentary on the personal account of Jane Everywoman. It reflects on her experiences and thoughts. The author adds context from her own work with the Progress Educational Trust, the Daisy Network Premature Menopause Support Group and the National Infertility Awareness Campaign. Examples of the mixed messages and the confusion surrounding fertility, infertility and the possible solutions which appear in the media have been included to further illustrate many of the issues raised by Jane.Cassandra’s prophecy: why we need to tell the women of the future about age-related fertility decline and ‘delayed’ childbearing
This anonymized paper describes the author’s experience of age-related infertility and unintended childlessness. It outlines her journey from diagnosis to treatment success and clinical pregnancy through assisted reproduction using oocyte donation, followed by subsequent early miscarriage. It makes subjective observations about treatment she received and presents her impressions of how discourses of knowledge dissemination, communication and care were constructed in the organizations she encountered.Cassandra’s prophecy: a public heath perspective
A public health approach to informing women about age-related fertility decline is best targeted indirectly through professionals.Cassandra’s prophecy and the trend of delaying childbearing: is there a simple answer to this complex problem?
There is a trend to later childbearing, but is the solution offered by Jane Everywoman appropriate or proportionate? Her case is, as she says herself, not necessarily representative and in describing it in such painful detail, might she alarm many women unnecessarily?Effect of patient selection on estimate of reproductive success after surgery for rectovaginal endometriosis: literature review
The effect of rectovaginal endometriosis on fertility is unclear. Several authors foster radical surgery, including colorectal resection, as a fertility-enhancing procedure. However, interpretation of data is difficult, as the baseline fertility status is often undefined and it is not always possible to discriminate between spontaneous conceptions and those resulting from IVF. A systematic literature review was performed with the aim of defining the pregnancy rate specifically in patients who were infertile before surgery and who sought spontaneous pregnancy.A novel genomic diagnostic tool for sperm quality?
Male factor infertility is a growing problem worldwide. Considering that a male factor is involved in at least 20% of infertility cases, there is a need for better predictive markers of sperm function. The traditional sperm analysis based on sperm count and motility has been used for the diagnosis of male fertility for several decades, however, a significant number of men with normal sperm features remain unable to reach pregnancy. This fact clearly indicates the need to develop new male infertility tests to accurately diagnose the sperm samples from these individuals.
