Considering infertility
Rels 300 / Nurs 3305 November 2014
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(http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/a/artificial_insemination.asp )
InfertilityAffects approximately 1 out of every 8
(some say 6) couples in CanadaMedically defined as inability to conceive
after one year of unprotected intercourseIncidence 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
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Medical causes of infertility
Sexually transmitted infectionsSmoking (both women and men)Delayed childbearingExposure to harmful agents
◦Workplace and environmental toxic substances
Alcohol and substance useWeight (obesity and malnourishment),
eating disorders, exercise, stressMedical interventionsEndometriosis
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Specific Reproductive Causes of Infertility
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)
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Male factors in infertilityLow sperm counts,
or no spermLow motility rates /
low rate of movement
Abnormal morphology of sperm / physical abnormalities
STI historyHormonal
imbalancesCancer treatments:
chemo, radiation or surgery
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Male or female factors?30% of infertile couples are
infertile due to male causes40% are infertile due to female
causes20% are infertile due to a mix of
male and female factors10% - no specific cause of
infertility can be found
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Responding to Infertility
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?
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Why not adoption?
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?
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Is infertility a medical condition?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
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How is success measured? 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
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Social dimensions of infertility
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
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(5:23) https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/on-infertile-ground--
5 1 in 6 couples face infertility. Most suffer in
silence,too ashamed to tell friends and family.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JfK_4u80nY
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“Motherhood and Infertility: Viewing Motherhood through the Lens of Infertility” by Miriam Ulrich & Ann Weatherall (Feminism Psychology August 2000 [10:3] 323-336)
“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.”
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Reproductive rightso Do
individuals/couples have a right to reproduce?
o Is this a universal human right, like the right to life?
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Reproductive rights
A person’s or couple’s inability to become pregnant should be understood as:
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Yes, the right to reproduce is a universal human right, because…
No, the right to reproduce is not a universal human right, because…
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29485996; 4 October 2014
First womb-transplant baby bornBy James Gallagher Health editor, BBC News
“A woman in Sweden has given birth to a baby boy using a transplanted womb, in a medical first, doctors report.” 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
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The baby will "give hope" to those wanting children,say the transplant team
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141007092110.htm
World's first child born after uterus transplantationOctober 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?
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