Empowering Women Having Children After 40

In 2010, the CDC reported that the only age group in the United States to show a RISE in birth rate were women over 40.

Flower Power Mom is offering advance membership to the first online community to empower women having children after 40, launching USA Mother's Day, May 8th, 2011.

To join now, go to: www.flowerpowermom.com/community

For more information on the A CHILD AFTER 40 campaign video, Pay It Forward Mother's Day Gift Pendant, and online resources, go to: www.flowerpowermom.com/a-child-after-40

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What is menstruation

What is menstruation (usually period)?

The first menstrual period (menarche) begins during puberty. The bleeding is a sign of early maturity and fertility. In more or less regular cycles is repeated in the body from now on an interplay of hormones. In young girls and women in menopause, the bleeding is often irregular. The menstrual fluid is blood from the uterus and parts of the endometrium.


The female sex organs

The internal sex organs of women consist of two ovaries and fallopian tubes, uterus and vagina (vagina). The ovaries are responsible to train mature fertilizable eggs. If the ovary is by hormones (follicle stimulating and luteinizing hormone, FSH and LH), stimulates the egg matures. Around mid-cycle dissolves in the mature egg from the ovary (ovary). This process is called ovulation or ovulation.

The egg travels down the fallopian tube after all (tube) to the uterus (womb). The endometrium is prepared by the action of these hormones and progesterone (progesterone) to incorporate the egg. Progesterone is released shortly after ovulation. If the egg is fertilized, it attaches itself in the endometrium.

If no fertilization takes place, there is a diminished supply of progesterone, the uterine lining which is broken down and are shed residues in the menstrual period (menstruation).

At each monthly period a woman loses about 150 milliliters of blood. The whole cycle takes about 28 days. Unless the woman is pregnant, he starts all over again. The cycle time between the first day of menstruation and the last day before the next menstrual period is counted. Cycle lengths of 25 to 35 days are considered normal.

When menstruation begins?

Most girls get their first period at age 10 to 14 years. The average is 12.5 years.

Women get her period until they are between 45 and 55 years and menopause begins. Overall, a woman gets in their lives about 500 menstrual bleeding.

Can you feel ovulation?

Many women feel their ovulation (ovulation). It is noticeable as a weak pain in the abdomen. Some women are having the time of ovulation also has a small circulation.

The timing of ovulation can be determined by body temperature. At the time of ovulation it rises by 0.5 degrees. This is exploited in the temperature method. At best it is in the mouth (oral) or intestine (measured rectally).

You should measure the temperature every day before getting up. In order to compare the measurements, they should choose a type of temperature measurements (oral or rectal). Increases body temperature, ovulation took place. This takes about eight to ten days after each menstrual period (about the 14th day of the cycle). This is also the most fertile time in the cycle.

In the middle of the cycle, the vaginal discharge mucous-like threads and moves. Also on the consistency of the mucus can be seen the time of ovulation.

What factors affect menstruation?

The menstrual cycle is a very complex process involving many hormones, the female sex organs and nervous system are involved.

Hormones and hormones affect the menstrual cycle. For an irregular cycle, your doctor should measure hormone levels in the blood and determine whether it is in equilibrium.

The body weight also plays a role in the menstrual cycle. Underweight often brings the release of hormones and thus the menstruation stops. Recent studies have shown that extreme obesity leads to irregular menstrual bleeding. Compared to women with ideal weight, they are not so easily get pregnant. Proper nutrition is especially important.

Stress is another factor that influences the hormones and menstruation. Menstruation is, in some cases altogether. Fear of women to be pregnant out, the stress sometimes for later onset of menstruation. Mental and physical balance have a positive effect on the control days.

Regular exercise and mental and physical balance are for pain-free and reasonably convenient "rule days" most beneficial. Too much sports and overexertion can affect the hormone so far that the absent menstruation altogether.

What problems can occur during menstruation?

Women feel during menstruation varies. Many have no problems, others are limited by extreme pain in their activities.

The following symptoms may occur:

• Spasmodic contractions (painful contraction) in the abdomen,
• Pain in the abdomen,
• Back pain,
• Nausea, possibly accompanied by vomiting,
• Diarrhea;
• Sweating;
• Fatigue and lack of energy.
  

Pain and discomfort, why?

During menstruation prostaglandins are released into the uterus. They are hormone-like substances that trigger different regulatory mechanisms of the body or interfere with them. From the uterus, for example, they can cause perceived as painful contractions. Blood and mucous residues are excreted through the contractions. Other causes of painful periods may be earlier infections or benign nodes in the muscle wall of the uterus (fibroids). This is especially true for slightly older women.

Severe period pain can be treated successfully with combined preparations of estrogen and progestin (eg, pill or vaginal ring). Also progestin preparations, such as new mini-pill, mini pill, the contraceptive implants, or the three-month injection is suitable. By the hormones the endometrium is less built up, the wound is smaller when dissolve the remains in the blood and the blood is running to weaker and shorter.
Tips for Well-being

You can do several things to feel better:

• Do not use caffeine-containing beverages such as coffee, black tea and cola.
• Avoid stress and relax.
• Have a massage from your partner.
• Do you exercise but do not overwork your body.
• Stay warm and have warm drinks.
• If you have particularly severe pain, take pain medication. Seek advice from your doctor or pharmacist.

Menopause and heavy bleeding

Menopause is known that excessive bleeding during the perimenopausal period. The main reason for heavy bleeding is the altered hormonal and hormonal imbalance. The progesterone levels, decreases in body and in severe bleeding cycles.


Even if a splurge in the estrogen production, which is rare, can lead to serious bleeding. Severe bleeding may stop for a few cycles and then finally complete. As a rule, before the period in the absence of many women. Any woman may have reacted differently to the symptoms of menopause and while some women delay times before and after any absence, others can cause serious times that for the last 10 or 15 days before it finally comes to a complete standstill.

However, heavy bleeding would also mean loss of vitamin D and calcium, which women can not afford at this stage of her life. It is therefore very important to have a doctor as soon as this symptom of menopause. The doctor would prescribe, multi-vitamins and supplements to combat losses during the menopause. It is very important for women to the menopause in a secure way, or it can end up with problems such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis in later life.

Severe bleeding can be caused by benign tumors in the uterus to. The only treatment for this is removal of the uterus, so that the tumors are malignant. However, only after appropriate testing, to determine what the cause of the tumors.

The good news is that there are several treatments in alternative medicine and homeopathy to the problem of heavy bleeding during menopause.

New treatments to delay motherhood

A better understanding of the way the ovary develops could help unravel the condition of premature menopause, a distressing condition that affects hundreds of thousands of British women.

It could also one day lead to a drug that puts the ovaries on 'pause', delaying menopause and preserving a woman's stock of eggs until she feels ready to have a family.

Read more...

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News on FSH levels

Found on Fertility Friend today:

Extract from: Canadian Consensus on Menopause and Osteoporosis (Update Sept 12, 2002)
RECOMMENDATIONS:
A2 Healthcare providers should not use random serum markers of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and estradiol E2 for the purpose of predicting menopause since clear markers for predicting menopause are yet to be identified. (II-2)

I'm shocked because I went to the doctor and he did a blood test called FSH which showed I'm menopausal even though I'm having regular periods. How can this be?

Hormonal blood tests are notoriously unreliable as hormone levels vary widely from day to day and even during the day. The FSH test is basically useless for determining what stage of the perimenopausal transition anybody is in. Here are statements from the abstracts of three studies you can find on Medline. You might like to print out the whole abstracts and show them to your doctor if you want to convince him. Of course he *could* simply mean "perimenopausal" - the two words are often used interchangeably (and confusingly!)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?uid=6790204&form=6&db=m&Dopt=b
Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 1981 Mar;14(3):245-255

Pituitary-ovarian function in normal women during the menopausal transition.

It is concluded that the appearance of high levels of FSH and LH is characteristic of the perimenopause and often precedes the sustained loss of sex hormone secretion by the ageing ovary. Postmenopausal biochemical parameters are no guarantee of the postmenopausal state.
________________________________________
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?uid=8107620&form=6&db=m&Dopt=b
Maturitas 1993 Dec;18(1):9-20

Perimenopausal patterns of gonadotrophins, immunoreactive inhibin, oestradiol and progesterone.

It was concluded that typical postmenopausal hormone patterns may occur at the time of entry into the normal menopausal transition, and in some women with anovulatory infertility, but may be completely and relatively abruptly reversible. Elevation of serum FSH into the postmenopausal range, with undetectable INH concentrations, does not provide reliable evidence that the menopause (or permanent ovarian failure) has occurred. INH contributes to elevations of serum FSH during the menopausal transition.
________________________________________
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?uid=8124478&form=6&db=m&Dopt=b
Eur J Endocrinol 1994 Jan;130(1):38-42

Diagnostic role of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) measurements during the menopausal transition--an analysis of FSH, oestradiol and inhibin.

It is concluded that FSH measurement is of little value, if any in the assessment of women during the menopausal transition because it cannot be interpreted reliably and because, apparently, ovulatory (and, presumably, potentially fertile) cycles may occur subsequent to the observation of postmenopausal FSH levels. Both oestradiol and inhibin are important negative feedback regulators of circulating FSH.
________________________________________
extract from Menopause 1999;6:29¬35. © 1999, The North American Menopause Society
http://www.menopause.org/abstract/6129.htm

Among U.S. women aged 35¬60 years, median FSH and LH levels began to increase for women in their late 40s and reached a plateau for women in their early 50s.This study supports the previously reported association between serum FSH and age (i.e., serum FSH and LH levels increase with age) and smoking (i.e., current smoking was associated with an increased level of serum FSH). At FSH levels of = or >15 IU/L or = or >20 IU/L, 70 and 73% of women, respectively, were postmenopausal. Our study also found an interaction between age and oophorectomy. In addition, the present data suggest that women with only one ovary may have higher FSH levels than women with both of their ovaries.
________________________________________
From: Gail Gillespie

This discussion of the FSH test took me back to my menopausal transition, reminding me of some of the more horrifying absurdities foisted on me by the medicalization of menopause. For example, when, at 48, heavy bleeding drove me to the doctor's office, I was given the test - as part of a general check up to see what was going on, or so I thought. When the results came back the doctor told me that they would have to perform an endometrial biopsy to "check for cancer" since my FSH was "similar to a 29 year old's." Great.

So, then, after the (very painful for me) endo. biopsy showed nothing abnormal, they put me on ever-increasing doses of provera to curtail the bleeding - which paradoxically increased to the pointt where I had a 70 day continuous bleed accompanied by cramps just this side of childbirth. Weak from exhaustion/anemia, I dragged myself in again to the same doctor who then gave me a second FSH test. (The fact that I was taking 20 mg of provera a day seemed immaterial to him!)

Studying the new FSH results, he then told me that because of my unexplained POSTmenopausal bleeding I would require a more-or-less immediate hysterectomy. I should sign up right then and there because he was "very busy" in October.

When I reacted with shock, since the biopsy, which was normal, was also based on the FSH results which suggested a NON post-meno. status, the doctor became very condescending. He indicated that this second blood test indicated that my FSH had gone from 9 to 51 (in a couple of months) and suggested that I was now, suddenly, POST menopausal. Then he began to hint darkly at the possibility that I may have cancer or at least fibroids because POST menopausal bleeding is one of the major signals of serious trouble. As angry as it makes me to recount this, it also strikes me that the fact that the doctor was an insensitive jerk helped in the long run since my distrust prompted me to check out things on my own.

Fortunately, by this time, I'd discovered alt.support.menopause and was reading Susan Love's book as well as a number of books on hysterectomy, including Cutler's. Looking back and checking my "bleeding journal," the entire situation reminds me eerily of childbirth, in which case, the fetal monitor, like the FSH test, is often the excuse for rampant, unnecessary intervention in a normal physiological process....an intervention which may, in the end, have dire consequences (such as the loss of perfectly healthy body parts). Incidentally, this doctor's remark to me when I fired him to get a second opinion, was "don't come crying to me when you get ovarian cancer."
-g
PS. To the newbies: I am doing just fine now. I feel better than I have since my 30s and have not bled for two years. I take no drugs other than the occasional ibuprofen and a multi-vitamin when I think about it. My only "symptoms" (hate that word) were a few hot flashes for several months as I made the adjustment to a drug free state. After what I went through, it was hard to go back to a doctor regularly though I do reluctantly get an annual PAP and mammogram.
________________________________________

So what are "normal" levels for FSH?
Note the wide range and overlap -
http://www.drkoop.com/adam/peds/top/003710.htm#Normal values
Normal values:
male: 4 to 25 U/L
female:
premenopausal: 4 to 30 U/L
midcycle peak: 10 to 90 U/L
pregnancy: low to undetectable
postmenopausal: 40 to 250 U/L
Note: U/L = units per liter
________________________________________

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Radical fertility bid

A 47-YEAR-OLD Melbourne woman has had radical surgery that may make her a first-time mother - and part of medical history.

Eight years after having "slices" of her ovaries removed, frozen and stored, Lisa had them reimplanted last month in the hope of becoming pregnant.

Specialists at Monash IVF hope the slices will regenerate in her reproductive system - and effectively reverse menopause by starting a process that will release eggs and make her fertile again.

If it works, Lisa could become the first woman in Australia to become pregnant using the technique.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25934496-661,00.html

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Mom or Grand Ma...menopause Knows

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Whenever you see an older woman with a baby are your first thoughts, "Oh, what a sweet grandbaby!" Ha! You better hold your tongue.

It's more likely one of two things: A baby who has been desperately awaited by a previously infertile couple, or a baby that is a surprise gift, as result of a menopausal missed call. The latter scenario is more common than you'd expect - more than 70% of pregnancies to women over 40 were not planned.

Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/mom-or-grand-mamenopause-knows-744936.html

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New Test Could Count Down Fertility Years

(CBS) More and more women are waiting longer to have children, but Mother Nature's deadline can't be ignored: The start of menopause means the end of the possibility that they can conceive.

So what if women could take a simple blood test that could tell them, with a fair amount of accuracy, how long they have before menopause sets in?

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/04/11/earlyshow/health/main4936718.shtml

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In Killer Whales and Humans, Older Moms May Be Best

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Killer whales that are nearing menopause make the best moms, a new study finds. This could be the case among humans, though it's less clear.

Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are extremely long-lived marine mammals. While males can live as many as 50 years, female killer whales can live much longer — scientists have even found one female that is thought to be more than 90.

Females can have their first calves (as baby killer whales are called) as early as age 10, and can continue having offspring until their early 40s, when menopause can start to kick in.

Just as in humans, menopause ends a female killer whale's ability to reproduce. Just why humans, whales and other mammals have evolved this trait is unknown. Some scientists think menopause could simply be due to physiological deterioration that comes with age, while others think it could increase the fitness of older females.

Full article: http://www.livescience.com/animals/090205-older-killer-whales.html

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MetroHealth to study lead exposure's link to menopause

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Because of Cleveland's aging housing stock and history of industry, researchers at MetroHealth Medical Center decided to focus on the city's residents for an early-phase study to see whether prolonged lead exposure leads to premature menopause.

People are typically at risk of lead exposure when paint or other materials containing lead cracks and chips over time or during home renovations, getting into the air or dirt. But lead also can get into a person's bloodstream through some imported foods and constant exposure to other products containing lead.

For children who are especially at risk from living in older homes with lead paint, research already has shown a strong correlation between elevated levels of lead in the bloodstream and IQ loss, learning disabilities and neurobehavioral impairments.

Menopause at an earlier age can increase a woman's risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and certain cancers. Additionally, lead that is accumulated in bone is released into the blood when a woman experiences increased bone loss - usually occurring during menopause.

Full article: http://www.cleveland.com/living/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1223973192273860.xml&coll=2

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Over-50s 'have a right to IVF', says top fertility doctor

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Women who are over 50 should have the right to fertility treatment, a top British scientist said today.

Professor Ian Craft said those opposed to older women becoming mothers are guilty of a 'police state mentality'.

The controversial doctor from the London Fertility Centre told a meeting of fertility experts that women have given birth after the menopause, which justifies giving those in their fifties IVF treatment.

Professor Craft, whose clinic helped a 56-year-old woman get pregnant, said: 'Knowing that natural conceptions do occur, why should infertile women be denied treatment that occurs naturally, whether they still menstruate or not?

Full story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1033366/Over-50s-right-IVF-says-fertility-doctor.html

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Passive Ovarian Reserve Testing: Measuring FSH and LH

The methods for assessing ovarian reserve are classified into two groups: passive testing and dynamic testing. The goal of both approaches is to provide information regarding oocyte (egg) quality and quantity. We'll begin this section by examining passive testing methods.

As clinicians gained experience with IVF in the 1980's, it became apparent that early follicular-phase FSH levels played an important role in pregnancy outcomes. We soon discovered that day 3 FSH (measured by a blood test) could be very useful in predicting response to ovulation induction and IVF.

As a woman ages, FSH becomes elevated in an attempt to force the aging ovary to respond. However, the exact mechanism responsible for this adaptive response remains unknown. A rise in early follicular-phase FSH is also accompanied by a decline in oocyte quality, and some investigators have linked such FSH elevations to fetal abnormalities. In fact, it has been theorized that subtle but measurable increases in FSH precede menopause by approximately five years in some women

Full article: http://www.ivf.com/ovarianreserve.html#fsh

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Delayed sleep phase syndrome linked to irregular menstrual cycles, premenstrual symptoms in women

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Public release date: 10-Jun-2008[
Contact: Kathleen McCann kmccann@aasmnet.org
708-492-0930
American Academy of Sleep Medicine



WESTCHESTER, Ill. – Women with delayed sleep phase syndrome are more likely to report irregular menstrual cycles and premenstrual symptoms, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Tuesday at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).

The study, authored by Kari Sveum, of Northwestern University in Chicago, Ill., focused on 13 females with delayed sleep phase syndrome and 13 healthy controls. The subjects responded to a questionnaire regarding their reproductive health, including irregularity of their cycle and premenstrual symptoms, either in the past or present.

According to the results, twice as many subjects with delayed sleep phase syndrome reported an irregular menstrual cycle compared to controls. For those not using birth control, three times as many subjects with delayed sleep phase syndrome reported irregular menstruation, compared to controls. Pre-menstrual problems, such as cramps and mood swings, were reported by 69 percent of those with delayed sleep phase syndrome, compared to 16.67 percent of controls.

“While the data is preliminary, these results suggest that women with delayed sleep phase syndrome may be at increased risk for menstrual irregularity associated with circadian misalignment,” said Sveum. “Further investigation with a larger group of subjects using prospective diary data would be useful to further establish the effects of circadian disruption on reproductive cycles in women with delayed sleep phase syndrome.”

Sleep plays a vital role in promoting a woman’s health and well being. Getting the required amount of sleep is likely to enhance a woman’s overall quality of life. Yet, women face many potential barriers – such as life events, depression, illness, and medication use – that can disrupt and disturb her sleep.

The hormonal and physical changes that occur during and after menopause can also affect a woman’s sleep. Sleep disturbances are more common, and sleep quality can decline. Insomnia related to menopause often occurs.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is much more common in postmenopausal women. This increase may be due in part to menopause-related weight gain. But it also appears to be hormone-related. Estrogen seems to help protect women against OSA.

It is recommended that women get between seven and eight hours of nightly sleep.

The following tips are provided by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) to help women get the most out of their sleep:

* Make your bedroom a comfortable and safe place. Reduce noises and extreme temperatures that might disturb you.

* Use light and comfortable bed linens and garments.

* Go to bed only when you are sleepy and use the bed only for sleeping and sex.

* Begin rituals to help you relax at bedtime, such as taking a soothing bath or enjoying a light snack.

* Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, including weekends and holidays.

* If you need to take a nap, keep it to less than one hour and take it before 3 p.m.

* Only drink caffeine in the morning, and avoid alcohol and cigarettes late in the day.

* Stay away from fatty, spicy foods that are likely to upset your stomach or cause heartburn.

* Set aside time during the day to get all of your worries out of your system.

* Increase vitamin E in your diet, or take a vitamin E supplement.

* Hormone replacement therapy may help you sleep better by relieving severe hot flashes related to menopause. Ask your doctor for advice about this kind of treatment.

* Only use sleeping pills when supervised by a doctor.

Those who suspect that they might be suffering from a sleep disorder are encouraged to consult with their primary care physician or a sleep specialist.

### More information on “women and sleep” is available from the AASM at http://www.SleepEducation.com/Topic.aspx?id=67 .

The annual SLEEP meeting brings together an international body of 5,000 leading researchers and clinicians in the field of sleep medicine to present and discuss new findings and medical developments related to sleep and sleep disorders.

More than 1,000 research abstracts will be presented at the SLEEP meeting, a joint venture of the AASM and the Sleep Research Society. The three-and-a-half-day scientific meeting will bring to light new findings that enhance the understanding of the processes of sleep and aid the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders such as insomnia, narcolepsy and sleep apnea.

SleepEducation.com, a patient education Web site created by the AASM, provides information about various sleep disorders, the forms of treatment available, recent news on the topic of sleep, sleep studies that have been conducted and a listing of sleep facilities.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/aaos-dsp050708.php

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Chance of Pregnancy Is Often Overlooked by Older Women

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Teresa Watts expects to have her second child on May 28. The baby's room has been painted. The crib her older daughter once slept in has been pulled out of storage. In March, Ms. Watts's sister threw her a baby shower.

Sounds like any other mother-to-be -- except for the fact that Ms. Watts turns 45 in June, an age when many women are planning a life beyond babies.

Ms. Watts, who has a 16-year-old daughter due to graduate from high school next year, thought her days of diaper changes and 2 a.m. feedings were done. "I was shocked," the former waitress from Clarksville, Tenn., says of the home pregnancy test that came out positive. "Women my age just don't get pregnant."

Change in Plans

Well, they do. Doctors say women can get pregnant until they have completed menopause -- an event that happens sometime between the ages of 41 and 61. In the U.S., the average age of menopause is 51.

"It's very common that women don't realize they still need to worry about birth control even after they hit their 40's and move into their 50's," says Vanessa Cullins, vice president of medical affairs for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "Until they complete menopause, which means going 12 months without menstruating, women should consider themselves to still be fertile."

Sometimes called a "change-of-life baby," an unplanned pregnancy later in life can do just that. Couples who were looking forward to retirement, travel or an empty house can, instead, end up fixing up the nursery, buying a slew of baby gear and starting a college fund.

Having a baby later in life also comes with some increased health risks -- for both the mother and child. Older women can have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies. But compared with younger women, they are more likely to suffer miscarriages, develop gestational diabetes and experience problems during delivery. And the odds of giving birth to children with genetic birth defects are much greater in older women.

Almost 40% of pregnancies among women over 40 are unplanned, according to a 2001 survey by the National Center for Health Statistics in Atlanta, the most recent data available. And according to the survey, of 7,643 women and 4,928 men between ages 15 and 44, about 56% of all unplanned pregnancies among women over 40 are terminated.

Little Data

It's not clear just how many women over the age of 44 actually get pregnant. Doctors, government agencies and medical organizations all define the reproductive age for women in the U.S. as 15 to 44. So, there's little data collected on a national level regarding pregnancy, abortion, miscarriages or birth-control use among older women.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does say that from 2000 to 2005, live births among women between the ages of 45 and 54 jumped 45% to 6,536. That number was less than 1% of all live births in the U.S. in 2005, the latest data available.

A woman's fertility starts declining in her 20's. It drops rapidly after 35, and at 45, she has a 1% chance of conceiving using her own eggs, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine, which includes the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Health Systems. Many women who do choose to have children in their 40s and beyond use artificial reproductive technology, including eggs provided by a donor.

Given such odds, it's no wonder many sexually active women over age 40 don't practice birth control. The survey by National Center for Health Statistics found that 7% of women between the ages of 40 and 44 had recently had sex, weren't looking to get pregnant, but didn't use any form of birth control.

The news of Ms. Watts's pregnancy came after her 49-year-old husband decided to retire this spring as a supervisor at a truck-parts manufacturer. The couple had planned to cash in an individual retirement account, move to Florida and buy a boat. He still left the job, but is currently looking for a new one.

"This baby really is a blessing, and we've had time to adjust," Ms. Watts says. "But we're sending our oldest daughter to college next year, and now we have to start all over again."

Increased Risk

When it comes to preventing a pregnancy later in life, women with health problems may have fewer choices.

For instance, women over 35 who smoke heavily -- more than 15 cigarettes a day -- or have a history of uncontrolled high blood pressure shouldn't use birth-control pills or contraceptive devices that release estrogen. An already-elevated risk of blood clots and stroke gets pushed even higher by the estrogen.

A woman's risk of getting certain cancers also increases as she gets older, and some hormones can exacerbate that risk. One form of breast cancer, for instance, feeds off estrogen, so some birth-control pills, vaginal rings and patches should be avoided.

Women with liver disease and liver cancer should avoid contraceptives that release either estrogen or progestin, a synthetic form of the hormone progesterone. That includes pills, implants, vaginal rings, patches and some types of intrauterine devices, or IUDs, that release progestin. Sick livers can't break down the hormones, so women get exposed to higher doses than necessary.

And in some cases, women with cervical cancer and ovarian cancers shouldn't use IUDs.

To avoid these issues, some women opt for sterilization -- for their husbands. According to the National Center for Health Statistics survey, 13% of women between the ages of 40 and 44 have husbands who have had vasectomies.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120951312541254527.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

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Breakthrough may preserve fertility post menopause

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London, April 21 (ANI): Scot scientists have achieved a breakthrough in taking early stage follicles tiny egg-bearing pockets in the ovaries from a woman’s ovaries, and maturing them into eggs in the lab for the first time.

The achievement of Edinburgh University researchers means that women undergoing cancer treatment, or wishing to delay motherhood to concentrate on their careers, may have a way of preserving their fertility in the next five to 10 years.

Dr Evelyn Telfer and her colleagues say that they have established a procedure to develop early stage follicles to a much later stage.

The researchers took pieces of ovary containing the follicles from six volunteer women who were giving birth by elective caesarean section, and exposed them to an artificial growth factor.

They revealed that about one-third of the follicles survived, and went on to reach an advanced stage.

“This is a significant step in developing immature eggs to maturity outside the body. Women who face infertility as a result of chemotherapy, or who want to put their biological clock on hold, could benefit from this system, the Scotsman quoted Dr. Telfer as saying.

“However, there is a lot more research to be carried out before this technique could be safely applied within a clinical setting,” she added.

Normally, a woman undergoing cancer treatment has to have a piece of ovary removed and frozen for future transplantation, a procedure that carries the risk of reintroducing cancer cells to the patient.

They may also rely on fertility medication to produce eggs to be harvested for use at a later date, but this poses risks in delaying treatment, and defrosting the eggs does not always work.

Dr Telfer says that one alternative may be to maturing eggs in the laboratory may make it possible to screen them for cancer before they are returned.

In a report published in the journal Human Reproduction, the researcher says that women wishing to preserve their fertility past the menopause may also have their follicles stored for later use when they are ready to start a family.

She has revealed that in animal studies, eggs matured in this way appear to be completely normal and suitable for in vitro fertilisation.

However, her team have yet to confirm the same for humans.

“We believe there’s good evidence that we can get normal oocytes (eggs], but of course you would never apply this technique clinically until you are sure,” said Dr Telfer. (ANI)

Source: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/breakthrough-may-preserve-fertility-post-menopause_10040356.html

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Technique measures a woman's 'biological clock'

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A technique has been developed by scientists to tell a woman how fast her biological clock is ticking and when menopause is likely to hit.

Sandy Martinez, a 30-year-old manager of actors, is busy building a career, but she also wants to raise a family.

She wonders how long she can put it off. "Obviously your body's not the same when you're older, so that is a concern to me," she told CTV News.

"A woman of say, 30 or 32, who's thinking about whether to press on with her career, or wants to get into a better financial situation to have a family, could be rest assured they have more time," said Dr. Hamish Wallace, one of the study's authors.

"What we have done is to come up with a method that may allow us to predict for a woman what ovarian reserves she has and at what age she is likely to experience the menopause," Wallace, a pediatric oncologist and lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, told Reuters.

The Scottish scientists say they can do this by measuring the volume of a woman's ovaries using ultrasound.

This could also tell them how many eggs a woman has left, which could have a significant impact on fertility treatments.

"The ultrasound measurement is taken to work out the volume of the ovaries. If the ovaries are larger than average for her age, then she is likely to have a later menopause and if they are smaller she is likely to have an earlier one. Essentially we try to quantify by how much, by how many years," Dr. Thomas Kelsey, a computer scientists at the University of St. Andrews, told Reuters.

Women start with an estimated 800,000 eggs, but that number declines over time.

By the time a woman reaches 37, she's down to about 25,000 eggs. At that time, the rate of decline speeds up. The ovaries shrink until almost all the eggs are depleted. At that point, menopause occurs.

That generally happens at age 50, but can happen between the ages of 42 and 58.

Wallace and Kelsey reported their findings in the medical journal Human Reproduction.

"It is going to be useful for couples who have fertility problems because it is an easy way for the fertility clinics to work out essentially whether it is worth doing IVF (in-vitro fertilization) or whatever treatment," Kelsey said.

For example, a woman with a number of fertile years ahead might be better off trying to conceive naturally or to space out fertility treatments, he said.

Conversely, if the egg supply is low, it might not be worth it, he said.

Two instances in which the diagnostic method won't work is for women taking oral contraceptives or those suffering from polycystic ovarian syndrome, which causes infertility.

The scientists are planning to do longer-term studies to track young women until they hit menopause.

"It opens the door to the possibility of screening women for early ovarian aging. These women may be at increased risk to their general health from the effects of having an early menopause," Wallace said.

But some warn against the use of this technique by perfectly healthy women.

"The difficulty of getting pregnant goes up as you get old. And the risk of miscarriage or Down's Syndrome goes up as well. So it's not just how many eggs you've got," Diane Allen of the Infertility Network.

Study: Ovarian reserve and reproductive age may be determined from measurement of ovarian volume by transvaginal sonography

Source: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20040617/fertility_study_040617?s_name=&no_ads=

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