( cial_insemination.asp ) cial_insemination.asp Infertility & Reproductive Technologies Rels 300 / Nurs October /330 - appleby1

 Affects approximately 1 out of every 8 (some say 6) couples in Canada  Medically defined as inability to conceive after one year of unprotected intercourse  Incidence is lower for women between the ages of 18 and 29, and greater for women between 30 and 44  May be broadened to include people who desire to have children, but who are not in stable heterosexual relationships – e.g., single persons, lesbian women or couples, gay males or couples Infertility 300/330 - appleby2

 Sexually transmitted infections  Smoking (both women and men)  Delayed childbearing  Exposure to harmful agents  Workplace and environmental toxic substances  Alcohol and substance use  Weight (obesity and malnourishment), eating disorders, exercise, stress  Medical interventions (e.g., cancer treatment)  Endometriosis Medical causes of infertility 300/330 - appleby3

FEMALE FACTORS:  Blocked fallopian tubes  Irregular or absent ovulation  Endometriosis  Cervical irregularities, e.g., hostile cervical mucus  Uterine fibroids or polyps  Hormonal imbalances  Early menopause  Age (+ 35)  STI history  Cancer treatments (chemo, radiation, surgery) Specific Reproductive Causes of Infertility 300/330 - appleby4

 Low sperm counts, or no sperm  Low motility rates / low rate of movement  Abnormal morphology of sperm / physical abnormalities  STI history  Hormonal imbalances  Cancer treatments: chemo, radiation or surgery Male factors in infertility 300/330 - appleby5

 30% of infertile couples are infertile due to male causes  40% are infertile due to female causes  20% are infertile due to a mix of male and female factors  10% - no specific cause of infertility can be found Male or female factors? 300/330 - appleby6

Adoption  Do you have an adopted child in your family?  What was the process for adopting this child?  How is this child treated in your family?  How does this child feel about being adopted?  What are the best things about adoption?  Are there any down-sides to adoption? Responding to Infertility 300/330 - appleby7

What reasons do individuals or couples have for rejecting adoption as a solution to their infertility?  Personal reasons?  Social reasons?  Biological reasons?  Genetic reasons?  Additional considerations? Why not adoption? 300/330 - appleby8

 There are medical conditions that contribute to infertility  There are reproductive technologies that correct, overcome or circumvent the medical condition  However, many reproductive technologies result in babies for infertile persons or couples without addressing the cause of infertility Is infertility a medical condition? 300/330 - appleby9

 Success in overcoming the medical condition of infertility is measured by the provision of a child  With a series of interventions that become increasingly technological, male and female infertility factors are largely circumvented, rather than corrected  Reproductive services arose within and are aligned with research agenda designed to ultimately create human life outside of the human body  Minimal primary research is being done on the medical condition of infertility How is success measured? 300/330 - appleby10

Why do individuals and couples desire to have children? Divine commandment to “be fruitful and multiply” To provide a future for a religious, racial or cultural community To ensure a genetic heritage for future generations As evidence of mature and responsible adult status To demonstrate or strengthen a couple’s love To satisfy a deep hunger or longing for a baby Social dimensions of infertility 300/330 - appleby11

(5:23) 1 in 6 couples face infertility. Most suffer in silence, too ashamed to tell friends and family /330 - appleby12

“Reasons for wanting children included motherhood as ‘natural instinct’, as ‘a stage in the development of a relationship’ and as ‘social expectation’. These were used to construct motherhood as physical, psychological and social completeness and fulfilment for women. Consequently, infertility was experienced as guilt, inadequacy and failure, reinforced by the language used to describe infertility.” “Motherhood and Infertility: Viewing Motherhood through the Lens of Infertility” by Miriam Ulrich & Ann Weatherall (Feminism Psychology August 2000 [10:3] ) 300/330 - appleby13

Rainy with a chance of baby Kara DeFrias TEDxCoMo com/watch?v=p_stv_ YOJ5Yhttps:// com/watch?v=p_stv_ YOJ5Y [14:39] 300/330 - appleby14

o Do individuals/ couples have a right to reproduce? o Is this a universal human right, like the right to life? Reproductive rights 300/330 - appleby15

A person’s or couple’s inability to become pregnant should be understood as:  Reproductive rights 300/330 - appleby16 Yes, the right to reproduce is a universal human right, because… No, the right to reproduce is not a universal human right, because…            

“A woman in Sweden has given birth to a baby boy using a transplanted womb, in a medical first.”  IVF to produce 11 embryos, which were frozen  Uterus donated by a friend in her 60s  Drugs used to suppress the immune system  1 year after transplant, doctors transferred one of the frozen embryos to the woman’s womb  Due to toxicity of immunosuppressant drugs, uterus will later be removed 4 October 2014 First womb-transplant baby born By James Gallagher Health editor, BBC News 300/330 - appleby17 The baby will "give hope" to those wanting children, say the transplant team

World's first child born after uterus transplantation October 7, 2014; University of Gothenburg “The uterus transplantation research project at the University of Gothenburg [in Sweden] started in 1999.”  9 women have received uterine transplants from live donors – mostly family members, some friends  7 successful, 2 not successful  Other women still trying for successful pregnancy and birth What would cause a woman not to have a uterus? Why would some women choose this experimental treatment instead of adopting or using a surrogate mother? 300/330 - appleby18

A journey through infertility -- over terror's edge Camille Preston TEDxBeaconStreet com/watch?v=6BBm MtVfZ4Y 300/330 - appleby19

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