These findings support the notion that infertile women conceiving singleton pregnancies after ART are a priori at an increased hypercoagulation state. Protein C Global assay levels decline gradually during pregnancy in women who conceived naturally, as well as in infertile women who conceived after ART treatment.

No abstract

Abstract:The increased popularity of assisted reproductive technology [ART] has been associated with a significant increase in the incidence of multiple pregnancies. Indeed, 43.5 % of triplet and higher order multiple births in the US were generated by ART, 38.5% were attributed to ovulation-inducing drugs without ART, and 18% occurred spontaneously. The escalating frequencies of multiple gestations, combined with the inevitable increased risks for adverse perinatal outcomes, have a significant influence on the overall measures of neonates' and infants' health and well being. In addition, multifetal pregnancies are associated with increased risks of maternal complications such as preeclampsia and other hypertensive disorders, cesarean delivery, postpartum hemorrhage, anemia, diabetes, premature rupture of membranes, placental abruption, fatty liver, and maternal death. Three maternal preconception characteristics are associated with improved outcome of triplets: multiparous, older, and tall women fare better than nulliparous, younger, and shorter controls, respectively. Whereas many obstetricians recommend on iatrogenic multifetal reduction, it may increase the risk of miscarriage, premature rupture of membranes and adverse psychological effects. In triplet gestation where the couple, is reluctant to undergo this procedure for moral or religious reasons, or due to the fear of losing the long awaited pregnancy, the recent information whereby taller patients are at a significantly lower risk of very premature delivery as compared to shorter patients, may be helpful.

Fertility potential measurements of the zona-free hamster egg bioassay were compared with the in vitro fertilization of human eggs. Sperm from 31 husbands or donors participating in an in vitro fertilizationembryo transfer program was used in 38 simultaneous inseminations of human and hamster eggs. In 7 out of 31 cases, a positive penetration (hamster) test fertility assessment was obtained in the absence of fertilization of the human eggs, attributable to egg immaturity and in one case to equipment failure. In the remaining 30 cases, fertilization was achieved with at least one egg per case. There were no falsenegative assessments. Our results indicate that this bioassay is highly correlated with the fertilization of human eggs in vitro.

The optimal time-duration required by spermatozoa to travel distances from which their average velocity can be accurately determined was investigated. For this purpose, 180 motile spermatozoa, from 12 seminal specimens, were photographed while being illuminated by six light pulses, given at 1-sec intervals. From these photographs, distances traveled by each spermatozoon were measured over identical time periods. Most individual spermatozoa showed slight deviation of their velocity when measured sequentially for 5 sec. Nevertheless, when mean sperm velocity of grouped spermatozoa were determined from 1- or 5-sec measurement time, the results were almost identical. This was attributed to a pure statistical law, that is, the mean deviation decreases as the number of spermatozoa in the sample increases. It was concluded that the sperm velocity of a certain specimen can be determined properly using a 1-sec measurement time. An extended period of time does not seem to contribute to the accuracy of sperm velocity determination.