fertility

How overturning Roe v. Wade could affect IVF

By Jennifer Gerson, The 19th

Chemicals in plastic, electronics are lowering fertility in men and women

Several chemicals found in everyday use products including plastic and electronics are lowering fertility in men, women and even some non-human species. Shanna Swan, a leading environmental and reproductive epidemiologist who has authored the book “Count Down” on the subject,…

By PBS NewsHour

Author Dani Shapiro on the power and danger of family secrets

After taking a DNA test on a whim, author Dani Shapiro discovered that her beloved late father had not been, in fact, her biological parent. She had been conceived using a sperm donor, and as was common at the time,…

From IVF to twins, a wounded vet and wife lean on each other

Two years ago, what this couple wanted most was to start a family, but daunting physical and financial challenges stood in their way. William Brangham revisits Jason and Rachel Hallett, who struggled with the aftereffects of a grievous war injury…

By PBS NewsHour

This image shows early embryos two days after co-injection with a gene editing technology called CRISPR. A new study shows by editing at the time of fertilization, each new cell in the developing embryos was uniformly free of a heart disease-causing mutation. Photo by Oregon Health & Science University

U.S. scientists are fixing genetic defects in human embryos. Should you be nervous?

For the first time, U.S. scientists have genetically edited human embryos with CRISPR, thanks in part to regulatory loopholes.

By Nsikan Akpan

Can poppyseed oil help infertile couples conceive?

By Kate Sheridan, STAT

Flushing fallopian tubes with a poppyseed oil-based solution may help a woman to conceive, according to a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Hawaii LGBT couples seek equal access to fertility treatment

By Cathy Bussewitz, Associated Press

A measure would make Hawaii the first state to require insurance cover vitro fertilization for surrogates, which would help some male same-sex couples.

Trans patients, looking for fertility options, turn to cancer research

By Corinne Segal

There are an estimated 1.4 million trans Americans, and physicians told the PBS NewsHour Weekend that demand is increasing for health care specific to them. Many doctors are confronting the issue of fertility among trans communities.

The nation’s birth rate declined in 2015, new data says

By Laura Santhanam

Research shows women gave birth to nearly 4 million babies in the U.S. in 2015, down 1 percent from a year earlier. This is a small, but noteworthy drop.