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If kids are on the table someday, it’s prime time to get into these habits.
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It’s no secret that omega-3 fatty acids (ones typically found in fish like salmon and sardines) are critical for the heart, brain, and skin. But they’re also vital during pregnancy (to support healthy brain development of the baby and reduce the likelihood of preterm births) and for women’s reproductive health in general—regardless of whether you’re trying to conceive.
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“The biggest challenge is how to make this egg extrude half of its chromosomes—and the correct half,” Amato says. “We’re not quite there yet.” The team dubbed their technique “mitomeiosis” and is trying to better understand how chromosomes like to pair and how they segregate in order to find a way to experimentally induce those conditions.
The ability to make eggs and sperm in the lab—called in vitro gametogenesis, or IVG—has been a growing area of research in recent years.
In 2016, a group of Japanese researchers led by stem cell researcher Katsuhiko Hayashi reported that they produced healthy mouse pups after making mouse eggs entirely in a lab dish. Later, they generated mouse eggs using cells from males and as a result, created pups with two dads. Those advancements were achieved by reprogramming skin cells from adult mice into stem cells, then further coaxing them to develop into eggs and sperm.
Mitinori Saitou at Kyoto University first documented in 2018 how his team turned human blood cells into stem cells, which they then transformed into human eggs, but they were too immature to be fertilized to make embryos.
US startups Conception Biosciences, Ivy Natal, Gameto, and Ovelle Bio are all working on making eggs or sperm in a lab.
But the prospect raises significant ethical questions about how the technology should be used. In a 2017 editorial, bioethicists warned that IVG “may raise the specter of ‘embryo farming’ on a scale currently unimagined.” Conceivably, it could allow anyone at any age to have a child. And combined with advances in embryo screening, the fertility clinics of the future could use IVG to make mass numbers of embryos and then choose the ones with the most desirable qualities. Gene editing could also be used with IVG to snip out disease-causing DNA or create new traits.
Amato says it will likely take another decade of research before IVG could be deemed safe or effective enough to be tested in people. Even then, it’s unclear if the technique would be permitted in the US, since a Congressional rider forbids the Food and Drug Administration from considering clinical trials that involve genetically manipulating an embryo for the intention of creating a baby.
“Their method is very sophisticated and well-organized,” Hayashi, now a professor at the University of Osaka, says of the Oregon group’s approach. However, because of the high rate of chromosomal errors, “it is too inefficient and high risk to apply immediately to clinical application.”
Also, because their process requires donor eggs, it could limit its use as an infertility treatment. As more people turn to IVF to conceive, the demand for donor eggs is increasing, and using them can involve wait times.
Amander Clark, a reproductive scientist and stem cell biologist at UCLA who was not involved in the work, agrees that in its current form, mitomeiosis should not be offered for fertility care until more research is done. But in the meantime, the research has other uses.
“The technology of mitomeiosis is an important technical innovation and could be highly valuable to our understanding of the biology of meiosis in human eggs. Meiotic errors increase as women age. Therefore, understanding causes of meiotic errors is a critical area of research,” Clark says.
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Emily Mullin
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One of the most popular ways to get your nails done is now banned in parts of Europe. And an expert says that should give everyone pause. “I was counseling patients or trying to steer them in other directions or alternatives,” said Dr. Farah Moustafa, a dermatologist and the director of Laser and Cosmetics at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts.That included Yara, who has been getting gel manicures regularly for about a decade. “I get them done every two or three weeks,” she said. “It makes my nails look very shiny and hardens them. It also lasts longer.”But when she noticed her nails getting really weak, she turned to Moustafa for advice.”She recommended that I stop getting gel nail polish done,” Yara said. Moustafa said she’s been worried about gel manicures for years, before the European Union banned the polish because of a chemical that may raise concerns about fertility. “The ban was based on some animal studies in which rats were fed large quantities of TPO and they were found to have fertility issues, and it was reproductively toxic,” Moustafa said. TPO stands for trimenthylbenzoyl diphenylphoshine oxide — a long name for a chemical agent that allows the nail polish to harden when exposed to UV light. That’s long been the appeal of gel polish: the shiny seal that makes the color last for weeks instead of days. There have been no scientific studies that definitively establish a link between TPO and health risks in humans. And a ban in the United States is seen as unlikely. Moustafa said, the chemical aside, the UV exposure has always worried her when it comes to gel. “The UV exposure is not good for your hands long-term and does increase your risk of skin cancer of the nail bed,” she said. “It’s like a tanning bed for your nails.”Moustafa suggests patients look at the labels before picking their polish or consider alternatives like dip powder or dazzle dry. For Yara, it was enough to make her hit pause, even though she admits she loves gel polish.”I’m going to try my best to stick with it,” she said. “I’ll probably do it occasionally when I have a wedding or something. But for now, day to day, I think I’m going to stick to regular nail polish.”
One of the most popular ways to get your nails done is now banned in parts of Europe. And an expert says that should give everyone pause.
“I was counseling patients or trying to steer them in other directions or alternatives,” said Dr. Farah Moustafa, a dermatologist and the director of Laser and Cosmetics at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts.
That included Yara, who has been getting gel manicures regularly for about a decade.
“I get them done every two or three weeks,” she said. “It makes my nails look very shiny and hardens them. It also lasts longer.”
But when she noticed her nails getting really weak, she turned to Moustafa for advice.
“She recommended that I stop getting gel nail polish done,” Yara said.
Moustafa said she’s been worried about gel manicures for years, before the European Union banned the polish because of a chemical that may raise concerns about fertility.
“The ban was based on some animal studies in which rats were fed large quantities of TPO and they were found to have fertility issues, and it was reproductively toxic,” Moustafa said.
TPO stands for trimenthylbenzoyl diphenylphoshine oxide — a long name for a chemical agent that allows the nail polish to harden when exposed to UV light. That’s long been the appeal of gel polish: the shiny seal that makes the color last for weeks instead of days.
There have been no scientific studies that definitively establish a link between TPO and health risks in humans. And a ban in the United States is seen as unlikely.
Moustafa said, the chemical aside, the UV exposure has always worried her when it comes to gel.
“The UV exposure is not good for your hands long-term and does increase your risk of skin cancer of the nail bed,” she said. “It’s like a tanning bed for your nails.”
Moustafa suggests patients look at the labels before picking their polish or consider alternatives like dip powder or dazzle dry.
For Yara, it was enough to make her hit pause, even though she admits she loves gel polish.
“I’m going to try my best to stick with it,” she said. “I’ll probably do it occasionally when I have a wedding or something. But for now, day to day, I think I’m going to stick to regular nail polish.”
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Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) affects up to 13 per cent of women globally, with many more thought to be undiagnosed. It can impact ovulation and is a leading cause of fertility, but lifestyle changes, including following a PCOS-friendly diet, can help to manage symptoms. We caught up with Phoebe Liebling, a Nutritional Therapist who works with Bare Biology, to find out the optimum diet for PCOS, including the foods to eat and avoid for the best results.
The key thing to understand is that PCOS isn’t one defined condition, so there can be variance in terms of what diet is most suited based on that woman’s path to PCOS. The most widely used basis for diagnosis is the Rotterdam criteria, and a woman is given a diagnosis of PCOS when 2 out of 3 of the following are present, once causes such as thyroid issues have been ruled out:
Within PCOS, there are also 5 subtypes. Insulin-resistant PCOS is the most common, but we also have post-pill PCOS, inflammatory PCOS, adrenal PCOS and thyroid-related/secondary PCOS. As a foundation, however, all women with PCOS will benefit from a diet that focuses on blood sugar regulation and reducing inflammation. Many will suggest a low-carb regime; however, there is significant nuance here. When someone is presenting with high insulin levels, their system is geared towards energy storage rather than energy use, and we have two main macronutrients for energy: carbohydrates and fats.
Carbohydrates are our quicker-burning fuel source, and fats are slower-burning, but fats are also more energy-dense (contain more calories per gram). So the issue many will find on a low-carb diet is that they then crave fats as their body assumes that they are switching to the latter as their primary fuel source. However, this doesn’t match what their body is looking to use, so they store more, and thus, the classic weight management issue many PCOS women face is worsened.
What we want is to look for a protein-rich diet, paired with low GI, high fibre carbs, and moderate fats. This provides steady energy, preserves lean muscle, and if combined with muscle-activating movement (resistance training), will work progressively to resolve the insulin-related issues with fatigue, weight gain and cravings.
Oats, quinoa, buckwheat, wild rice, sweet potatoes, berries, apples – These low-glycaemic carbs regulate blood sugar and improve insulin sensitivity; fibre supports gut health and lowers cholesterol.
Broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, spinach, rocket, chard – Cruciferous and green veg aid oestrogen metabolism, provide magnesium and folate, reduce inflammation.
Avocado, olive oil, walnuts, chiaseeds, flaxseed, oily fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel) – Healthy fats contain omega-3s which reduce inflammation, support hormone production, improve satiety and blood sugar balance.
Eggs, chicken, turkey, fish, Greek yoghurt (if tolerated), tofu/tempeh – Lean proteins stabilise blood sugar, support muscle mass (improves insulin sensitivity) and provide building blocks for hormones.
© Getty ImagesFlaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, Brazil nuts – Seeds and nuts contain lignans, which modulate oestrogen, and are also rich in zinc, which supports ovulation and skin, and selenium, which supports thyroid and ovarian health.
Cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, green tea – These anti-inflammatory herbs and spices improve insulin sensitivity, lower CRP, reduce androgens and support weight management.
Berries, pomegranate, herbs, leafy greens – Polyphenol-rich foods reduce oxidative stress, support ovulation and improve vascular health.
Sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, yoghurt, miso – Fermented foods nourish the gut microbiome, improve insulin resistance, support hormone clearance and digestion.
White bread, pastries, cakes, sugary cereals – High-glycaemic carbs will spike blood sugar and insulin, worsening insulin resistance.
Sugary drinks (soda, energy drinks, fruit juice) – These cause a rapid glucose surge which drives insulin spikes and inflammation.
© Getty ImagesProcessed snacks (crisps, biscuits, crackers) – Refined carbs and unhealthy fats increase inflammation and cravings due to low satiety.
Fried foods, fast food, processed meats – These are high in trans fats and additives which promote inflammation and oxidative stress.
Excess red meat, especially processed (sausages, bacon) – These are linked with higher inflammation and androgen excess; can disrupt gut balance.
Dairy with added hormones (non-organic milk, cheese, ice cream) – These may increase insulin and IGF-1, worsening acne and hormone imbalance in sensitive women.
Alcohol, especially beer and sweet cocktails – Affects liver detoxification of hormones, raises blood sugar and inflammation.
Artificial sweeteners (diet sodas, sugar-free gums, processed ‘low-calorie’ snacks) – May disrupt gut microbiome and insulin response despite being “sugar-free”.
This would depend on the form of PCOS a woman has. There are some commonalities, but I would always advise seeking the advice of someone trained in therapeutic supplementation if possible, as quality, dosage and timing are key.
© Getty ImagesAs a more specific example for insulin-resistant PCOS (the most common form), I would be looking at a regimen like the one below.
Morning:
Lunch:
Evening:
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Chloe Couchman
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Bi understood how far-fetched her allegations sounded. “If it were not for all the hard evidence, it’s too shocking to believe [Rebecca Smith] did what she did to kill my son,” Bi wrote on Facebook, using Smith’s real name. Perhaps a kind friend could have suggested to Bi that there were other explanations. Instead, Bi had a set of legal adversaries and a supportive echo chamber. On Facebook, GCs and IPs alike expressed sympathy for Bi’s tragic posts: Everyone knew bad surrogates existed, and based on Bi’s claims, it sounded like Smith was one. Aimee Eyvazzadeh, a Bay Area fertility doctor and influencer, called Smith “a criminal” and “a psycho.” Bi’s $1,275-an-hour lawyer, Elizabeth Sperling, wondered whether digging through social media posts might show Smith engaging in “strenuous activity” that could explain the death.
Bi’s husband focused on stabilizing the family, a move he credits with saving their marriage. He blamed the hospital, not Smith, but told me that the litigation is “her grieving process.” He tried to stay out of the legal stuff so that Bi couldn’t blame him too.
Smith had planned to go back to work shortly after giving birth. Instead, she couldn’t stop bleeding. Even though SAI had determined she hadn’t breached the contract, the escrow stopped paying, leaving Smith reliant on disability benefits as she faced an increasing pile of terrifying bills.
When Smith was finally cleared to return to work, a month after Leon died, Bi emailed Smith’s HR department to ask about her health plan. Bi also reported Smith to a federal agency, claiming that Smith was committing fraud. The stress on Smith was already high: Her supervisor at work had found her crying on and off for a day.
Smith hadn’t heard from Bi since her terse reply to the condolence email. Then, Bi texted her a screenshot of a Facebook post about another GC who’d had an abruption at almost 32 weeks—but that GC had called 911 and the baby had lived.
Next, Bi iMessaged a photo of Leon’s corpse to Smith’s 7-year-old son’s iPad.
In the months after Leon died, Bi:
Called the FBI 12 times. Reported Smith, SAI, the hospital, and Clarity escrow to more than a dozen state and federal regulators and numerous professional organizations. Launched a new round of her $30 million venture fund, backed by Marc Andreessen and David Sacks, President Trump’s “AI and crypto czar,” on Leon’s due date. Posted Leon’s ChatGPT-written endorsement from heaven, offering his “eternal blessings” for her work. Created TikToks, Instagram Reels, Facebook posts, X threads, LinkedIn Updates, and a website for her advocacy. Posted links disclosing Smith’s full name, photo, address, employer, mortgage license number, and son’s first name to her website. Asked her husband, again and again, how it was possible that Smith had carried her son but felt “nothing” about his death.
Bi has abandonment issues that she traces back to her twenties, when her father divorced her mom for the mistress who’d conceived his long-awaited son. She got on lithium for her bipolar disorder in early 2021 and began looking for surrogates as soon as she stopped feeling “sedated.” I spoke to the therapist Bi hired to consult with her and Valdeiglesias. She told me that, of the 792 intended parents she has evaluated for surrogacy or gamete donation in the last decade, she has declined to recommend only about a dozen. “I’m not gatekeeping,” she said. When it comes to serious mental illness, she added, it’s up to them to disclose. One of Bi’s fertility doctors, meanwhile, told me it’s not his place to scrutinize intended parents. He defers to the recommendation of the psychological interviewer.
If an intended parent gets turned down, they can usually find another therapist, another clinic, another agency. But without anyone questioning her plans, Bi seemed betrayed by the challenges of third-party reproduction. “Surrogacy is supposed to be the safest route,” she wrote on Instagram. It wasn’t just Leon’s death that pushed Bi into her spiral of legal action and social media posts. It was the apparent lack of control of having her child inside another woman’s body—the most basic fact of surrogacy.
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Emi Nietfeld
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“This is Marina. She leads a feminist organization.” This is how I am introduced at the entrance of an event that aims to “normalize egg freezing,” run by a startup collaborating with a private fertility clinic. It’s a misunderstanding, but for a moment I contemplate whether that’s what I should be doing, and my mind wanders.
The event is taking place at a private members’ club in a bougie part of London. We are gathering on pastel-colored chairs, and the air in the room feels like cold wool. I sit and listen, alongside other women, as if I’m here to learn about my fertility, as if I am wondering whether to freeze my eggs. I’m here to find out how the organizers talk about egg freezing. It’s research for my book on women’s health innovation, The Vagina Business.
In the US, some clinics throw “egg freezing parties” with champagne and canapés. They create a sense of solidarity around “taking control” of our “biological clock.” Pop-up buses offer free fertility tests. Whenever a company hands something out for free, it’s worth considering their business model and whether you are about to become the product. There is no champagne at the event I have come to, and despite the buoyed empowerment language on the invitation, the mood is gloomy.
The women in the audience are in their twenties and thirties, almost exclusively white, clad in black leather skirts and cashmere sweaters. We’re asked to fill out a survey, and the woman in front of me puts her copy beneath her chair, so the moment I look down at my feet, I can’t help seeing that she earns between £70,000 and £100,000 annually ($94,000 and $134,000). That’s more than double the average income of a Londoner.
The fertility clinic presenter says, “I fully appreciate that thinking about fertility is something that feels overwhelming.” She says that while women are good at eating well and exercising, we neglect our fertility. “Those aren’t easy conversations to have.” With urgency in her voice, she says the conversation we are about to have is still easier than conversations she has with clients who have struggled to conceive for years and have run out of options. She congratulates the audience for taking the first step to understanding their fertility by attending this event.
And herein lies the first problem. Fertility is not part of our education, and not a topic that health providers routinely address. That, however, means anything the presenters say could be accepted as fact. Women who have come to learn about their fertility for the very first time are in a vulnerable position.
One woman in her thirties, who sits in the audience, asks how many eggs she would need to freeze to have a child later on. “I promise I’m not trying to be coy—it’s really hard to answer questions about the success rate,” says the presenter. She says some clients only had one egg retrieval cycle—that might yield a few eggs—and that is fine.
At that point, I’d like to hand the inquirer an evidence-based chart on the number of eggs she needs to freeze. Just a few eggs are a bad idea. But I realize that if I produce a research paper out of my tote bag, in the eyes of the audience, the presenters run a clinic, and I’m just an unknown woman with a bright orange umbrella.
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Marina Gerner
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After multiple tours in Iraq, I returned home with a hidden health battle that would take years to reveal itself
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Each generation has a variety of concerns, but a big surprise is the amount of Gen Z’ers who are now worried about fertility. According to surveys, nearly half of Gen Z is worried about their fertility despite not currently trying to conceive. The Centers for Disease Control defines infertility as “not being able to get pregnant after one+ year of unprotected sex.” According to a report published by the World Health Organization (WHO), “Around 17.5% of the adult population experience infertility.”
RELATED: Best Ways To Make The First Part Of The Week Positive
Previous generations worried about fertility when it came time to have children, Gen Z sees it part of their future path. They are fretting about becoming pregnant at 35 when they are 25. When deciding to have kids later, they want to know what to do now so they can have what they want then. Can marijuana help Gen Z’s fertility concerns?
With alcohol it is clear chronic alcohol exposure can cause problems with fertility in both men and women. For men, it can lead to damaged sperm and for women, it may affect the ability to conceive. While actively receiving medical treatments to get pregnant, alcohol can reduce a woman’s chance.
For women, frequent use of marijuana can cause issues which could tamp down fertility. Consuming as often as three times per week may have impacts says a report published in Fertility & Sterility Science. Evidence suggests marijuana can reduce female fertility by disrupting hypothalamic release of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH), leading to reduced estrogen and progesterone production and anovulatory menstrual cycles. It can also delay or inhibit ovulation. For men, data showed current or past marijuana users had more damaged sperm, lower sperm counts and reduced semen volume.
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But can worrying and the constant anxiety around it affect the outcome? While it’s unlikely stress alone cause infertility, stress interferes with a woman’s ability to get pregnant. Research has shown that women with a history of depression are twice as likely to experience infertility. Anxiety also can prolong the time needed to achieve pregnancy.
While more research needs to be done, managing stress may improve fertility.
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Amy Hansen
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Former Olympic runner Alexi Pappas recently revealed she froze her eggs in her early 30s because she wanted to buy herself time. In an effort to empower others to be proactive to preserve their fertility, she wrote in Outside, “I encourage any woman, whether you are single or partnered, whether you think you know what you want in the next five years or you have no idea, to consider freezing your eggs.”
Pappas isn’t the only top athlete to prioritize her fertility. Several other Olympians have followed this same proactive path, fearing age could impact their ability to build a family. This includes hurdler Lolo Jones, who froze her eggs in 2022, and four-time Olympic gold medalist in bobsledding, Kallie Humphries, who froze her eggs and underwent IVF in 2021.
This is a growing trend among young women under 38 who are planning ahead with cryopreservation of their eggs, and according to experts, it’s the best way to ensure future motherhood. I wish I had done the same.
When I was single in my 20s, my career and social life took priority, and I didn’t even think about trying to conceive. My mother got pregnant without any need for medical intervention, so I was surprised when my husband and I wound up struggling with infertility for a decade.
During that time, I endured over a dozen fertility cycles, close to 40 gynecological procedures, and suffered four recurrent miscarriages in one year. Then, when I finally became pregnant with my son, I was labeled as being “advanced maternal age” and having a “geriatric pregnancy” due to being almost 40. This required additional monitoring and caused unexpected complications during pregnancy. If I’d frozen my eggs when I was younger, I would have had an easier path to motherhood.
Jaime Knopman, MD, is an endocrinologist and the director of fertility preservation for CCRM Fertility.
Alease Barnes, BS, is a certified embryologist and the founder of ReproMedia.
While there are risks associated with the preservation process, this proactive method increases the likelihood of pregnancy and birth. In an NYU Langone study, 70 percent of women who yielded a rate of 20 oocytes or higher carried a child full term. The author of the study, James Grifo, MD, PhD, also indicated that multiple retrieval procedures increased success rates.
“The earlier you freeze your eggs, the better the quality will be,” endocrinologist Jaime Knopman, MD, tells PS. “You will get more and they will have more potential for success,” Dr. Knopman adds. “I always compare them to lottery tickets. When you are young and you freeze your eggs, it’s like someone whispering the first three numbers in your ear; that increases your chances to win. As you get older, it’s as though you have no intel, so your chances of winning go down.”
Even though she ended up raising me alone, my mother believed in the traditional values of “settling down,” getting married, then having a child. I saw firsthand how hard being a mom was after my parents divorced. It solidified my intent to wait until I had a partner to raise a family.
I also assumed it would be easy for me to conceive, knowing my mom got pregnant right away at 22. When I was in high school and college, she advised me to protect myself using contraceptives to avoid an unwanted pregnancy, so I tried a combination of the birth control pill and condoms. I was so focused on not getting pregnant too soon, that I never even considered what to do if I couldn’t get pregnant when the time was right. That is, until I couldn’t conceive naturally on my own.
My perspective has changed since then, based on what I know now: freezing your eggs earlier increases your chances of having a baby and could prevent exhausting and expensive procedures, not to mention the heartache of infertility and pregnancy loss.
When I started IVF, I thought it would be a quick solution, but it didn’t work right away. It took years of IUIs and then IVF to finally have our first child. We returned to try for our second, and once again my high expectations were shattered.
After another few years of failed cycles and recurrent miscarriages, I was thrilled to welcome my second child at 39. Due to my age, I had to be monitored by both an ob-gyn and a maternal fetal medicine doctor for the entire pregnancy. It was anxiety-inducing and I wish I would have frozen my eggs earlier; it could have prevented the prolonged treatments and factors that come with a high-risk pregnancy.
“As we age, our eggs get worse at repairing DNA, which leads to aneuploidy, a genetic abnormality,” says embryologist Alease Barnes, BS. “Over the age of 35 our rate of chromosomal conditions such as trisomy 21, 18, and 13 rise in probability.” These conditions can result in pregnancy loss, as well as a range of disabilities including Down syndrome.
As a result, egg freezing is becoming more common. The National Institute of Health found in January 2024 that women are “driven by feelings of fear” to freeze their eggs, which saw an increase during the pandemic. This concern is based on a number of factors, including age impacting egg quality, lack of a suitable partner, and the potential threat of access to fertility treatment.
This approach, referred to as “social egg freezing” by the NIH, affords women the opportunity to “finish their studies, become financially stable and achieve their professional goals.” It’s no surprise then that there was a 400 percent increase in the rate of egg freezing between 2012 and 2020, according to a study in the Society of Assisted Reproductive Technology originally reported by The New York Times in 2022.
Egg retrievals cost between $8,000 and $15,000 per cycle, while storage fees can run from $500 to $1000 per year, if you have to pay out of pocket. Some insurance plans now pay for IVF and fertility preservation coverage, depending upon your plan and the state you live in, although we should fight for more coverage. And yet, despite the financial and emotional costs, this uptick shows that more are taking control of their fertility, in hopes of having a better chance later on, once they are ready to conceive.
While I’m grateful for my two beautiful children, I wish I could have frozen my eggs years sooner. Alexi Pappas and these other Olympians have the right idea. I urge women to consider the option of cryopreservation, as early as they can. If you can afford it, it’s worth the price to preserve your chance at motherhood.
Related: The Complicated Reality of Bringing Millions on Your Fertility Journey
Lisa McCarty is a writer and women’s health advocate. In addition to PS, her work has been featured by The New York Times, HuffPost, Newsweek, “Today,” and more.
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Lisa mccarty
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Advanced Fertility Center of Texas (AFCT) is proud to announce that it has been recognized on Newsweek and Statista Inc.’s list of America’s Best Fertility Clinics 2024
HOUSTON, July 9, 2024 (Newswire.com)
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Newsweek and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider, presents this prestigious award. The evaluation of fertility clinics was based on four pillars:
Based on the results, The Advanced Fertility Center of Texas is proud to be recognized on Newsweek’s list of America’s Best Fertility Clinics 2024 as #1 in Texas and #7 Nationwide. This is a testament to our unwavering commitment to comprehensive patient care and excellence in reproductive medicine.
AFCT’s remarkable success stems from its unique combination of individualized treatments, state-of-the-art reproductive laboratory technologies, Omni Med-Lab, and partnership with Lisanne Wellness Center. AFCT was founded and led by Dr. Michael Allon since 2005, and the approach is distinct. Dr. Allon’s meticulous attention to underlying medical factors that may be contributing to patients’ infertility and his crafting of personalized treatment plans tailored to each patient make AFCT’s practices stand out from the standardized ones.
Dr. Allon works alongside scientific director, Dr. Dmitri Dozortsev, Ph.D., President of the American College of Embryology, who has been practicing reproductive embryology since 1991. Dr. Dimitri Dozortsev has directed AFCT’s cutting-edge reproductive technology, Omni Med-Laboratory. Omni-Med Laboratory is equipped with the latest technology and employs the most sophisticated protocols for IVF, cryopreservation, and embryo biopsy, including Minimal Impact Biopsy for embryo screening for chromosomal errors.
Additionally, AFCT believes in the importance of preparing the body and mind for pregnancy before undergoing any fertility treatment. That is why we have partnered with Lisanne Wellness Center, renowned for its expertise in holistic wellness, to offer comprehensive pre-conception programs and the Fertile Mind Body Experience, offering support and fertility coaching.
By integrating clinical, laboratory, and wellness approaches, we ensure that our patients receive comprehensive and personalized care. This approach is not just about treating the condition, but about optimizing their physical and emotional well-being and enhancing their chances of success on their fertility journey. We want our patients to feel reassured and cared for every step of the way.
“We are honored to be recognized as a top fertility center in Texas,” says Dr. Michael Allon, M.D. “Our clinic provides a range of specialized fertility treatments, including Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy and Ovarian Rejuvenation procedures, and the most advanced ovarian stimulation techniques, improving egg quality – Term Stimulation and Mini Stim. These innovative options are designed to enhance fertility potential and achieve the birth of a healthy child.”
As we celebrate this achievement, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to our dedicated team of fertility specialists, nurses, and support staff. Their tireless work upholds our standards of excellence, and we deeply appreciate them. We also thank our patients for entrusting us with their care and allowing us to be a part of their fertility journey. Their trust and faith in us drive us to do better every day.
Advanced Fertility Center of Texas remains steadfast in its mission to provide compassionate, personalized fertility care to individuals and couples nationwide. We look forward to continuing to serve our community and helping more families grow.
Source: Advanced Fertility Center of Texas
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The Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it has finalized a ban on consumer uses of methylene chloride, a chemical that is widely used as a paint stripper but is known to cause liver cancer and other health problems.
The EPA said its action will protect Americans from health risks while allowing certain commercial uses to continue with robust worker protections.
The rule banning methylene chloride is the second risk management rule to be finalized by President Joe Biden’s administration under landmark 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act. The first was an action last month to ban asbestos, a carcinogen that kills tens of thousands of Americans every year but is still used in some chlorine bleach, brake pads and other products.
“Exposure to methylene chloride has devastated families across this country for too long, including some who saw loved ones go to work and never come home,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement. The new rule , he said, “brings an end to unsafe methylene chloride practices and implements the strongest worker protections possible for the few remaining industrial uses, ensuring no one in this country is put in harm’s way by this dangerous chemical.”
Methylene chloride, also called dichloromethane, is a colorless liquid that emits a toxic vapor that has killed at least 88 workers since 1980, the EPA said. Long-term health effects include a variety of cancers, including liver cancer and lung cancer, and damage to the nervous, immune and reproductive systems.
The EPA rule would ban all consumer uses but allow certain “critical” uses in the military and industrial processing, with worker protections in place, said Michal Freedhoff, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.
Methylene chloride will continue to be allowed to make refrigerants as an alternative to other chemicals that produce greenhouse gases and contribute to climate change, Freedhoff said. It also will be allowed for use in electric vehicle batteries and for critical military functions.
“The uses we think can safely continue (all) happen in sophisticated industrial settings, and in some cases there are no real substitutes available,” Freedhoff said.
The chemical industry has argued that the EPA is overstating the risks of methylene chloride and that adequate protections have mitigated health risks.
The American Chemistry Council, the industry’s top lobbying group, called methylene chloride “an essential compound” used to make many products and goods Americans rely on every day, including paint stripping, pharmaceutical manufacturing and metal cleaning and degreasing.
An EPA proposal last year could introduce “regulatory uncertainty and confusion” with existing exposure limits set by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the group said.
The chemical council also said it was concerned that the EPA had not fully evaluated the rule’s impacts on the domestic supply chain and could end up prohibiting up to half of all end uses subject to regulation under the Toxic Substances Control Act.
While the EPA banned one consumer use of methylene chloride in 2019, use of the chemical has remained widespread and continues to pose significant and sometimes fatal danger to workers, the agency said. The EPA’s final risk management rule requires companies to rapidly phase down manufacturing, processing and distribution of methylene chloride for all consumer uses and most industrial and commercial uses, including in home renovations.
Consumer use will be phased out within a year, and most industrial and commercial uses will be prohibited within two years.
Liz Hitchcock, director of a safer chemicals program for the advocacy group Toxic-Free Future, praised the new rule but added: “As glad as we are to see today’s rule banning all consumer and most commercial uses, we are concerned that limits to its scope will allow continued exposure for too many workers to methylene chloride’s dangerous and deadly effects.”
Consumers should look for labels indicating that a product is free from methylene chloride, said the toxic-free group, which has published a list of paint and varnish strippers and removers sold by major U.S. retailers that do not contain it.
Wendy Hartley, whose son Kevin died from methylene chloride poisoning after refinishing a bathtub at work, called the new rule “a huge step that will protect vulnerable workers.”
Kevin Hartley, 21, of Tennessee, died in 2017. He was an organ donor, Wendy Hartley said, adding that because of the EPA’s actions, “Kevin’s death will continue to save lives.”
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Matthew Daly, The Associated Press
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Walk me through your own decision to do this—to use Orchid’s technology on yourself.
I mean, I started the company because I wanted to test my own embryos.
Because of your mom, or because of who you are as a person?
Both. Reproduction is one of the most fundamental things in life. It’s like you die, taxes, and, you know, people have kids.
You always knew you wanted to have kids.
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
How old were you when you were like, “I should be able to sequence my embryos”?
I don’t think it was sequence my embryos specifically. I’ve always had an interest in genetics. I’ve always had an interest in fertility and reproductive tech.
Even as, like, a teenager?
I remember one of my applications for the Thiel Fellowship definitely had a version of Orchid on there.
That was, what, over a decade ago, and a lot of prospective parents still rely on the same genetic testing we used back then.
I would consider it negligent to use the old technology. Because you’re by definition missing hundreds of things that could have been detected. Parents who are not told that this new technology exists are being done a huge disservice and will probably be suing if their child ends up with a condition.
You think that’s a legitimate lawsuit?
Of course. If your doctor doesn’t tell you that there’s a way for you to screen for your child to not have a condition that would be either life-threatening or life-altering for them—I mean, it’s already happened. [Parents have been suing physicians for failing to perform genetic tests since the late 1980s.]
How much does an Orchid screening cost?
It’s $2,500 per embryo.
And presumably you’d be screening several embryos. What about for families that can’t afford that?
We have a philanthropic program, so people can apply to that, and we’re excited to accept as many cases as we can.
Your clientele, at the moment, must tend toward well-off optimizers—people who really fuss about numbers.
I guess you’re right. I mean, I don’t know.
Do you ever worry about that? Giving people, like, more things to worry about?
No, no, no. I think it’s the opposite. For the vast majority of our patients, it reduces worry.
There must be exceptions.
There are some people who, I agree, are kind of anxious. And I just don’t think they should do any genetic testing.
Oh yeah?
I mean, everyone’s different. It’s just that I want to expand the menu of choice. You get to choose your partner. You get to choose when and if you have kids. This is, like, this is your kid. Why would you censor information about that?
But this still makes a lot of people extremely uncomfortable. There’s a fear, so often, around anything that touches reproduction. Are we, I don’t know, afraid of playing God or something?
Every other time we examine something, we develop—we develop insulin, right? We’re like, “That’s great!” It’s not like you’re playing God there. But you actually are, right? You’re creating something that didn’t exist before.
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Jason Kehe
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Given the power of chronotherapy—how the same dose of the same drugs taken at a different time of day can have such different effects—it’s no surprise that chronoprevention approaches, like meal timing, can also make a difference.
The 2017 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded for “elucidating molecular mechanisms of the circadian clock,” our internal clock. For billions of years, life on Earth evolved to a 24-hour cycle of light and dark, so it’s no surprise our bodies are finely tuned to that pattern. But, even when we’re in total darkness without any external time cues, our body continues to cycle in about a 24-hour circadian rhythm. You can even take tissue biopsies from people and show the cells continue to cycle outside the body in a petri dish. Nearly every tissue and organ in our body has its internal clock.
An intricate system of intrinsic clocks drives not only some of our behavioral patterns, such as eating, fasting, sleeping, and wakefulness, but it also drives our internal physiology—our “body temperature, blood pressure, hormone production, digestion, and immune activity.” Most of the genes in our body “exhibit daily fluctuations in expression levels, making the circadian expression rhythms the largest known regulatory network in normal physiology,” the biggest regulatory system in our body. This cycling is thought to allow for a level of “‘predictability’ and ‘functional division of labor’” so that each of our body processes can run at the best time. At night while we’re sleeping, a whole array of internal housekeeping activities can be switched on, for example, and as dawn approaches, our body can shift back into activity mode.
Anyone who’s ever had jet lag knows what throwing off our cycle by even just a few hours can do, but now we know our circadian rhythms can be the difference between life and death. A study of more than 14,000 self-poisonings found that those who tried committing suicide in the morning were more than twice as likely to die than those who ingested the same dose in the evening. In the same vein, properly timed chemotherapy can not only end up being five times less toxic but also twice as effective against cancer. The same drugs, at the same dose, but with different effects depending on the time they’re given. Our body absorbs, distributes, metabolizes, and eliminates what we ingest differently, depending on when it is during the 24-hour cycle, as you can see below and at 2:19 in my video Chronobiology: How Circadian Rhythms Can Control Your Health and Weight.
We’re just beginning to figure out the optimal timing for different medications. Randomize people suffering from hypertension into taking their blood pressure pills at bedtime instead of in the morning, and not only does the bedtime group achieve better blood pressure control and suffer fewer heart attacks and strokes, but they cut their risk of death in half. (Yet, most physicians and pharmacists tell patients to take them in the morning, potentially doubling their risk of death.) If chronotherapy—the optimal timing of drugs—can have such an impact, maybe it should come as no surprise that chronoprevention—the scheduling of lifestyle interventions like mealtimes—can also make a difference.
In the official Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics position paper on effective treatments for obesity, importance is placed not only on the quantity but also on the timing of caloric intake. “Potentially consuming more energy [calories] earlier in the day, rather than later in the day, can assist with weight management.” Some have gone further and even characterized obesity as a “chronobiological illness.” What evidence do we have to back up these kinds of claims?
Well, the “timing of energy [caloric] and nutrient intake has shifted slightly over time, with a greater proportion of intake later in the day,” raising the question about a possible role in the rise of obesity. Middle-aged men and women who eat a greater share of daily calories in the morning do seem to gain less weight over time, and a study entitled “Timing of Food Intake Predicts Weight Loss Effectiveness” found that dieters eating their main meal earlier in the day seemed to steadily lose more weight than those eating their main meal later, as you can see in the graph below and at 4:12 in my video.
The obvious explanation for these findings would just be that those who eat later also tend to eat more. And, indeed, there does seem to be a relationship between when people eat most of their calories and how many calories they end up eating over the entire day, with those eating a greater proportion in the morning eating less overall. Maybe later eaters are overeating junk on the couch watching primetime TV? A tendency has been found for night owls to consume more fast food and soda, and fewer fruits and vegetables. In the field of social psychology, there is a controversial concept called “ego depletion,” where self-control is viewed as a limited resource, like a muscle that can become fatigued from overuse. As the day wears on, the ability to resist unhealthy food choices may decline, leaving one vulnerable to temptation. So, is it just a matter of later eating leading to greater eating?
In the study I mentioned above where earlier eaters steadily lost more weight, to the researchers’ surprise, the early eaters ate as much as the late eaters, despite the difference in weight-loss magnitude. By the end of the 20-week study, the early eaters ended up about five pounds lighter than the late eaters, even though the two groups ate the same amount of food. There didn’t seem to be any difference in physical activity between the two groups either. Could it be that just the timing itself of caloric intake matters? Scientists decided to put it to the test, which we’ll cover next.
Wasn’t that chemo data wild?
If you are on blood pressure medications, please share this video with your physician and ask if your timing is optimized.
We kicked off this chronobiology series by looking into the importance of breakfast when it comes to weight loss. In case you missed those videos, see Friday Favorites: Is Breakfast the Most Important Meal for Weight Loss, or Should It Be Skipped?.
For more on this topic, check out the related posts below.
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Michael Greger M.D. FACLM
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Living in a state with legal medical marijuana could mean you’re more likely to have sex, according to a study published in the Journal of Health Economics. On the surface, it might appear like a resoundingly positive finding. But researchers warn that such behavior comes with some drawbacks.
Previous studies have demonstrated some connection between cannabis use and increased sexual activity. A 2017 study found that daily marijuana users experience 20% more sex than those who have never used cannabis. But this more recent study is among the first to focus on medical marijuana legislation and what impact that has on state residents.
RELATED: What Is Your Marijuana Use Doing To Your Penis?
To better understand the correlation, researchers examined states that legalized medical cannabis between 2005 and 2014. Then, they analyzed how the implementation of these laws affected sexual frequency and fertility among people in their 20s and 30. “We find that [medical marijuana laws] cause an increase in sexual activity,” the researchers concluded.
But the study also found medical marijuana laws lowered contraceptive use, which led to higher birth rates. More specifically, states with new medical marijuana laws saw a mean increase of 2%, translating into 333 more births per quarter. One blind spot in the study, says David Simon, co-author of the study and assistant economics at the University of Connecticut, is that researchers couldn’t determine whether these individuals were trying to get pregnant or if they just forgot to use contraception.
“On one hand, more of these births occur to non-married partners and we find suggestive evidence of a temporary increase in gonorrhea following the passage of medical marijuana laws,” Simon told Yahoo Lifestyle. “This is consistent with a story of ‘impaired judgement.’”
RELATED: Is It True That Marijuana Really Makes You Horny?
However, he added, “it is also possible some of these births are due to decreases in chronic pain and increased life satisfaction.”
Researchers also noted with the introduction of medical marijuana comes new products aimed at improving sexual wellness. Experts have split opinions on whether cannabis is a sexual aid, with some analysts pointing to high-CBD strains as increasing libido and sexual satisfaction more consistently than high-THC strains. Another study concluded cannabis resulted in higher sex drives in both men and women, while also enhancing orgasms for both sexes.
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Brendan Bures
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In between chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and all the other medical appointments that come with a cancer diagnosis, Katie McKnight rushed to start the in vitro fertilization process in hopes that she could one day give birth when she recovered.
McKnight, 34, of Richmond, Calif., was diagnosed in 2020 with a fast-spreading form of breast cancer. IVF can help boost chances of pregnancy for cancer patients concerned about the impacts of the disease and its treatment on fertility. The process involves collecting eggs from ovaries and fertilizing them with sperm in a lab, then implanting them in a uterus.
But after having begun the process — being sedated to retrieve her eggs and paying hundreds of dollars annually to properly store the embryos made with her husband — McKnight can’t afford right now to get the embryos out of a freezer.
Katie McKnight, 34, of Richmond, Calif., takes a photo before her first egg retrieval for IVF after a breast cancer diagnosis in 2020.
(Katie McKnight)
“You either have to be able to access a lot of money, or you just keep them frozen and suspended there. It’s such a weird place to be,” McKnight said earlier this month as she prepared to head into her fifth reconstructive breast surgery. “I got this far, now how am I going to finish this? How am I going to actually realize this dream?”
California — celebrated by women’s advocates as a reproductive health haven — does not require that insurance companies cover IVF.
McKnight, who serves on the board of Bay Area Young Survivors, a support group for young breast cancer patients, is among those lobbying for state legislation to change that. She and her husband hope to implant an embryo as soon as this year, worried that time is of the essence as her cancer has the potential to spread to her ovaries. McKnight has health insurance through her job at an environmental research nonprofit but it does not cover IVF.
On average, IVF costs Californians at least $24,000 out of pocket, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Cost varies depending on treatment — patients typically require multiple rounds of IVF to be successful — and whether employers provide insurance coverage for the procedure. Twenty-seven percent of companies with more than 500 employees offered IVF insurance nationwide, according to a 2021 survey.
Under a bill signed into law by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019, McKnight was able to have her egg retrievals — a first step in the IVF process — covered by insurance ahead of lifesaving chemotherapy, which can cause infertility. Medical patients who face infertility because of treatment are insured under that law, but that coverage stops short of including fertilization and embryo transfer.
A new bill has been introduced in the state Legislature this year that would require that large insurance companies provide comprehensive coverage for the treatment of infertility, including IVF.
But the bill could be costly and faces an uphill battle as the state grapples with a multibillion-dollar budget deficit. Similar proposals have failed in the past, including an attempt last year that never made it to the governor’s desk, facing opposition by insurance companies that said new mandates would result in higher premiums for all.
IVF is especially important to McKnight because it has allowed her through genetic testing to identify which embryos have the BRCA gene mutation, which is hereditary and significantly increases the chance of breast cancer. She has decided to discard those embryos because of concerns about passing cancer on to her children.
An embryologist works at the Virginia Center for Reproductive Medicine in Reston, Va., in 2019.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
McKnight cried when talking about recent political debates over IVF happening nationwide after an Alabama court ruled in February that frozen embryos can be considered “children” and that those who destroy them can be held liable for wrongful death.
The decision disrupted IVF appointments in Alabama, and state lawmakers there rushed to create legislation aimed to protect the procedure. But uncertainty remains about access amid outstanding legal questions.
More than a dozen states have introduced “fetal personhood” protection laws this year. Those measures could potentially sweep IVF into religious arguments opposing abortion rights and stoking fears about further reproductive health restrictions after the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision rolled back a federal abortion rights guarantee.
“It terrifies me. It’s unfathomable to me,” McKnight said. “I do not want to put a child into this world that has to go through all of the hard stuff that I’ve lived, and I feel like that is my choice.”
Infertility is common. According to the CDC, about 1 in 5 married women of childbearing age are unable to get pregnant after one year of trying.
More than 11,000 babies were born in California in 2021 using assisted reproductive technology such as IVF — nearly 3% of all infants born in the state that year, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
More than a dozen states, including New York, Arkansas and Connecticut, mandate that health plans provide some coverage for IVF.
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine said that California — home to the most progressive abortion laws in the country — is failing to fulfill its role as a “reproductive freedom” state.
“California still has significant work to do to ensure that all people can make personal decisions about their reproductive lives and futures. True reproductive freedom means that all people can decide if and when to start or grow a family,” the group said in a statement in support of SB 729.
In addition to extending insurance coverage to IVF, SB 729, introduced by state Sen. Caroline Menjivar (D-Panorama City), would also redefine “infertility” in health plans, extending services to LGBTQ+ couples who don’t meet current standards to secure fertility services.
Most health plans that do offer IVF coverage measure infertility based on whether a man and woman fail to get pregnant after a year of unprotected sex, excluding from coverage LGBTQ+ couples seeking to use fertility services to start a family.
The new bill would broaden the definition of infertility to include “a person’s inability to reproduce either as an individual or with their partner without medical intervention.”
The issue is personal for Menjivar. She and her wife recently chose to delay plans to start a family through fertility services such as IVF and instead buy a home, after weighing the costs. She said she has friends who have traveled to Mexico for cheaper fertility care.
“When we talk about Alabama … we have barriers like that in California. The physical barriers exist in California, where people cannot afford this,” Menjivar said.
California Sen. Caroline Menjivar (D-Panorama City), left, and former Senate leader Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) at the state Capitol.
(Fred Greaves / For CalMatters)
The bill has been opposed by the California Assn. of Health Plans and a number of insurance companies that warn that such single-issue mandates lead to increased premiums for business owners and enrollees.
According to a legislative analysis of the potential costs conducted last year, the California Health Benefit Review Program estimated employers and enrollees would spend a total of an additional $183 million in the first year of the bill’s implementation, and nearly double that the following year. California could face potentially tens of millions more in separate costs, according to that analysis, due to increases in premiums for state employees.
“While this bill is well-intentioned, it will unintentionally exacerbate health care affordability issues,” the California Chamber of Commerce, which also opposed the bill, said in a statement.
The latest cost estimate reflects Democrats’ attempts to narrow the bill and drive the price down, exempting small health plans, religious employers and Medi-Cal — which provides insurance to low-income Californians — from the proposed mandate to cover IVF.
New IVF policy debates have posed a political quagmire for some Republicans who have used “personhood” arguments to oppose abortion but do not want to see IVF access encroached.
California Assembly Republicans — some of whom are opposed to increasing abortion access — introduced a resolution last month calling on the state to declare that it “recognizes and protects” access to IVF for women “struggling with fertility issues” and encouraged the same at the federal level. The resolution also calls on Alabama to overturn its ruling.
“IVF has helped so many families actually have children so we need to make sure we’re protecting access to it,” said Assemblymember Josh Hoover (R-Folsom), who co-authored Assembly Concurrent Resolution 154. “We can’t go backward on IVF.”
But several state Republicans who support that resolution opposed last year’s attempt to insure IVF in California.
The insurance bill did not make it to the Assembly last year, and Hoover said he is unsure of how he will vote if it makes it to his house this year, voicing skepticism about the costs to small-business owners and taxpayers.
For Democrats like Menjivar, the Republican-led resolution — which specifies that IVF is for women struggling with fertility issues and does not mention LGBTQ+ families — is viewed as a farce.
“It’s all talk,” she said. “This does absolutely nothing, there’s no meat to it whatsoever.”
Menjivar said that she will not support that resolution without changes. She is angry about “hypocrisy” she’s seen from Republicans nationwide who she believes voted for antiabortion policies that have led to the IVF problems arising now.
“They made their bed and they’re trying to squirm out of it and they’re getting stuck,” she said.
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Mackenzie Mays
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The idea of shopping for maternity swimwear filled me with fear when I found out I was expecting, but trust me: there are so many amazing pieces from the best swimwear brands on offer. The best part? We’ve done the scouring for you.
Swimwear shopping is right up there with jeans shopping – that is, something that can bring on the dread – but you just need to know how to shop. Our guide to the best maternity swimsuits has narrowed things down to 17 chic styles to suit all bumps and tastes, so we can pretty much guarantee you’ll find a style you love.
The best maternity swimwear has to tick a few boxes: it needs to flatter your burgeoning bump, support growing boobs and ideally be made from breathable, flexible fabric. Thankfully, the maternity swimwear we found also looks really damn good. I remember when I was pregnant with my first baby, I could only find boring black maternity swimsuits. This time around, however, I was delighted to stumble across flattering, trend-led and affordable swimwear.
If you’ve got the budget, splurging on a Hunza G suit or two is the ultimate pre-baby investment, as you can wear it postpartum with ease, too – thanks to its stretchy, crinkle material. These were definitely the best things I bought while pregnant that I’m still wearing now. Also, bonus, they do mummy-and-me styles, too, so I can match with my daughter one day.
If, like me, you’re seeking a few swimwear pieces for your babymoon, or you’re looking to take advantage of this glorious weather in your back garden, we’ve got you covered. I also carried on wearing my maternity swimwear long after baby was born – whether it was on family holidays or at baby swim classes – so I’ve included lots of pieces that will carry you through the post-partum period.
Expandability, durability, longevity are the three key things to look for when shopping for maternity swimwear. When we grilled Chelsey Oliver, Chief Creative Officer at maternity brand Seraphine, she advised pregnant women to “look for super-stretchy swimwear fabrics to accommodate your growing bump” and to look out for gentle side ruching, which will give you even extra room to grow and will ensure the swimsuit doesn’t constrict you. They also say it’s important to look for extra features that will give your swimsuit longevity, meaning it can be worn beyond your pregnancy journey. “If the swimsuit has easy access for breastfeeding, this will give you an extra reason to keep wearing after your baby is born!” It’s also important to look for high-quality swimwear fabric that will last a long time and wash well, and straps that can be adjusted for better support.
We scoured a plethora of brands, from high street to higher-end, to find the best maternity swimwear that offers great coverage, comfort and support and, most importantly, made us feel empowered. We’ve also paid particular attention to specifics like cost, fabrics, sustainability and wearability in order to narrow it down – because we know that stuff is important.
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Bianca London, Rebecca Cope
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Most adults aren’t meeting all of our micronutrient (think vitamin and mineral) recommendations1. And women under 50—more specifically those who haven’t reached menopause—are particularly prone to falling short on key nutrients vital to their reproductive years and longevity. This is true even for those eating a well-balanced diet.
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Newswise — Certain populations of mosquitoes are more heat tolerant and better equipped to survive heat waves than others, according to new research from Washington University in St. Louis.
This is bad news in a world where vector-borne diseases are an increasingly global health concern. Most models that scientists use to estimate vector-borne disease risk currently assume that mosquito heat tolerances do not vary. As a result, these models may underestimate mosquitoes’ ability to spread diseases in a warming world.
Researchers led by Katie M. Westby, a senior scientist at Tyson Research Center, Washington University’s environmental field station, conducted a new study that measured the critical thermal maximum (CTmax), an organism’s upper thermal tolerance limit, of eight populations of the globally invasive tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus. The tiger mosquito is a known vector for many viruses including West Nile, chikungunya and dengue.
“We found significant differences across populations for both adults and larvae, and these differences were more pronounced for adults,” Westby said. The new study is published Jan. 8 in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.
Westby’s team sampled mosquitoes from eight different populations spanning four climate zones across the eastern United States, including mosquitoes from locations in New Orleans; St. Augustine, Fla.; Huntsville, Ala.; Stillwater, Okla.; St. Louis; Urbana, Ill.; College Park, Md.; and Allegheny County, Pa.
The scientists collected eggs in the wild and raised larvae from the different geographic locations to adult stages in the lab, tending the mosquito populations separately as they continued to breed and grow. The scientists then used adults and larvae from subsequent generations of these captive-raised mosquitoes in trials to determine CTmax values, ramping up air and water temperatures at a rate of 1 degree Celsius per minute using established research protocols.
The team then tested the relationship between climatic variables measured near each population source and the CTmax of adults and larvae. The scientists found significant differences among the mosquito populations.
The differences did not appear to follow a simple latitudinal or temperature-dependent pattern, but there were some important trends. Mosquito populations from locations with higher precipitation had higher CTmax values. Overall, the results reveal that mean and maximum seasonal temperatures, relative humidity and annual precipitation may all be important climatic factors in determining CTmax.
“Larvae had significantly higher thermal limits than adults, and this likely results from different selection pressures for terrestrial adults and aquatic larvae,” said Benjamin Orlinick, first author of the paper and a former undergraduate research fellow at Tyson Research Center. “It appears that adult Ae. albopictus are experiencing temperatures closer to their CTmax than larvae, possibly explaining why there are more differences among adult populations.”
“The overall trend is for increased heat tolerance with increasing precipitation,” Westby said. “It could be that wetter climates allow mosquitoes to endure hotter temperatures due to decreases in desiccation, as humidity and temperature are known to interact and influence mosquito survival.”
Little is known about how different vector populations, like those of this kind of mosquito, are adapted to their local climate, nor the potential for vectors to adapt to a rapidly changing climate. This study is one of the few to consider the upper limits of survivability in high temperatures — akin to heat waves — as opposed to the limits imposed by cold winters.
“Standing genetic variation in heat tolerance is necessary for organisms to adapt to higher temperatures,” Westby said. “That’s why it was important for us to experimentally determine if this mosquito exhibits variation before we can begin to test how, or if, it will adapt to a warmer world.”
Future research in the lab aims to determine the upper limits that mosquitoes will seek out hosts for blood meals in the field, where they spend the hottest parts of the day when temperatures get above those thresholds, and if they are already adapting to higher temperatures. “Determining this is key to understanding how climate change will impact disease transmission in the real world,” Westby said. “Mosquitoes in the wild experience fluctuating daily temperatures and humidity that we cannot fully replicate in the lab.”
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Washington University in St. Louis
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