Reproductive Medicine: Healthcare Library of Northern Ireland

OBJECTIVE: Triclosan (TCS), a novel endocrine disrupter, has induced widespread human exposure due to its widespread use in personal care products. Environmental TCS exposure was suggested to be associated with human semen quality. However, little is known about seminal plasma TCS concentration and the risk of low sperm quality. This case-control study is established to examine the relationship between seminal plasma TCS and the risk of low sperm quality. STUDY DESIGN: One hundred men with low sperm quality as cases and one hundred normal men as controls were recruited a fertility clinic in Shijiazhuang, China, during 2018-2019...

OBJECTIVE: To examine challenges accessing contraception in the past year and their association with interest in using an over the counter (OTC) oral contraceptive pill (OCP) among Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in the United States. STUDY DESIGN: From May 2021-March 2022, a collaborative research team conducted a cross-sectional online survey using convenience sampling to recruit people who identify as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander, Black or African American, Indigenous, or Latina/Latinx and used or wanted to use a contraceptive method in the past year...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the influence of the day 3 embryo cell number on the neonatal outcomes of day 5 single blastocyst transfer in frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycles. METHODS: This retrospective study analysed a total of 2315 delivery cycles of day 5 single blastocyst transfer in FET cycles, including 489, 761 and 1103 live-born infants segregated according to a day 3 embryo cell number of <8, 8 and >8 cells, respectively. The neonatal outcomes of the three groups were compared...

OBJECTIVES: To synthesize published literature on POP effectiveness and efficacy. STUDY DESIGN: We searched PubMed Central, PubMed, and the Cochrane library through March 07, 2022. We included articles written in English reporting a Pearl Index or life table rate for pregnancy. We excluded articles only assessing formulations that: were never marketed globally, are only sold in combination with estrogen, are currently sold only for noncontraceptive purposes, or were not given to participants continuously...

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the association between number of anti-abortion protesters and patients' and their companions' experiences accessing abortion clinics in North Carolina. STUDY DESIGN: In this concurrent mixed-methods study conducted in 2018-2019 at two independent abortion clinics in NC, the author triangulated the methods of participant observation, descriptive statistical analysis of survey data, and thematic content analysis of open-ended responses to compare experiences of respondents who observed larger (>10) versus smaller (1-10) numbers of protesters at their clinic visit...

OBJECTIVES: Pregnant people have traveled across state and national borders for the purpose of abortion since at least the 1960s. Scholarship has robustly documented the financial and logistical costs associated with travel, but less work has examined the emotional costs of abortion travel. We investigate whether abortion travel has emotional costs and, if so, how they come about. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted in-depth interviews with 30 women who had to travel across state borders in the United States for abortion care because of their gestation...

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common sexually transmitted disease that has been linked to both cancer and reproductive health issues. While its impact on fertility and pregnancy success has been studied, there is still too little evidence about the influence of HPV on assisted reproductive technology (ART). Therefore, there exists a need for HPV testing in couples undergoing infertility treatments. Infertile men have been found to have a higher prevalence of seminal HPV infection, which can compromise sperm quality and reproductive function...

OBJECTIVE: Few studies have investigated the features associated with pain levels during abortion. We aimed to investigate the risk factors for experiencing pain during medication abortion, focusing on women's psychological distress and anxiety levels. STUDY DESIGN: We carried out this observational study at two centers in Bologna, Italy. We included women aged 18 years or more with a viable intrauterine pregnancy of up to 63 days of amenorrhea, who chose medication abortion...

ART is an important treatment method for infertile patients with endometriosis. However, the effects of endometriosis on embryo quality and endometrial receptivity remain unclear. Thus, we aimed to simultaneously investigate the impact of endometriosis and its stage on embryo quality and endometrial receptivity in women undergoing ART. We retrospectively analyzed the data from patients with and without endometriosis who underwent oocyte retrieval and/or high-quality embryos transfer between July 2015 and December 2020, including 1312 IVF cycles and 608 IVF or frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) cycles, respectively...

OBJECTIVE: To assess the risk of new persistent opioid use in opioid-naïve men undergoing male fertility procedures DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study using a claims database SETTING: TriNetX Diamond Network - a database linking electronic medical record data and claims - assessing men undergoing fertility procedure between 2010 and 2021. SUBJECTS: Opioid-naïve men undergoing fertility procedures (open or laparoscopic varicocelectomy, spermatocele excision, testicular excisional or incisional biopsy) without further surgical intervention requiring anesthesia in the two years after the index procedure...

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether demographic and cancer-related characteristics and factors such as fertility discussion with a medical provider and fertility preservation use are associated with attempting pregnancy after adolescent and young adult cancer. DESIGN: Cross-sectional online survey SUBJECTS: Women with lymphoma, breast cancer, thyroid cancer, or gynecologic cancer diagnosed at ages 15-39 years during 2004-2016 were identified from the North Carolina Cancer Registry and the Kaiser Permanente Northern and Southern California healthcare systems and responded to an online survey addressing survivorship concerns, including fertility and reproductive outcomes...

There is emerging scientific literature examining disparities in reproductive care of women in the United States. Reproduction is a basic human right and there are unique challenges that racial and ethnic minorities face in accessing fertility care and assisted reproductive technology. Identification of these disparities can aid in identifying areas for interventions to improve, and resolve, the inequities that exist in providing care for minority populations. A literature search was performed utilizing PubMed to identify articles with data specific to racial and ethnic differences in study populations as it related to infertility, access to care, and treatment outcomes...

The objective of this meta-analysis is to determine the beneficial effect of recombinant-luteinizing Hormone (r-LH) addition in women undergoing in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist protocol and whether an optimal time of Recombinant-Luteinizing Hormone (r-LH) supplementation exist during the controlled of stimulation (COS). The primary outcomes are clinical Pregnancy rate and the number of oocytes retrieved. Secondary outcomes are the number of metaphase II oocytes, miscarriage rate and live birth rate...

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis claiming an association between human papilloma virus (HPV) sperm infection and idiopathic recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL). DESIGN: Multicenter retrospective case-control study. SETTING: Three university hospitals. PATIENT(S): Cases included men belonging to couples affected by first trimester idiopathic RPL. Controls included men belonging to couples with proven fertility and no history of pregnancy loss; RPL was defined as the previous loss of 2 or more pregnancies...

OBJECTIVES: To assess the extent of unwanted abortion disclosure and levels of social support in the abortion decision and their association with depression, anxiety, and stress. STUDY DESIGN: From January to June 2019, we surveyed people presenting for abortion at four clinics in California, New Mexico, and Illinois regarding their experiences accessing abortion. We used multivariable regression to examine associations between unwanted abortion disclosure and social support in the abortion decision, and symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between uterine niche and reproductive outcomes of in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI). DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study in the Reproductive Medicine Center of Tongji Hospital, Wuhan, China. SUBJECTS: A total of 2449 women with cesarean section history who underwent 2874 IVF/ICSI cycles between January 2015 and December 2019. EXPOSURE: A defect deeper than 2 mm under three-dimensional (3D) transvaginal sonography (TVS) or visible under hysteroscopy was defined as uterine niche...