Women’s health and freedom of information

Will the newly-staffed Assisted Human Reproduction Canada fully disclose information on fertility?

January 31, 2007 | by Kate Fraher , Researcher, Institute of Marriage and Family Canada
PDF:  Women’s health and freedom of information

Endnotes

  1. Of the many types of fertility treatments available, the greatest concern surrounds those that involve fertility drugs. The side effects can be life threatening and controversy still exists on whether there is a long-term risk to women of developing cancer following the use of fertility drugs.
  2. Fertility drugs increase the number of eggs that mature and are released in a female’s monthly cycle. This can increase her chances of pregnancy when trying to conceive naturally or through other methods such as in-vitro fertilization.
  3. In-vitro fertilization involves fertilizing a woman’s egg(s) outside of the body by combining the egg and sperm in a laboratory dish. The process requires the removal of mature eggs from the ovaries. To get the most out of the extraction procedure, fertility drugs are administered to stimulate the production of multiple eggs for harvesting. Through a process called transvaginal ultrasound aspiration, an ultrasound probe is used to identify mature egg follicles in the ovaries and a suction needle guided through the vagina to the follicles extracts the eggs. Once the eggs have been fertilized, they are then transferred back into the woman’s uterus.
    For further information on the procedure, see the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s Assisted Human Reproductive Technologies: A Guide for Patients published in 2003. Retrieved online January 31, 2007 from http://www.asrm.org/Patients/patientbooklets/ART.pdf
  4. Ibid.
  5. Retrieved from http://www.dukehealth.org/Services/Fertility/Resources/Diagnoses/OvarianHyperstimulationSyndrome
  6. Delvigne, A. and Rozenberg, S. (2002) Epidemiology and prevention of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS): a review. Human Reproduction Update, 8(6): 559-577. Retrieved from http://humupd.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/8/6/559
  7. American Society for Reproductive Medicine. (2003). Assisted Human Reproductive Technologies: A Guide for Patients. Retrieved online January 31, 2007 http://www.asrm.org/Patients/patientbooklets/ART.pdf
  8. Ibid.
  9. According to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, “Multiple gestation poses an increased risk for both mother and baby. For the mother, there is an increased chance of hypertension, blood clots, preterm labor, toxaemia, and other pregnancy complications. For the babies, there is an increased chance of prematurity and associated problems, and a slight increased risk of birth defects.”Retrieved from http://www.sart.org/Guide_GonadotropinStimulation.html
  10. See Mahdavi, A. et al. (2006). Induction of Ovulation and Ovarian Cancer: A Critical Review of the Literature. Fertility & Sterility, 85: 819-26. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Retreived online January 31, 2007 from http://www.asrm.org/Professionals/Fertility&Sterility/induction_ovulation_ovarian_cancer.pdf
  11. Stewart, D.E. et al. (2001). The Disconnect: Infertility Patients’ Information and the Role They Wish to Play in Decision Making. Medscape General Medicine, 3 (4).
  12. Ibid.
    [12] Retrieved online January 31, 2007 from http://www.cfas.ca/2006_Press_Release.pdf
  13. [13] Stewart, D.E. et al. (2001). The Disconnect: Infertility Patients’ Information and the Role They Wish to Play in Decision Making. Medscape General Medicine, 3 (4).
  14. Cobb, Chris. (2006, November 17). Delay Takes Toll on couples’ Fertility. National Post. Page A8
  15. Zhang, Aina. Overcoming Age Related Infertility with Traditional Chinese Medicine. Retrieved online January 26, 2007 from http://www.iaac.ca/en/library/alt-medicine/overcoming-age-related-infertility- with-traditional-chinese-medicine
  16. The Royal Commission on Reproductive Technologies. (1993). Proceed with Care: Final Report of the Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies.