5 Most Exciting Fertility Breakthroughs of 2013
The world of baby making got some big boosts this year.
By Melanie Abrahams
Getting pregnant isn't always a piece of cake, but some major advancements in 20 are making it so much easier for couples who need a boost. We're counting down the top five fertility breakthroughs of the year.
#5: Ovarian Tissue Transplant Leads to Viable Pregnancy
Ten years ago, an Australian woman had to have her ovaries removed during cancer treatments. Her life literally depended on the procedure, but doctors said that without her ovaries, she'd never be able to have children. Thanks to the ingenuity of some amazing doctors who had the foresight to save and freeze some tissue from her ovaries, this woman became pregnant with twin girls in 2013!
IVF Breakthrough: No Ovaries? No Problem (Or, Well, Less of a Problem) >>
Could you be pregnant right now? Take our quiz to find out. >>
#4: Embryos Up for Adoption
It's common for couples to have frozen embryos left over after successful IVF treatments--and now those embryos are being put to good use. More and more couples are deciding to share their embryos with couples struggling with infertility. When implanted into otherwise infertile women, these embryos can grow into healthy fetuses, and eventually babies!
Adopting Frozen Embryos is a Thing Now >>
#3: Phasing Out Egg Donors
Egg donors have made it possible for so many women to get pregnant, but their services might not be needed for much longer, thanks to new technology that allows doctors to boost women's ability to produce their own healthy, mature eggs.
Infertile Women May Not Need Egg Donors After All >>
#2: Cheaper IVF With Double Success Rate
Amazing news for women seeking IVF! There's a new form of IVF, called mini-IVF, that's half the price of the traditional treatments, and that's just as effective in women 35 and under, and twice as effective in women in their 40s.
New, Cheaper IVF With Twice the Success Rate? Yippee! >>
#1: Your Fertility Window is Longer than We Thought
Newsflash: Average, healthy women have more time to get pregnant than experts previously thought. New data shows that women aged 35-40 who have sex during their fertile times are only six percent less likely to get pregnant within a year than their 20-34 year old peers. Time is on our side, after all!
