infertility

An illustration of the blastocyst stage of embryo development at about five to nine days after fertilization. The outer layer will grow to form the placenta. The inner cells will become the fetus.

The science of IVF: What to know about Alabama's 'extrauterine children' ruling

4:42pm February 23, 2024

by Maria Godoy

Why are so many frozen embryos created? And how is the Alabama Supreme Court ruling likely to affect IVF in the future? Here's what you need to know.

Woman waiting for pregnancy test result. Fertility treatments can be hard to access for obese patients.

Health & Safety

Opinion: Women with obesity are often restricted from IVF. That's discriminatory

7:00am January 14, 2024

by Becca Muir

Despite the lack of medical evidence for doing so, fertility clinics bar women over a certain BMI from their services. One writer makes the case such limits are unfair and unscientific.

Diana and Paul Zucknick have tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to have children. The Austin, Texas, couple are intrigued by scientific research that may someday make it possible to create eggs and sperm from their skin cells.

Infertile people, gay and trans couples yearn for progress on lab-made eggs and sperm

4:38pm December 13, 2023

by Rob Stein

An experimental technology that might someday allow infertile couples, as well as gay and trans couples, to have genetically related children stirs hope. So far, the technique has worked in mice.

When Heather Woock was conceived, her mom sought the help of a fertility specialist. What happened next was not what she was led to believe. But it took three decades for it to come to light.

Health & Safety

Her Own Birth Was 'Fertility Fraud' And Now She Needs Fertility Treatment

6:15am January 20, 2020

Years ago, doctors sometimes lied about whose sperm they used for artificial inseminations. Could it happen now? Some argue regulation is weak in the multibillion dollar fertility treatment industry.

Fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization led the twin birthrate to rise from the early '80s. Now the rate has started to decline among white women.

Health & Safety

Twin Birthrate Drops For First Time Since The '80s

11:28am October 03, 2019

by Emily Vaughn

The twin birthrate nearly doubled between 1980 and 2014. Now it's going down among white mothers. What's behind the change?

Merck Wants To 'Empower' Infertile Women In Africa. Can Music Videos Help?

10:43am July 09, 2019

by Malaka Gharib

The songs tell women they are "more than a mother" — then promote the pharmaceutical company's fertility treatment programs. But the music videos raise some concerns.

Paul Giamatti and Kathryn Hahn play a couple who are desperate to have a child in the Netflix film Private Life.

How A 'By Any Means Necessary' Quest For A Child Inspired Netflix's 'Private Life'

5:07pm October 03, 2018

by Terry Gross

Writer and director Tamara Jenkins drew on her own experiences with IVF treatment to create what she calls a "buddy movie" about a New York City couple who are desperate to have a baby.

Queue Listen Now

Immature human eggs (pink) were created by Japanese researchers using stem cells that were derived from blood cells.

Scientists Create Immature Human Eggs From Stem Cells

4:36pm September 20, 2018

by Rob Stein

A Japanese research team made immature human eggs from stem cells that were derived from human blood. The technique brings scientists a step closer to being able to mass-produce human eggs.

Queue Listen Now

A Swiss study tracking the health of a group of children conceived via assisted reproductive technology found that a surprising number developed premature aging of their blood vessels. Now in their teens, 15 percent have hypertension.

Do IVF And Other Infertility Tech Lead To Health Risks For The Baby? Maybe

5:02pm September 19, 2018

by Mara Gordon

A small study of teens who were conceived via assisted reproductive technology finds a significant number already have hypertension and premature "age-related changes" in their blood vessels.

Health & Safety

New Startup Makes Fertility Testing More Accessible

9:30am June 19, 2018

by Bethany Chafin

Wake Forest graduate Afton Vechery realized that she kept having the same conversation with many women she knew – many wanting to know more about their own fertility.