News Briefs

Sky News

Blood thinners do not reduce miscarriage risk, study suggests

Blood thinners do not reduce miscarriage risk, study suggests

A drug commonly prescribed to pregnant women with an inheritable blood clotting condition and a history of recurrent miscarriage does not help to reduce their miscarriage risk, new research has found. Researchers are advising doctors to stop offering the blood thinner Low Molecular Weight Heparin (heparin) to patients with inherited thrombophilia.

The i

IVF postcode lottery: Same-sex couples still being forced to spend up to £25k despite pledge to fix system

Same-sex couples still forced to spend up to £25k on IVF despite pledge to end postcode lottery

Women in same-sex couples still face a postcode lottery when accessing fertility treatment despite the Government pledging to make IVF more accessible, can reveal. As a result, they face spending up to £25,000 privately before being eligible for NHS care.

The Guardian

England’s first not-for-profit fertility clinic closes within a year of opening

England’s first not-for-profit fertility clinic closes within a year of opening

England’s first not-for-profit fertility clinic has shut within a year of opening and has been sold to a private provider, in what one of its founders called “a tragedy for women”. The game-changing clinic – operated by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), better known for providing abortions – promised to take the profit out of fertility treatment when it opened in December 2021.

The Guardian

Male GPs in England less likely to refer patients for IVF, report finds

Male GPs in England less likely to refer patients for IVF, report finds

Male GPs are less likely to refer eligible patients for IVF, research by a fertility charity suggests, raising concerns about access to NHS-funded treatment. The Progress Educational Trust’s (PET) report highlights “utter confusion” and a lack of knowledge among GPs about eligibility criteria for NHS-funded treatment, which it says is exacerbating the so-called IVF postcode lottery.

BBC

Does your diet affect your fertility?

Does your diet affect your fertility?

Visit any online fertility chat room, and one of the main topics of debate will probably be what to eat to maximise your chances of conceiving. In addition to the wealth of supplements promoted as being fertility-boosting, there is also an array of foods that are supposed to help achieve a healthy pregnancy.

The Guardian

Overhaul UK fertility law to keep up with advancements, expert says

Overhaul UK fertility law to keep up with advancements, expert says

A leading fertility expert has said the law should be overhauled so that rapid advancements in reproductive science do not stall. Prof Tim Child of the University of Oxford said IVF in the UK was “the most successful and the safest that it has ever been”, and noted that the chance of having a baby from a single embryo was rising and the likelihood of having multiple births dropping.

The Guardian

First UK baby with DNA from three people born after new IVF procedure

First UK baby with DNA from three people born after new IVF procedure

The first UK baby created with DNA from three people has been born after doctors performed a groundbreaking IVF procedure that aims to prevent children from inheriting incurable diseases. The technique, known as mitochondrial donation treatment (MDT), uses tissue from the eggs of healthy female donors to create IVF embryos that are free from harmful mutations their mothers carry and are likely to pass on to their children.