IVF limits for older women could lead to the mother of all battles

Susan Tollefsen, with her ex-partner Nick and daughter Freya Lucia. Picture: Daily Mail Source: the Daily Telegraph

JUST because you can have children doesn't mean you should have them.

A British woman has shocked many by admitting she should not have had a baby at 57.

The retired teacher fell pregnant using IVF, becoming Britain’s oldest first-time mother. her daughter, Freya, was conceived using sperm from her partner, Nick – who was 11 years younger – and a donor egg. Do you agree? Blog with Susie all day at the Big O

The woman, Susan Tollefsen, is now separated from Nick, and believes there should be an age limit of 50 for IVF treatment for women, she told the UK Daily Mail this week.

As she admitted, she realises now that her time is running out, and she wishes she was younger so she could watch her daughter grow up, get married and have children of her own.

It’s an astonishing admission from someone who fought so hard to become a later-life mother, and who has been a pin-up girl for the birth-at-any-age movement. Just a year ago she was saying she was "full of life and healthy at 60" and wanted another child.

But 18 months on, she now admits that she may be too old to be a first-time mum.

It’s a message that many could do well to listen to. Just because technology enables us to become mothers at 57, it doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.

As a mother of three, I am not about to deny anyone else the right to have a child of their own. but there is a limit.

And I think Tollefsen is probably right: 50 is about the oldest you’d want to be. Do the maths. You’ll be 60 when they turn 10, 71 at their 21st, and dropping off the perch by the time they have kids of their own.

And the older you get, the more health risks both mothers and babies face.

Of course, it’s always worth noting that no one jumps up and down when men have children in their 60s and 70s, even though elderly sperm brings problems of its own.

The issue is that the reproductive technology available to us today enables us to have children for many more years than many people in society think is actually appropriate.

In most cases it’s a good thing, but some people, like Tollefsen, take advantage and just go too far.

Having children is not a right that should be granted to just anyone, regardless of their circumstances.

However, it’s important to note that most women who give birth later in life do not do so out of choice.

Yes, there are some women who leave their childbearing to their 40s, choosing to spend their 20s and 30s partying and getting promoted at work. Let’s face it, this is what a lot of men do without anyone passing judgment.

But, as research released this week shows, most women who are childless are simply waiting until they have met Mr right, or until they have enough money, or can buy a house of their own.

A study, published in the Journal of Population Health, found just 20 out of 569 women – 3.5 per cent – aged 30 to 34 are childless by choice.

This is precisely why I am sympathetic to the plight of older mothers. many of my friends who gave birth for the first time in their 40s did so after spending a decade on IVF programs, or after waiting for years to meet the right man.

Most would have loved to be a younger mother, but it just wasn’t to be.

In any case, even with the vast improvements we have in assisted reproduction, there are still relatively few women giving birth over 44.

Figures released this week from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that only one woman in 100 over the age of 44 using assisted reproduction delivers a live baby. this is despite the fact that one in four women using IVF or other fertility technology is aged 40 or over. Let’s keep things in overall perspective, though.

The average age of Australian mothers is 30.7, and Australian fathers 33.1, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. And both figures are relatively static.

So there’s no need to merge the childcare centres and old folks’ homes just yet.

<a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/ivf-limits-could-spark-mother-of-all-battles/story-fn56aaiq-1226191883072tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/ivf-limits-could-spark-mother-of-all-battles/story-fn56aaiq-1226191883072Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:18:34 GMT”>IVF limits for older women could lead to the mother of all battles

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Could IVF Study Mean End of Multiples?

The end of an era is upon is, ladies. no more Octo-mom, no more Kate plus 8, and no more risky pregnancies for a huge number of IVF pregnancies. at least if other fertility clinics follow the lead at the University of Iowa where a study found that today women under the age of 38 have just as good of a chance of getting pregnant using one embryo in the transfer as multiple embryos.

Unless you’re one of those people who dream about having twins, triplets, or even more, this is fantastic news. after all, women carrying multiples are at an increased risk for diabetes, having premature babies, or babies born with cerebral palsy. Cutting down these risks for women who are already under bodily stress is an admirable goal. so let’s hope fertility clinics embrace this idea, and we can all stop looking at moms of twins and wondering what the story is. you know, if you do that sort of thing.

It wouldn’t be completely unreasonable, since while IVF only accounts for 1 percent of the births in America, it accounts for 17 percent of the multiple births. so when you’re seeing more twins at your pre-school, you would be excused for assuming some of them were the result of IVF. I’m usually wondering how much sleep parents of multiples are getting, but that’s just me.

I happen to know a large number of moms who came by their twin babies naturally. or rather, it was in the family. “Naturally” is a loaded term these days, isn’t it? It seems those twin genes are hardcore, or at least they have been in my experience. so while we will still see twins, and even the occasional triplet, the days of mega multiples should end.

Of course that’s assuming fertility clinic physicians act ethically. and we know not all of them do that when given the opportunity to super-size a lady’s womb. But now, at least, we’ll know which doctors are the quacks and which ones have mom’s and baby’s best interests at heart.

Do you think this policy should be used at every clinic?

Image via Dan Bock/Flickr

<a href="http://thestir.cafemom.com/pregnancy/127821/could_ivf_study_mean_endtag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://thestir.cafemom.com/pregnancy/127821/could_ivf_study_mean_endMon, 24 Oct 2011 20:12:22 GMT”>Could IVF Study Mean End of Multiples?

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Bourn Hall eyes first Dubai IVF clinic in Q1 2012

World renowned Bourn Hall Clinic will open its first in vitro fertilisation (IVF) centre in the Middle East and North Africa region in early 2012.

The IVF pioneer said in a statement that its expansion into the region would see a facility open in Dubai’s Sheikh Hamdan Centre, Jumeirah.

The 22,000 sq ft Bourn Hall Clinic is set to welcome the first patients in early 2012 and has the capacity to treat about 50 couples per day, at various stages of their treatment, it added.

The Dubai facility will feature a state of the art laboratory complex, the first of its kind in the GCC, where couples can view lab procedures taking place through a specially integrated viewing area.

It will also include operating theatres, inpatient and outpatient rooms.

Bourn Hall Clinic is synonymous with IVF on a global scale and pioneered most of the standard treatment protocol procedures adopted worldwide.

Over 11,000 babies have been born following treatment from the UK centre alone.

Known as the father of IVF, Professor Robert Edwards co-founded the world’s original IVF clinic at Bourn Hall Cambridge in 1980 after pioneering the first birth of a child conceived using IVF in 1978.

Karen Mohring, general manager, Bourn Hall Clinic Dubai, said: “We have designed the Dubai facility to be a world leader in terms of the environment in which eggs, sperm and embryos are nurtured.

“We will offer a comprehensive range of advanced infertility treatments which are fully Shariah compliant and our plan is to help 2,000 couples per year to achieve parenthood.”

At capacity, Bourn Hall Clinic plans to have seven embryologists, six consultants and 14 nurses specialising in IVF treatment.

Government and private hospitals in the Gulf are expected to open more IVF centres this year, to cope with soaring demand for the treatment among infertile couples, experts said in September.

Healthcare operators and government agencies are thought to be expanding their existing offerings or opening new centres, to deal with increasing infertility rates in the region, healthcare analysts said.

“The Middle East is host to a booming and high-tech Assisted Reproductive Technique (ART) industry,” said Sandeep Sinha, the deputy director of healthcare for the Middle East at consultancy Frost and Sullivan.

“Governments of Middle Eastern countries are opening up IVF facilities in their existing set up hospitals and few are coming up with collaboration with private facilities.”

Clinics expected to open this year include a new IVF centre at Tawam Hospital in Al Ain, which has already assisted in the births of 1,000 babies since 1990, and Lifeline Hospital Group’s new Burjeel Hospital in Dubai, set to offer pre-implantation genetic diagnosis.

<a href="http://www.arabianbusiness.com/bourn-hall-eyes-first-dubai-ivf-clinic-in-q1-2012-426412.htmltag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.arabianbusiness.com/bourn-hall-eyes-first-dubai-ivf-clinic-in-q1-2012-426412.htmlFri, 21 Oct 2011 06:49:03 GMT”>Bourn Hall eyes first Dubai IVF clinic in Q1 2012

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NEWS: ESHRE Defines Poor Response to Ovarian Stimulation

The lack of clear consensus on the definition of poor ovarian response (POR) in ART has made it difficult to compare results of various studies conducted to improve ovarian response; in turn hindering the identification of poor responders and selection of an optimal ovarian stimulation strategy. In a first realistic endeavor, the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) working group proposed a standardized, simple, and reproducible definition for POR. The ESHRE consensus is published in the recent issue of the journal, Human Reproduction.

On behalf of the ESHRE working group, Anna Pia Ferraretti from the S.I.S.me.R Reproductive Medicine Unit, Bologna, Italy, and coworkers, arrived at a consensus on the definition of POR, and recommend that at least two of the following must be met to consider patients as poor responders:• Advanced maternal age or presence of other risk factors of POR• History of POR• Abnormal ovarian reserve test (ORT)

Apart from the above three criteria, the ESHRE group suggested the following:• Patients can be considered as poor responders following two POR episodes after maximal stimulation, if advanced maternal age or abnormal ORT is not a factor.• Although one stimulated cycle is necessary for diagnosing POR, patients with advanced age or abnormal ORT may be categorized as poor responders, as both the factors suggest the possibility of decreased ovarian reserve, and therefore serve as markers of stimulation cycle outcomes. Such patients should be classified as ‘expected poor responders’.

The Group indicated that such a comprehensive criteria will help researchers select a homogenized population for future studies, and lower bias due to spurious POR definitions; thus facilitating the comparison of results for obtaining accurate conclusions.

Several studies have attempted to arrive at an objective definition of POR. In one such study, Kailasam et al (Human Reproduction, 2004) proposed the inclusion of the degree of ovarian stimulation in the definition of POR during IVF cycles in women 3,000 IU FSH cumulative dose to obtain sufficient follicles. Cancellation at ≥300 IU FSH/day is linked to a substantially worse prognosis and was also considered as a criterion to define POR. The scientists indicated that their findings may help in the development of a standardized definition for poor response.

With the absence of uniform criteria for defining POR, the recent consensus could assist both clinicians and researchers improve ovarian response and treatment outcomes, as well as develop and evaluate protocols for its prevention and management.

1. Ferraretti AP, La Marca a, Fauser BC, et al; ESHRE working group on Poor Ovarian Response Definition. ESHRE consensus on the definition of ’poor response’ to ovarian stimulation for in vitro fertilization: the Bologna criteria. Hum Reprod. 2011 Jul;26(7):1616-1624.

2. Kailasam C, Keay SD, Wilson P, Ford WC, Jenkins JM. Defining poor ovarian response during IVF cycles, in women aged Hum Reprod. 2004 Jul;19(7):1544-7.

<a href="http://www.ivfnewsdirect.com/?p=1561tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.ivfnewsdirect.com/?p=1561Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:17:57 GMT 00:00″>NEWS: ESHRE Defines Poor Response to Ovarian Stimulation

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How much do fertility clinics charge for the first and subsequent attempts of IVF in Brisbane?

I believe the costs differ for each case, but i'm just interested in an approximate fee. I don't have private health insurance and am well aware IVF may be means tested. Please state the name of the clinic/s.

im afraid youll have to call the centres.

$10,000 K+ for each cycle in USA

How much do fertility clinics charge for the first and subsequent attempts of IVF in Brisbane?

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