The latest in fertility
Fertility research, written in plain English.
To-the-point summaries of the latest peer-reviewed research on fertility, IVF, and reproductive health.
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The latest in fertility
To-the-point summaries of the latest peer-reviewed research on fertility, IVF, and reproductive health.
Loading articles…
The latest in fertility
To-the-point summaries of the latest peer-reviewed research on fertility, IVF, and reproductive health.
Women who develop gestational diabetes early in an IVF pregnancy face more serious complications, including higher rates of premature birth, severe high blood pressure, and poor fetal growth, compared to those who develop it later. Women with late-onset gestational diabetes had different but still significant risks, including more frequent emergency deliveries and abnormal fluid levels around the baby.
A review of studies using computer-based prediction models found that a woman's age and the quality of her embryos are the most powerful factors in determining whether IVF will work, with success rates dropping notably after age 35. Body weight, hormone levels including AMH, and uterine lining thickness also matter, but thyroid hormone levels within the normal range do not appear to affect outcomes.
A hormone measured in the first six months of a baby boy's life can predict whether he will struggle to produce sperm as an adult, with low levels strongly linked to poor outcomes later on. Boys born to mothers with diabetes or thyroid problems, or those with undescended testicles, are at especially high risk and may benefit most from early monitoring.
Women with endometriosis were 52% more likely to develop a serious blood clot than women without the condition, even after accounting for other health factors and hormone use. This higher risk applied to both types of clots studied: clots in the deep veins of the legs and clots in the lungs.
Exposure to a chemical found in everyday plastic products during pregnancy was linked to damaged embryos and reduced egg quality in female offspring in a mouse study. Embryos exposed to this chemical showed DNA damage and abnormal cell division, and the female offspring had more egg cell death and poorer egg development.
Endometriosis cysts in the ovary can change dramatically during pregnancy and look like ovarian cancer on ultrasound, but a review of 35 cases found none were actually cancerous. Women who were monitored without surgery saw the cysts shrink on their own after delivery, with no reported complications.
Men with a condition where the testes produce no sperm show high levels of two proteins tied to inflammatory cell death, and these proteins were strongly linked to immune cell activity in testicular tissue. Both proteins performed well as potential markers to identify the condition, with accuracy above 90% in the analysis.
Women who smoke during IVF appear to have about 15% lower odds of a live birth compared to non-smokers overall, but when researchers compared smokers only to people who had never smoked at all, that difference was no longer statistically significant. Smokers did retrieve slightly fewer eggs on average, but smoking was not linked to a higher miscarriage rate.
A year of infertility care in India costs the health system as little as $63 or as much as $173, depending on the type of facility and the cause of infertility. Surprisingly, costs were generally higher at public hospitals than private ones, with outpatient visits making up about two-thirds of the total expense.
A large genetic study found that specific fertility treatments are linked to higher rates of new genetic mutations in children, independent of parental age. Sperm injection (ICSI) was tied to more mutations from the father's side, while egg stimulation was linked to more mutations from the mother's side, and lab-based embryo handling was associated with mutations connected to slower early brain development.
Men with the worst sperm problems had the lowest levels of a signaling protein called kisspeptin in their semen, and men with normal sperm had the highest levels. Higher kisspeptin levels were also linked to better sperm movement and count, and to lower levels of harmful oxidative stress in the semen.
In the hours right after fertilization, about 30% of an embryo's genetic activity changes in a carefully timed, step-by-step process that switches control from the mother's stored material to the embryo's own genes. Researchers also found that one type of chemical tag on the embryo's DNA, inherited from the egg, plays only a small role in triggering this switch.
A large genetic screening panel identified up to 91.5% of the inherited conditions that couples were already seeking embryo testing for, compared to just 47.9% with a more limited, population-based approach. This means that broader screening before starting fertility treatment could help more couples discover they are at risk of passing on a serious genetic condition to their child.
Men with poor sperm movement had significantly higher levels of a genetic molecule called LINC00966 in their semen, and higher levels were directly tied to lower sperm count and reduced motility. In lab experiments, reducing LINC00966 improved cell survival and movement while lowering harmful oxidative stress, suggesting it actively suppresses sperm function.
A newer way of grading endometriosis severity before surgery was the best predictor of how long an operation would take and whether it would require the most difficult procedures, such as bowel or ureter work. Women with higher scores on this grading system were more than twice as likely to need these advanced surgical steps for every 10-point increase in their score.
Imbalances in gut bacteria may disrupt immune cell activity in ways that contribute to recurrent pregnancy loss, including unexplained cases. Specific substances produced by gut bacteria, such as short-chain fatty acids and bile acids, appear to affect immune signaling that helps the body accept or reject a pregnancy.
In fertility treatment cycles using hormone injections and artificial insemination, triggering ovulation when the lead follicle was 15 to 16 mm wide led to nearly three times higher pregnancy rates than waiting until it reached 19 to 21 mm. Pregnancy rates dropped significantly once the follicle grew beyond 17 mm, falling from about 16% to just 6% at the largest sizes studied.
Among IVF patients who used clomiphene to stimulate egg production, higher doses were linked to meaningfully higher miscarriage rates, with the middle dose group seeing 12% miscarriages compared to 10% at the lowest dose, and the higher dose group reaching over 14%. The risk of carrying multiple babies also rose significantly at every higher dose level compared to the lowest dose group.
Nearly one in three Black women in this study said a lack of support was a barrier to even starting fertility treatment, and many described experiences of racism and discrimination that delayed their care. Participants reported feeling isolated with few communities to turn to, and said their health concerns were often dismissed, causing delays in getting referred to a fertility specialist.
Standard lab methods for sorting sperm before fertility treatment do not replicate the natural filtering process that happens inside a woman's body, which may mean lower-quality sperm get used. Newer microfluidic devices are designed to mimic that natural process and studies suggest they can select higher-quality sperm, though large, rigorous trials are still needed to confirm they improve pregnancy outcomes.
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