Showing papers on "Fertility published in 1999"

Utility of the sperm chromatin structure assay as a diagnostic and prognostic tool in the human fertility clinic

Abstract: The sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) was used to measure over 500 human semen samples from two independent studies: Study I, 402 samples from 165 presumably fertile couples wishing to achieve pregnancy over 12 menstrual cycles; Study II, samples from 115 patients seeking fertility counselling. The SCSA measures susceptibility to DNA denaturation in situ in spermatozoa exposed to acid for 30 s, followed by acridine orange staining. SCSA data from the male partners of 73 couples (group 1) achieving pregnancy during months 1‐3 of Study I were used as the standard of ‘sperm chromatin compatible with high fertility’ and were significantly different from those of 40 couples (group 3) achieving pregnancy in months 4‐12 (P < 0.01) and those of male partners of 31 couples (group 4) not achieving pregnancy (P < 0.001). Group 2 contained couples who had a miscarriage. SCSA values for Study II were almost twice that of the Study I fertility standards. Within-couple repeatability tended to be less for group 3 than for groups 1, 2 or 4. Based on logistic regression, spermatozoa with denatured DNA (cells outside the main population, COMPa t) were the best predictor for whether a couple would not achieve pregnancy. Some 84% of males in group 1 had COMPat <15%, while no couples achieved pregnancy in group 1 with ‡30% COMPat, a threshold level considered not compatible with good fertility. Using selected cut-off values for chromatin integrity, the SCSA data predicted seven of 18 miscarriages (39%).

Having children after cancer. A pilot survey of survivors' attitudes and experiences.

Abstract: BACKGROUND Although the prevalence of infertility after cancer treatment and the health of the offspring of survivors have been studied, little information has been available about survivors' attitudes, emotions, and choices with regard to having children. METHODS A questionnaire was received by 283 patients from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation tumor registry who were diagnosed before age 35 years, were age 18 years or older at the time of the survey, and were free of disease. The SF-36, a measure of health-related quality of life, was included, as well as questions about demographic and medical background, reproductive and fertility history, and a variety of concerns about having children after cancer. RESULTS The response rate to the survey was 47%, yielding a sample of 43 men and 89 women who had had cancer at various sites. Their mean age at diagnosis was 26 years and the mean time since diagnosis was 5 years. Before cancer, 35% had at least 1 child, compared with 46% currently. Of those currently childless, 76% want children in the future. Although about half of the entire sample view themselves as having impaired fertility, only 6% have undergone infertility treatment. Nineteen percent have significant anxiety that their cancer treatment could impact negatively on their children's future health. Of women, 18% fear that a pregnancy could trigger a cancer recurrence. Only 57% received information from their health care providers about infertility after cancer. Other reproductive concerns were discussed less often. Only 24% of childless men banked sperm before treatment. SF-36 scores were very similar to normative data for healthy Americans of similar age. About 80% of the sample viewed themselves positively as actual or potential parents. Feeling healthy enough to be a good parent after cancer was the strongest predictor (P < 0.001) of emotional well-being as measured by the Mental Component Score of the SF-36. CONCLUSIONS The great majority of younger cancer survivors see their cancer experience as potentially making them better parents. Those who are childless want to have children in the future. Many, however, are left with significant anxieties and insufficient information about reproductive issues. Cancer 1999;86:697–709. © 1999 American Cancer Society.

Do fertility intentions affect fertility behavior

Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between fertility intentions and fertility behavior using the data from the National Survey of Families and Households with a sample of 2812 non-Hispanic Whites. Results demonstrated a strong relationship between fertility intentions and the percentage of having a birth. It was also noted that the effect on fertility is greater when the intentions are held with greater certainty. Furthermore fertility intentions and their certainty predict fertility behavior better among married persons as compared to all other variables in the model. Thus marital status is an important life course variable wherein a change in marital status significantly affects birth probabilities. Finally this study indicated that fertility is a purposive behavior that is based on intentions applied into the life course and changed when unexpected developments occur.

Effects of schooling on fertility labor supply and investments in children with evidence from Brazil.

Abstract: This study examined the impact of schooling on fertility decline in Brazil Brazils fertility decline began with few organized family planning programs and continued during periods of economic growth and recession It is argued that the link between schooling and fertility decline occurred through parents investment in producing healthy well-educated children and trading off quantity for quality Data were obtained from retrospective fertility histories among over 100000 women who participated in the PNAD household survey in 1984 Fertility decline was only weakly associated with increased female labor force participation The theoretical background suggests that schooling affects fertility investments in children and the labor market Child survival varied widely between women with no schooling and women with 11 years of schooling Mean schooling for males and females rose steadily over time The most rapid increase occurred for 1940-54 birth cohorts The percentage of women with under 1 year of schooling declined steadily for men and women and was faster for women (under 10% for the youngest cohort) An increase in wifes schooling from 0-4 years was associated with a decline in children by age 30 years of 085 births for younger women and 060 births for older women A model predicted 68% of actual fertility decline in 1935-39 and 1951-53 cohorts The effect of husbands schooling disappeared after 8 years of schooling while wifes effects continued to be negative Labor force participation was less at lower levels of education Schooling strongly effected measures of child quality

Human Sperm Competition: Copulation, Masturbation and Infidelity

Abstract: Introduction. Sperm competition. Mating systems. Mate choice. Copulation: male considerations. Copulation: female considerations. Masturbation and nocturnal orgasms in males and females. Infidelity. Conception: fertility and infertility.

Is Low Fertility a Temporary Phenomenon in the European Union

Abstract: This article explores whether childbearing postponement could reduce total fertility rate in European Union (EU) countries. It is computed based on an age- and parity-specific period model (Bongaarts-Feeney) and a set of cohort recuperation scenarios used in the 1995 population projections of Belgium. In recent years majority of the countries showed that a mere halt to childbearing postponement would fail to restore period total fertility rates to the vicinity of replacement-level fertility. It would require an increase in the quantum of fertility and/or complete reversal of the trend toward later ages in the timing of childbearing in achieving replacement level. The key determinants of fertility tempo and quantum in EU union include female education female labor force participation ideational changes and patterns of union formation especially of union instability. The outcome for the EU is that the period total fertility rates are highly likely to remain below the replacement level even if the trend toward childbearing delays the stop. The three phases in the development and prolongation of below-replacement fertility in the EU union are further differentiated.

A Theory of Out‐of‐Wedlock Childbearing

Abstract: In 1960, marriage was a virtual precondition for childbearing. By 1997, out‐of‐wedlock births accounted for 26 percent of fertility among whites and 69 percent among blacks. This paper presents a model that integrates economic theories of fertility and marriage to help understand the growth of out‐of‐wedlock childbearing. In the theory, fathers can shift the costs of child rearing to single mothers. If females are in excess supply and have sufficiently high incomes, a marriage market equilibrium may exist in which children are born within marriage to high‐income parents, whereas in low‐income groups men father children by multiple partners outside of marriage.

Incomplete reporting of men’s fertility in the united states and britain: A research note

Abstract: We evaluate men;s retrospective fertility histories from the British Household Panel Survey and the U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). Further, we analyze the PSID men’s panel-updated fertility histories for their possible superiority over retrospective collection. One third to one half of men’s nonmarital births and births within previous marriages are missed in estimates from retrospective histories. Differential survey underrepresentation of previously married men compared with previously married women accounts for a substantial proportion of the deficits in previous-marriage fertility. More recent retrospective histories and panel-updated fertility histories improve reporting completeness, primarily by reducing the proportion of marital births from unions that are no longer intact at the survey date.

Births: final data for 1997.

Abstract: Objectives This report presents 1997 data on U.S. births according to a wide variety of characteristics. Data are presented for maternal demographic characteristics including age, live-birth order, race, Hispanic origin, marital status, and educational attainment; maternal lifestyle and health characteristics (medical risk factors, weight gain, and tobacco and alcohol use); medical care utilization by pregnant women (prenatal care, obstetric procedures, complications of labor and/or delivery, attendant at birth, and method of delivery); and infant health characteristics (period of gestation, birthweight, Apgar score, abnormal conditions, congenital anomalies, and multiple births). Also presented are birth and fertility rates by age, live-birth order, race, Hispanic origin, and marital status. Selected data by mother's State of residence are shown including teenage birth rates and total fertility rates, as well as data on month and day of birth, sex ratio, and age of father. Trends in fertility patterns and maternal and infant characteristics are described and interpreted. Methods Descriptive tabulations of data reported on the birth certificates of the 3.9 million births that occurred in 1997 are presented. Results Birth and fertility rates declined very slightly in 1997. Birth rates for teenagers fell 3 to 5 percent. Rates for women in their twenties changed very little, whereas rates for women in their thirties rose 2 percent. The number of births and the birth rate for unmarried women each declined slightly in 1997 while the percent of births that were to unmarried women was unchanged. Smoking by pregnant women overall dropped again in 1997, but continued to increase among teenagers. Improvements in prenatal care utilization continued. The cesarean delivery rate increased slightly after declining for 7 consecutive years. The proportion of multiple birth continued to rise; higher order multiple births (e.g., triplets, quadruplets) rose by 14 percent in 1997, following a 20 percent rise from 1995 to 1996. Key measures of birth outcome--the percents of low birthweight and preterm births--increased, with particularly large increases in the preterm rate. These changes are in large part the result of increases in multiple births.

Fertility and reproduction in women with anorexia nervosa: a controlled study.

Abstract: Background Women who have anorexia nervosa may experience difficulties with fertility and reproduction. Method We examined fertility and reproductive history in 66 women who had a history of anorexia nervosa (DSM-III-R) and 98 randomly selected community controls as part of a follow-up investigation examining the course of anorexia nervosa. Results Although women with a history of anorexia nervosa and controls did not differ on rate of pregnancy, mean number of pregnancies per woman, or age at first pregnancy, women with anorexia nervosa had significantly more miscarriages and cesarean deliveries, and the offspring of women with anorexia nervosa were significantly more likely to be born prematurely and were of lower birth weight than offspring of controls. There were no differences between women with active versus remitted anorexia nervosa on any of these measures; however, offspring of anorexic women with no history of bulimia nervosa had significantly lower body weight than offspring of anorexic women with a lifetime history of bulimia nervosa. Conclusion Our results argue for intensive prenatal care for women with both active and remitted anorexia nervosa to ensure adequate prenatal nutrition and fetal development.

Relevance of male accessory gland infection for subsequent fertility with special focus on prostatitis

Abstract: Infections of the male genitourinary tract may contribute to infertility to a various extent depending on the site of inflammation. Especially in prostatitis, the exact classification of the infection contributes to its impact on changes in the ejaculate. Similarly, in urethritis, epididymitis and orchitis, only a clear clinical diagnosis allows a rational approach to altered sperm parameters. Several inflammatory and reactive alterations of sperm quality seem to be proven; nevertheless, the impact of these findings on male fertility remains in many cases unclear. Even therapeutic trials do not provide more insights into the association of male genital infections and impaired fertility, although the efficacy of antibiotic trials see ms to be proven. For the future, it may be decisive to evaluate inflammatory changes in the ejaculate not only on the basis of standard but also on functional parameters, thus providing new definitions of the interactions between male urogenital tract infection and disturbances of male fertility.

Is Fertility Behavior in Our Genes? Findings from a Danish Twin Study

Abstract: This paper explores whether fertility behavior is in the genes. The study sample includes birth cohorts of Danish twins ranging from 1870 to 1910 and from 1953 to 1964. The two periods of substantial fertility change which are represented through the experiences of the samples include: 1) demographic transition with the emergence of deliberate fertility control and low fertility levels; and 2) Europes second demographic transition below replacement fertility and widespread use modern contraception as well as individualism. Data were obtained from the Danish Twin Registry. It presents various variables along with the description of sample composition. The heritability of fertility outcomes and changes over time was investigated. It determines whether genetic influences of fertility are mediated through genetic influences on education and scholastic attainment. It reveals whether the genetic effects influence the transitions to higher parities or the transition from zero to the first child. The analysis of the pattern of heritability which differs across cohorts and genders is explored. Yet it did not include the aspects of human reproduction that influenced by genetic dispositions. The respective estimates for shared environmental and genetic influences for the age at first attempt to have a child is also reported. An appendix is included containing the technical details of the estimation that are omitted in the main text.

Psychosocial aspects of infertility and decisions about reproduction in young cancer survivors: a review.

Abstract: Background Several types of cancer treatment interfere with male and female fertility or can complicate pregnancy. Rates of birth defects and cancer have also been studied in the offspring of cancer survivors. Little is known, however, about the impact of a history of cancer on survivors' attitudes, anxieties, and choices about having children of their own. Procedure We review the relevant literature on cancer survivor's concerns about infertility and childbearing and propose areas for future research. Results We generate several hypotheses, including that cancer survivors will be more distressed than infertility patients without a major medical disorder, that survivors diagnosed in adolescence will have the most anxieties about parenthood, that women will be more distressed over infertility and more concerned about their children's health than men, that survivors who rate their overall quality of life more negatively will be less concerned about infertility and more apt to decide to forego parenthood, that survivors of inheritable cancer syndromes will have more distress about childbearing issues than other survivors, and that survivors who do have children after treatment will perceive them more positively than do parents who have not confronted cancer. Conclusions Research on the emotional aspects of infertility after cancer and on the factors that influence survivors' decisions about having children assumes increasing importance with the growth in number of survivors of reproductive age. Med. Pediatr. Oncol. 33:53–59, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Female demographic disadvantage in India 1981-1991: sex selective abortions and female infanticide

Abstract: Using evidence from a number of sources (including the 1981 and 1991 censuses of India, prior research, and NGO reports), this article examines whether bias against girl children persists during periods of development and fertility decline, whether prenatal sex selection has spread in India as elsewhere in Asia, and whether female vs. male child mortality risks have changed. The authors present estimated period sex ratios at birth (SRBs) calculated by reverse survival methods along with reported sex ratios among infants aged 0 and 1, as well as sex ratios of child mortality probabilities (q5), from the two censuses. The findings show an increase in ‘masculine’ SRBs and persistent (or even worsening) female mortality disadvantage, despite overall mortality decline, due to selective neglect and the spread of female infanticide practices in some areas. Research and reports indicate the increasing use of prenatal sex selection in some regions. In India, preference for sons appears to be undiminished by socio-economic development, which interacts with cultural sources of male bias. The increased masculinity of period SRBs in some areas, together with persistent excess female child mortality and female infanticide, creates a ‘double jeopardy’ for girl children. Legislation curbing prenatal sex determination and policy measures addressing societal female devaluation have had little impact, suggesting that female demographic disadvantage is unlikely to improve in the near future.

Sperm Mobility: A Primary Determinant of Fertility in the Domestic Fowl (Gallus domesticus)

Abstract: Previous research demonstrated that sperm mobility is a quantitative trait of the domestic fowl. The trait is quantified by measuring the absorbance of an Accudenz solution after overlay with a sperm suspension and brief incubation at body temperature. In the present work, average and high sperm mobility phenotypes (n = 30 males per phenotype) were selected from a base population. Differences were found between sperm oxygen consumption (p < 0.0001), acylcarnitine content (p < 0.05), linear velocity (p < 0.001), and straightness (p < 0.001), a trajectory variable measured with the Hobson SpermTracker. Oxygen consumption and stearoylcarnitine content of sperm from the high-mobility phenotype were twice those observed with sperm from average males, implying a pivotal role for mitochondria. On the basis of these results, a graded relationship was predicted between fertility and sperm mobility. Males (n = 48) were chosen at random from another base population, sperm mobility was measured per male, and each ejaculate was used to inseminate 8-12 hens (8 x 10(7) viable sperm per hen). When fertility was plotted as a function of sperm mobility, data points approximated a skewed logistic function. The hypothesis that vaginal immunoglobulins constitute an immunological barrier to sperm transport was tested and rejected. Therefore, we concluded that sperm mobility is a primary determinant of fertility in the fowl.

Pregnancies in women with Turner's syndrome.

Abstract: Ovarian failure is a typical feature in Turner's syndrome. Therefore, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is necessary to achieve the development of normal female sexual characteristics and to prevent cardiovascular complications and osteoporosis. Spontaneous puberty occurs in 5-10% of women with Turner's syndrome, and 2-5% of them become pregnant spontaneously. Sexually active young women with Turner's syndrome need contraception. It can be administered as contraceptive pills, which also serve as HRT. Oocyte donation is now a treatment option for infertility of these women. Excellent results have been obtained with 46% of embryo transfers resulting in pregnancy. The pregnancies carry high risks and have to be followed up carefully. The children born following oocyte donation have no additional risks. Risks can be reduced by transferring only one embryo at a time to the uterus, thus avoiding twin pregnancies. Ovarian tissue from young girls with Turner's syndrome could be cryopreserved for infertility treatment in the future, but the optimal age of ovarian biopsy has to be studied, and methods of replantation and maturation of oocytes in vitro have still to be developed. Fertility counselling has become important in the treatment of girls with Turner's syndrome.

The impact of war, famine, and economic decline on marital fertility in Ethiopia.

Abstract: We examine recent fertility trends in Ethiopia for evidence of short- and long-term responses to famine, political events, and economic decline. We use retrospective data on children ever born from the 1990 National Family and Fertility Survey to estimate trends in annual marital conception probabilities, controlling for women’s demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. The results of our analysis provide evidence of significant short-term declines in conception probabilities during years of famine and major political and economic upheaval. In the longer term, marital fertility in both urban and rural areas declined in the 1980s after increasing moderately in the 1970s.

The spread of primary schooling in Sub-Saharan Africa: implications for fertility change.

Abstract: STATE EDUCATIONAL POLICIES are a critical aspect of the economics of family building in all societies, as well as a primary means of socialization by the state. Caldwell (1980) hypothesized that the onset of the fertility transition in developing countries would be linked with the achievement of “mass formal schooling,” by which he meant near-universal enrollment of children in primary or basic schooling. In sub-Saharan Africa, a region in which the fertility transition has begun in some countries but not in others, this hypothesis remains untested. In all of these countries, formal schooling is a foreign import, imposed in a variety of ways over the last century by colonial regimes and foreign churches. In more recent years, as former colonies have gained their independence, most governments have made significant budgetary commitments to education, and educational systems have been revised and reformed to serve the goals of independent states. Today, the educational systems arrayed across the African continent show enormous variation, with many retaining strong links to their colonial roots. Some countries have achieved near-universal enrollment at the primary-school level, but most have not. In many, gender gaps in enrollment rates are closing but, in others, this gap remains large despite significant progress. Two decades have passed since the publication of Caldwell’s (1980) article on “Mass education as a determinant of the timing of fertility decline.” The links he hypothesized between mass schooling and fertility were based largely on the historical experience of the West, where state enforcement of compulsory schooling laws was the rule. In that article, he faulted much of the literature on education and fertility in developing countries for having neglected the more immediate impact of children’s schooling on the

Gender bias in China, South Korea and India 1920-1990: effects of war, famine and fertility decline.

Abstract: This article explores how historical events in the period 1920-90 have affected the extent of excess female child mortality in China South Korea and India and how they have shaped spousal availability marriage payments and the treatment of women. China and South Korea have much in common with respect to their kinship systems which allow for discrimination against female children. The extent to which this discrimination was manifested increased during periods of war famine and fertility decline. Data showed that there has been a sharp contrast between China and India in the history of spousal availability. While there has been a surplus of men in the marriage market in China India has conformed more to the typical pattern showing a shift from a surplus of men to a surplus of women with the appearance of steady declines in mortality. The reduction in the average age gap between spouses has at least partly been responding to the marriage squeeze as greater age parity reduces imbalances in spousal availability. During periods in which women have been in short supply the daily lives of the majority have been considerably improved because when confronted by such a shortage men may be inclined to be more careful not to lose their wives. At the same time in such periods a small proportion of women may be subject to new types of violence. Although the treatment of women improves when they are in shortage their autonomy can only be increased by significant changes in their role in the family and society.

Welfare, Marital Prospects, and Nonmarital Childbearing

Abstract: The roles of the entitlements of the AFDC program and marital prospects in the fertility and marriage choices of young women are assessed in the context of a model incorporating heritable endowment heterogeneity, assortative mating, concern for child quality, and potential parental and public support alternatives. Estimates based on data describing the fertility and marital experience up to age 23 of the eight birth cohorts of women in the NLSY provide evidence that higher AFDC benefit levels and lower marital prospects induce young women to choose to have a child outside of marriage.

Household Organization, Women's Autonomy, and Contraceptive Behavior in Southern Ethiopia

Abstract: The Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region of Ethiopia (SNNPR) is home to 11 million people constituting more than 45 language and ethnic groups, most of whom live in extremely poor rural communities. Data for currently married, fecund women aged 15-49 from demographic surveys conducted in the SNNPR in 1990 and 1997 are used to investigate contraceptive knowledge and communication, and the use and future need for family planning services in this population. This study focuses on how these processes are affected by household organization and women's status, and on their implications for population policies and programs. Considerations of the implications of these results for understanding the fertility transition of a highly diverse African population under severe stress are presented. Although household extension and polygamy characterize one-third of the women sampled, they do not affect the women's contraceptive behavior. Women's literacy and autonomy are, by far, the most significant forces in the movement toward lower fertility in the region.

Regional differences in waiting time to pregnancy: pregnancy-based surveys from Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden

Abstract: The objective of this study was examine geographical variation in couple fecundity in Europe. The study was based upon all recently pregnant (or still pregnant) women within well-defined geographical areas in Europe (Denmark, Germany, Italy, Sweden and France) at a given time period in 1992. Altogether, 4035 women responded to a highly structured questionnaire. Highest fecundity was found in Southern Italy and Northern Sweden; lowest fecundity was seen in data from the East German centre. Approximately 16% of the study population had a waiting time of more than 12 months to become pregnant. Most of the pregnancies were planned (64%) and approximately 14% were the result of contraceptive failures. The study shows that smoking, body mass index, age and parity did not explain the differences in fecundity found between the centres. Regional differences in fecundity exist and the causes may be genetic or due to variations in behavioural and environmental exposures.

Reproductive history and mortality later in life: a comparative study of England and Wales and Austria.

Abstract: Does a woman's reproductive history influence her life span? This study explores the question with data from the contemporary female populations of England and Wales and Austria It is the first comparative study to investigate the relationship between fertility and mortality late in life We find similar patterns and age-specific trends of excess mortality in both populations: parity significantly influences longevity, as do both an early and a late birth These differences in longevity are not explained by differences in educational or family status The impact of a woman's reproductive history on her life span is small, however, compared to the influence of her level of education or family status

The Economics of Child Labor: Reply

Abstract: Kenneth Swinnerton and Carol Ann Rogers (1999) have drawn attention to the policy of redistribution as an instrument of eliminating child labor in an economy. They point out that in our model (Kaushik Basu and Pham Hoang Van, 1998), whenever there exists an equilibrium in which no children work, there must exist some profit sharing rule among the citizens such that if that rule were effective then in no equilibrium would children be found working.

Credit programs for the poor and reproductive behavior in low-income countries: are the reported causal relationships the result of heterogeneity bias?

Abstract: Group-based lending programs for the poor have drawn much attention recently. As many of these programs target women, an important research question is whether program participation significantly changes reproductive behavior and whether the gender of the participant matters. Using survey data from 87 Bangladeshi villages, we estimate the impact of female and male participation in group-based credit programs on reproductive behavior while attending to issues of self-selection and endogeneity. Wefind no evidence that women s participation in group-based credit programs increases contraceptive use or reduces fertility. Men So participation reduces fertility and may slightly increase contraceptive use.