fertility

Reproductive medicine has long been criticized for its commercial aspects — for being more like an industry than a medical practice. Run a Google search for "the baby business" and you will not only turn up Debora Spar's book, but some 954,000 exact matches. Now lawyers are getting in on the action: It's not just an industry, it's (allegedly) a cartel!

LPGA ditches their "female at birth" policy, Speaker John Boehner has some frighteningly invasive anti-choice legislative plans in store for Americans, BPA may be responsible for infertility problems in women and is the Pope inspiring more religious mind expansion as it relates to condoms and birth control?

Nadya Suleman may have been part of a fertility study without knowing it, same sex couples now have full visiting privileges at hospitals that participate in Medicaid and Medicare, a couple places their potential abortion up to a vote and more...

From testing for the onset of menopause to drinking while pregnant, the focus--at least in the media--is on those aspects of research that affect women's fertility, more than women's health and more than similar effects on men's fertility.

Follow Amanda Marcotte on Twitter, @amandamarcotte

There are a lot of myths surrounding reproductive health, and sometimes the myths become bigger than the realities.  Now, a few of them have been debunked, while new ones crop up to replace them.

I didn't expect to say this for some time.  I'm pregnant.  And I'm terrified.

UPDATED: At first I thought it was a joke. Then I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, scream or call Margaret Atwood.  But this morning I opened the paper to read that new iPhone apps allowing men to track the menstrual periods of their girlfriends or wives are flying off the virtual "shelves."

Follow Jodi Jacobson on Twitter, @jljacobson

Emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) are now available in many countries, but have failed to have the desired impact on unwanted pregnancy rates. Why is this? Earlier barriers to access are becoming less and less prevalent. A market for ECPs has been demonstrated and numerous manufacturers and distributors are keen to supply ECPs products; in many countries they are starting to be mainstreamed into norms, pre-service training, and services.

With spring here and Easter in the rearview mirror, you can't help but think a bit about eggs of all types, among them human eggs. Amidst research on marketing of human eggs, I found this Latin proverb, “All life comes from an egg.”  I find this sentiment a bit dated.  Instead I’d like to suggest something a bit more up-to-date, “All life comes from an egg, but that egg comes at a price.”

The Canadian government is excluding family planning from its initiative to save the lives and improve the health of mothers in poor countries. One small problem: You can't address maternal mortality without family planning.

Follow Jodi Jacobson on Twitter, @jljacobson