Best Practice & Research. Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Transmasculine transgender and gender-diverse individuals may request gender-affirming surgery, standalone or in addition to other interventions. The choices and preferred outcomes of surgery can be highly individual. Besides surgeons' technical skills and patient physique, professionals in this field should be able to cooperate with other disciplines and with patients. The most requested surgery is masculinizing chest surgery, aiming to create a masculine chest with minimal scarring. For genital surgery, metoidioplasty refers to the procedure where the hypertrophic clitoris is released and possibly a scrotum is created from local labia flaps, whereas phalloplasty refers to a procedure in which a neophallus is created from a flap...

Infertility threatens the life goal of parenthood and, hence, quality of life (QoL) of (wo)men, but the fertility clinic trajectory might be burdensome. This review of longitudinal studies and pilot longitudinal study examines the impact of the pre-in vitro fertilization (IVF) fertility clinic trajectory on patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for emotional well-being, including QoL. A publication found that the diagnostic workup decreases men's infertility-specific distress while publications disagree whether it decreases (wo)men's anxious and depressive reactions...

The decision to pursue one's desire for children is a basic human right. For transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) people, gender-affirming care may alter the possibilities to fulfill one's desire for children due to the impact of this treatment on their reproductive organs. We systematically included 76 studies of varying quality describing the desire for children and parenthood; fertility counseling and utilization; and fertility preservation options and outcomes in TGD people. The majority of TGD people expressed a desire for children...

European patients cross the borders of their countries to receive more patient-centred healthcare. Benchmarking across European countries for the patient-centredness of endometriosis care had yet to be performed. This study proved the factorial structure and reliability of translation of the ENDOCARE questionnaire in nine different languages. Moreover, the benchmark potential of the ENDOCARE questionnaire was shown by the significant between-country variance for case-mix-adjusted overall and dimensional patient-centredness scores, explaining 3-9% of the total variance in patient-centredness assessed across 10 European countries...

Gonadotropin therapy to treat specific male infertility disorders associated with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism is evidence-based and effective in restoring spermatogenesis and fertility. In contrast, its use to improve fertility in men with idiopathic oligozoospermia or nonobstructive azoospermia remains controversial, despite being widely practiced. The existence of two major inter-related pathways for spermatogenesis, including FSH and intratesticular testosterone, provides a rationale for empiric hormone stimulation therapy in both eugonadal and hypogonadal males with idiopathic oligozoospermia or nonobstructive azoospermia...

Assisted reproductive technologies are evolving, with the most recent example being the introduction of the freeze-all policy during which a fresh embryo transfer does not take place and all embryos of good quality are cryopreserved to be used in future frozen embryo transfers. As the freeze-all policy is becoming more prevalent, it is important to review the economic aspects of this approach, along with considerations of efficacy and safety, and the role of emerging freeze-all-specific ovarian stimulation strategies...

The improvement in IVF cryopreservation techniques over the last 20 years has led to an increase in elective single embryo transfer, thus reducing multiple pregnancy rates. This strategy of successive transfers of fresh followed by frozen embryos has resulted in the acceptance of using cumulative live birth over complete cycles of IVF as a critical measure of success. Clinical prediction models are a useful way of estimating the cumulative chances of success for couples tailored to their individual clinical factors, which help them prepare for and plan future treatment...

This comparative non-interventional study using data from the French National Health Database (Système National des Données de Santé) investigated real-world (cumulative) live birth outcomes following ovarian stimulation, leading to oocyte pickup with either originator recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone (r-hFSH) products (alfa or beta), r-hFSH alfa biosimilars, or urinary highly purified human menopausal gonadotropins (HP-hMG). Using data from 245,534 stimulations (153,600 women), biosimilars resulted in a 19% lower live birth (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 0...

Infertility is a worldwide problem that is increasing with time. The cause of infertility can be due to either male or female factors or both. The food, environmental, occupational and psychological factors do contribute to infertility. The infertility and the present scenario of assisted reproductive technology (ART) in India with regard to the clinics, clinicians and regulatory mechanisms in vogue are discussed. The potential of India as a reproductive tourist destination and surrogacy issues is included...

This review article summarises the evidence for intergenerational trends observed to date within infertility and pregnancy loss. There appears to be evidence of intergenerational trends between mothers and daughters for the age at menopause, endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), male factor infertility and miscarriage. At present, there is no evidence for a predisposition to stillbirth between mothers and daughters. One study found an association with familial predisposition for ectopic pregnancy...

The available literature is controversial regarding the association between the number of oocytes retrieved and the cumulative live birth rate (CLBR). Although some authors report a continuous increase in the CLBR with the number of oocytes retrieved, others have found a plateau. A systematic review was conducted, including all eligible studies published until June 2022, to determine the optimal number of oocytes retrieved to maximize the CLBR. We found a positive association between the number of oocytes and the CLBR...

Infertility, irrespective of receipt of fertility treatment, is associated with an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including cesarean section (CS) and preterm birth (PTB). These complications are associated with significant physical, mental, emotional, social, and financial costs to individuals, healthcare systems, and society at large. Although multiple pregnancy is one of the most significant contributors to the elevated CS and PTB rates in women receiving fertility treatment, singleton pregnancy is also at an increased risk of these outcomes...

A high ovarian response to conventional ovarian stimulation (OS) is characterized by an increased number of follicles and/or oocytes compared with a normal response (10-15 oocytes retrieved). According to current definitions, a high response can be diagnosed before oocyte pick-up when >18-20 follicles ≥11-12 mm are observed on the day of ovulation triggering; high response can be diagnosed after oocyte pick-up when >18-20 oocytes have been retrieved. Women with a high response are also at high risk of early ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome (OHSS)/or late OHSS after fresh embryo transfers...

In this paper, we consider the ethico-legal issues surrounding gender-affirming surgeries in minors, with a specific focus on English law. First, we outline and discuss the current clinical guidelines on genital surgery for minors with gender incongruence/dysphoria. Second, we consider the recent legal developments following R (on the application of) Quincy Bell and A v Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust and others, and we discuss how these might impact the ability of doctors to agree to surgical procedures when their patients are still minors...

Transgender women may opt for genital gender-affirming surgery (gGAS), which comprises bilateral orchiectomy, gender-affirming vulvoplasty, or vaginoplasty. Vaginoplasty is chosen most frequently in this population, penile inversion vaginoplasty being the surgical gold standard. In selected cases, skin graft vaginoplasty, intestinal vaginoplasty, or peritoneal vaginoplasty may be indicated. In this article, we discuss the various types of gGAS for transgender women, (contra)-indications, intraoperative considerations, techniques, surgical outcomes, and postoperative patient-reported outcomes...

In assisted reproductive technology (ART) research, live birth has been generally accepted as an important outcome, if not the most important one. However, it has been reported inconsistently in the literature and solely focusing on live birth can lead to misinterpretation of research findings. In this review, we provide an overview on the definitions of live birth, including various denominators and numerators use. We present a series of real clinical examples in ART research to demonstrate the impact of variations in live birth on research findings and the importance of other outcomes, including multiple pregnancy, pregnancy loss, time to pregnancy leading to live birth, other short and long term maternal and offspring health outcomes and cost effectiveness measures...

This editorial provides a broad introduction to transgender health for transgender and gender-diverse people. Following a brief description of the history of transgender and gender-diverse people, the development of medical treatment is discussed, together with the use of appropriate terminology and language. The content largely draws attention to the guidance in the Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People Version 8 developed by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and published in 2022...

Everyone has sexual rights and is entitled to enjoy sex, regardless of gender identity or expression. It is therefore encouraging to witness a recent growth in research on sexuality in transgender individuals. We provide a short overview of extant research on sex and relationships in this population and argue that current research has mostly been conducted from a medical and functional approach; there is a strong focus on negative experiences and prevention; and there is a lack of data regarding psychological and socio-relational variables...

Semen quality has declined especially among Western men. Experimental and epidemiological studies have shown potential links between exposure to environmental toxicants and poor male fertility. Some environmental exposures in utero can disrupt fetal testicular function and result in cryptorchidism, low semen quality, low serum testosterone levels, and low fertility. Environmental exposure in childhood and adulthood can also adversely affect germ cells, Sertoli cells, Leydig cells, or the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis, resulting in impaired male fertility...

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