Preview

Advanced Reproductive Age and Fertility

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1854 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Advanced Reproductive Age and Fertility
We live in an exciting time full of wonders. Advances of technology and science changed the very fabric of our existence. They made our life more convenient. The distances got shorter and information became readily available at one's fingertips. But there is more - now science can help to challenge the Nature herself and to say yes when she says no. One of such things is in-vitro fertilization, or IVF. At the beginning this technology was used mostly for impregnating younger women with premature ovarian failure (Grossman, Kort and Sauer). Later on, D-IVF emerged - a version of it that uses a donor egg was applied to treat perimenopausal and postmenopausal patients. First I will explain what menopause means in terms of physiological opportunities and decline of thereof. When a woman reaches puberty, her glands produce a full range of female hormones and her ovaries produce a least one mature egg every month. Ideally by the age of 25, woman’s body is physiologically ready for difficulties and hardships of pregnancy and childbirth. After approximately 40, the level of female hormone production starts to reduce and in another 10 years woman gradually loses ability to conceive a healthy baby and then runs out eggs. This means that she has passed her reproductive period and entered menopause; that's when the Nature says: ”You can not get pregnant anymore”. But today modern medical technology says: ”You can if you want to”. In this particular situation women past the age of 50 who want to get pregnant are first treated with high doses of female hormones to reverse menopause and trick the body into “thinking” it is still young. Then, there comes the magic of IVF. Because of decreased egg quality, which translates into increased risk of Down syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities, IVF technique uses donated eggs of younger women and becomes D-IVF. A few oocytes get fertilized by artificial insemination in a lab tube and after 3-5 days and a few divisions are

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Best Essays

    The intention of this assignment is to highlight the fact that women are becoming mothers later in life and that doing so is adversely affecting their chances of conception. Since the introduction of IVF on the NHS the amount of people having treatment has increased over the years and so have the success rates, which have increased with developments in techniques and technology. As women are having children at an older age, it will be discussed whether it is necessary and cost effective for the NHS to provide fertility treatment to women up to the age of 42.…

    • 3329 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    The menopause occurs when the hormone levels oestrogen and progesterone in a woman falls and the body stops producing eggs, once this starts to occur then menstruation ceases permanently meaning you are unable to conceive. The menopause can start as early as 35 years of age and as late as 60 years of age. Without the high level of the hormone oestrogen your risk of heart disease and osteoporosis increases significantly. You may start to notice that the menopause is approaching as your periods may become slightly longer apart, or may not last as long but occasionally the menopause may just stop altogether without any warning. Physical changes can occur a few years before your menopause begins, for example you could experience hot flushes where you could be extremely hot one minute enough to open all the windows in the house then the next minute you could be shivering cold. Night sweats often effect women during menopause if they are severe they could drench your bedding and disturb yours or your partners sleeping pattern. This could emotionally affect a person that is/are ageing, frequently becoming anxious can lead to the individual having regular panic attacks, and this can include shortness of breath, dizziness or palpitations. Oestrogen plays a part in the health of the nerve cells in the brain however during menopause when there become less of it this could cause memory loss and poor concentration.…

    • 3798 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Ann Patchett’s State of Wonder, women of the Lakashi tribe have had the capability to conceive children until they die. Medical science should not attempt to make this possible for all women. Modern science needs to stop trying to improve human reproduction and let nature take its course. Just because giving birth at an elderly age can be done doesn’t mean that it should be done. Menopause should be the ending of women’s reproductive years.…

    • 852 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Menopause is the permanent ending of ovarian function. When all of the ova are used up and secretion of estrogen from the ovaries lessens, menopause begins. Menopause signals the gradual ending of the menstrual cycle and the end of the fertile phase of a woman's life.…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The IVF process involves monitoring and stimulating a woman’s ovulatory process, in which you remove an ovum (egg) from the ovaries and let the sperm fertilize in a liquid in a laboratory. The fertilized egg (zygote) is cultured for two to six days in a growth medium and then implanted into the woman’s uterus, with the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy. Even though there…

    • 846 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In vitro fertilization (IVF) is one of the assisted reproduction technology techniques. It allows couples to overcome fertility problems. Male and female infertility are among the major barriers for couples that want children. Depending on the definition of infertility, the number of infertile couples worldwide may vary from 48.5 million to 72.4 million (Mascarenhas et al. 9). Among other assisted reproduction technology techniques aimed at reaching pregnancy, IVF shows the highest effectiveness rate. According to Van Voorhis, in 2003 there were more than 100,000 IVF cycles in the USA, almost half of which were successful (379). Although the IVF procedure has some disadvantages, it is a major step in overcoming some fertility problems.…

    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Health Study Guide

    • 733 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Define Menopause: the decline and eventual cessation of hormone production by the female reproductive system.…

    • 733 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The article “The Hunt for Golden Eggs” by Brooke Lea Foster discusses donating eggs to help couples have children. The article briefly summarized how helpful and useful egg donors are to IVF patients and how they are truly “heroes” to those who cannot use their own eggs and suffer from infertility issues. Conception was once an easy task, but since 1980, in vitro fertilization (IVF) gives a unique and additional option to allow couples to have children who are “half” their own regardless of infertility in the mother. In exchange for a woman donating her eggs, she is given a substantial payment.…

    • 1371 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although a great increase in the life expectancy of women, the age at menopause remains constant. The age at menopause is genetically determined and not affected by race, socioeconomic status and age at menarche, or a number of previous ovulation [13]. The average age for the final menstrual period is 51.5 years [14]. The menopausal transition is changes in menstrual cycle and endocrine, beginning with irregular menstrual cycle and increase follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and ends with the Final Menstrual Period. Menopausal transition starts with the loss of follicular activity in wide range of age (42-58 years)…

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tube Babies

    • 823 Words
    • 4 Pages

    I read this quote and I couldn’t not have it at the start of this essay. No one , no women in the world deserve not to have this feeling, first and foremost its god’s decision but it doesn’t mean we can’t try. IVF or in other words , test tube babies. What is IVF ? IVF is the removal of an egg from a woman 's body, fertilizing it with a man 's sperm and putting it back into her body for implantation in the uterus. It doesn’t always work , but most of the time it does and it has helped a lot of couples. It is a great way to make most infertile couples dreams of having a baby come true.…

    • 823 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Henig (2004), a poll in 1969 showed that about 50% of American adults believed that IVF was against God’s will and would encourage proximity. Louise brown therefore served as a proof that the process of IVF could indeed produce healthy children and an estimate of 1 million babies have been conceived using the IVF method. Although widely accepted, religious protesters still see the process as ‘playing God’ and should not be thought of as a means of conception. Some also believe that producing children artificially could also lead to some deficiencies in the children and they might be more prone to diseases or might not be as mentally stable as naturally conceived children. A study was conducted by Ceelen.M (et al, 2007) to investigate the difference between IVF children and naturally born children. The results stated that IVF children have a defective body fat composition although it was also said that more research was needed in order to arrive at a valid conclusion. Despite the concerns, the IVF process has become an alternative most people now agree on and the number of artificially conceived children is rising steadily even though the success rates of IVF conception is far less than what is…

    • 1024 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Infertility, or sterility, is the inability to produce offspring or the inability to conceive. Although the majority of American men and women assume that they will mature, fall in love, and create children of their own, the rate of fertility continues to decrease over the years, and the American dream of becoming a parent does not always become a reality. Although some men and women are complacent with adoption or an egg/sperm donation, others who plan for a child of their own consider infertility as a major devastation. Research has shown that over thirty percent of women in America experience complications with fertility and fourteen percent of all clinically recognized pregnancies in America result in a miscarriage or stillbirth (Schwerdtfeger). However, fertility is not just a concern for females. For centuries, if a couple were unable to have children, the fault was put on the women, although we now know that both men and women suffer equally from fertility complications. Among couples who are infertile, about forty percent of cases are exclusively due to female infertility, forty percent to male infertility and ten percent involving problems with both partners (McArthur). The factor of not being able to produce offspring is a hard concept to endure for both genders, and can result in severe emotional issues that can be sustained for an extended period of time. The effects of being infertile can take a severe toll on one’s relationship with family, friends, and most commonly, their significant other.…

    • 2021 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cafs Parenting and Caring

    • 2147 Words
    • 9 Pages

    When pregnancy doesn’t occur naturally, IVF (into-virto fertilisation) may be an option. This involves giving a woman fertility drugs and then removing the eggs from one of her ovaries just before fertilisation.…

    • 2147 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the past a women’s age has factored heavily into the diagnosis of infertility, this appears to be changing. In 1984, the infertility rate of females aged 18 to 29 years was 4.9%; by 2010 the rate for this age group was found to be 13.7%. (Bushnik et…

    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Infertility

    • 378 Words
    • 2 Pages

    It is done when the woman cannot produce eggs on her own and another woman donates her eggs. Recipient’s partner’s sperm is then fertilized with the donor’s egg by IVF and implanted in the womb of the recipient.…

    • 378 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics