tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73277341463379979772023-11-15T23:54:33.688-08:00IVF BABIES IN NIGERIAOmo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-23460868574579985412019-01-08T10:52:00.000-08:002019-01-08T10:52:09.442-08:00History made in Abeokuta as Nigerian woman becomes Africa’s oldest IVF mum…delivers baby boy at 67yrs<br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">A Nigerian woman, Mrs Ajibola
Otunbusin delivered a bouncing baby boy at 67 years old, breaking all kinds of records
in the process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Not
only has she become the oldest Nigerian woman to give birth through IVF
(in-vitro fertilization), she is also the oldest African in recorded history to
give birth to a baby, and the 2nd oldest mum in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">The
elated mother and her husband Professor Samuel Olu Otunbusin were beside
themselves with joy after delivering her baby boy at Atoke Medical Centre,
Abeokuta on Saturday 20th October 2018. The very happy Professor Otunbusin said
God revealed to him 35 years ago .” God revealed to me 35 years ago
about the birth of my son Oluwatobi”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">She
had undergone the IVF procedure at the St Ives IVF&Fertility center.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">With
her successful conception and delivery she becomes the latest in a long line of
women who have benefited from the highly lauded St Ives IVF programme.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Speaking
to Thelagostimes, Mrs Ajibola Otunbusin narrated how her efforts to have a
child have taken her to several specialist hospitals in Nigeria and India where
she underwent numerous procedures without success.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">“This
might be hard to believe but I am 67 years old and I have been married for over
39 years. I have done several IVF both in India and in Nigeria that failed. At
several points, I had said to myself: ‘So I will die without a child of my
own?’ But I never gave up on God. I held on to the belief that at the appointed
time, God will remember me. And my husband kept encouraging me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">“In
2018. I was directed to St. Ives Fertility center by the Holy Spirit. I started
the procedure with joy and I ended it with joy from above.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">While
glowing with the radiance that comes from a long mission finally accomplished,
Mrs Ajibola Otunbusin advised other women who are encountering challenges with
childbearing not to lose hope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">She
urged them to remain positive and try all medical methods while also looking up
to God for the fruit of the womb.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">“I
hereby encourage all women despite your age not to relent, God of Sarah will
remember you too”, she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">The
medical team was led by the Head of IVF unit Dr Babatunde Okewale FRCOG,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">other
experts of the team were Dr Kingsley Obodo FMCOG,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Dr
Taofeek Ogunfunmilayo FMCOG.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Ozioma
chukwudi MSC, the senior Embryologist,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Fertility
specialist nurses<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 11.5pt;">Mary
Obichie SNM , Olusola Inameti SNM<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-79684505751579405452017-08-05T10:21:00.001-07:002019-10-14T07:50:19.726-07:00IVF MAKES WOMAN A FIRST TIME MOTHER AT 63<script async="" data-ad-client="ca-pub-6991246409826765" src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMw2Pw4oek-UYB2TFaii_NZmBZ-Ma5o8Sb-t-U__9sxAIqed-c_Wiflv1J_TqLyvxEA8D0y3eVYPaDQnHs2CKZFplphZ0OJWwNXFwt2OPo7m6HNDh3ZFrJ0uIJAFHCjci2oRCFAKrf4YU/s1600/63+year+old+nigerian+woman+gives+birth+to+baby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="294" data-original-width="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMw2Pw4oek-UYB2TFaii_NZmBZ-Ma5o8Sb-t-U__9sxAIqed-c_Wiflv1J_TqLyvxEA8D0y3eVYPaDQnHs2CKZFplphZ0OJWwNXFwt2OPo7m6HNDh3ZFrJ0uIJAFHCjci2oRCFAKrf4YU/s1600/63+year+old+nigerian+woman+gives+birth+to+baby.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Bes Hannah, Plateau’s miracle
baby came at 10:15 on a Monday morning of 8th May weighing 1.8kg. Though two
weeks earlier than her expected due date, Hannah arrived through cesarean
section, healthy but low weight and has had to undergo intravenous fluid for
the first 24 hours while her 63-year-old mother’s breast milk was monitored to
ensure it is OK.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Bes Hanny, as her mother now
calls her, still looks fragile, but she is indeed the apple of every eye that
visits the Gynaeville Specialist Hospital along Old Airport Road in Jos. She
has continued to attract numerous well-wishers, all eager to get a glimpse of a
child whose arrival caused a retired civil servant to shed tears of joy. Her
mother, Margaret Davou, who turned 63 on the 25th of February cannot stop
laughing even as she struggles to breastfeed her baby. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="background: white; line-height: 18pt;">
<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">“I am fine, baby is fine, the
Lord has done it,” she told Daily Trust. Margaret, from Zawan in Jos South
local government area of Plateau State, has worked as an administrative staff
with the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) in Kano, Makurdi and eventually
retired in 2012, two years after she was posted to the NTA Jos Network Centre.
Before her delivery on Monday, Margaret had been wary about talking to the
press. However, a day after her baby arrived, she had been all smiles, thanking
God and became more accommodating. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Her husband, 67-year-old Francis
Davou had also retired from the Nigerian Air Force in 2008 and says his joy is
tenfold that of his wife. “It is because I am a man and so I have to control my
emotions, but my joy is more than her own,” he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">The Davous waited 38 long years
to be called parents. Within those years, they had tried fertility treatments
in other centres which had failed; they had also used their resources to train
children of relatives in the hope that someday, they will be blessed with their
own offspring. “I trained four of my brother’s children and they are all grown
and married now,” said Francis. His eldest brother, Choji Davou, 78, who
Francis introduced to Daily Trust on phone said his younger brother had also
trained two of his children adding that, “We’re so happy that the Lord has
answered our prayers and blessem them with their own child.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Despite their age, the Davous
never gave up on their dream to have a child and when a relative of theirs who
is a nurse told them about a new fertility centre established in Jos, the
coupled prayed and took a chance. “We put our money together. We are both
retired so we don’t have much but the doctors helped us. We came to the
hospital with my husband and they gave me some treatment, and thank God it
worked,” said Margaret.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">When asked if she ever attempted
to go spiritual in the past, her denial was firm. “My husband is a
pastor; we have always depended on God. There are some people that have been
saying I went to one place in Lagos to conceive but I don’t mind because I know
I only depended on God and they will hear the testimony,” she said two days
before she delivered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="background: white; line-height: 18pt;">
<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">But in their 60s, many have
questioned the rationale behind having a child at so late an age even with the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), report on Nigeria’s life
expectancy rate put at 53.1 as at 2015. But the couple is not bothered with
what people think. “It is only God that knows who will die, when and where,”
said Francis. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Dr. Kenneth Egwuda, IVF
specialist and CEO of Gynaeville said Margaret had undergone hormone
replacement therapy to enable her uterus conceive. Through in vitro
fertilization (IVF), Margaret’s fourth attempt and first in the hands of the
Gynaeville staff became successful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">With 12 years of experience in
the field of assisted reproductive health, Dr. Kenneth had pioneered IVF in
Plateau, Kano and is about to pioneer a centre in Niger State. Therefore, from
the beginning, the Davous knew they were in good hands and after proper
evaluation, the doctors realised Margaret was in good health, aged but with no
metabolic illnesses or other prominent ageing disease apart from
hypertension. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18pt;">
<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">“I have done a lot of IVFs, but
this is a unique one because the age of the woman makes it so. She appears to
be the oldest in Africa to have conceived by this means,” said Dr. Kenneth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18pt;">
<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Right now, Bes Hannah is in good
health. Doctors have had to put her on oxygen shortly after she was delivered
because she came early. Dr. Kenneth explained that, “it was not really a
challenge because she was already matured, she had a good cry at delivery, she
established breathing and respiration fast enough.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18pt;">
<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Margaret can’t wait to take her
miracle baby home as soon as the paediatrician certifies her OK to leave. “The
mother is fine now,” said Dr. Kenneth. “If not for anything, the mother would
have been allowed to go home but the baby is a little bit fragile and so the
paediatrician has to be satisfied before we can discharge them,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18pt;">
<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Dr. Jibrin Suleiman, Consultant
Gynaecologist and IVF specialist who assisted in the caesarean section also
said, it is important for the baby to stay a little while in the hospital
adding that, “the fact that since this is something to be celebrated, if she
goes home too early, the stress will be too much and everyone at home will be
eager to carry the baby.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18pt;">
<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">But the joy of having a child is
not only an accomplishment for the Davous alone, it has given hope to women
above 50 in Africa who intend to have children that indeed, it is not too
late. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18pt;">
<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">In all this, perhaps the most
profound moment, according to Dr. Kenneth, was when Francis came out to the
corridor after Margaret’s successful delivery, stared at him and said: “So I
can actually be called the father of a baby?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 18pt;">
<span style="color: #212121; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">To remind her parents of the
miracle her birth was to them, Francis and Margaret, after careful thought,
chose the two names Bes and Hannah. Bes is a Berom word for Miracle and Hannah
according to Francis was Biblically a “Believing woman, a prayerful woman. She
prayed to God and He gave her Samuel.” With a grin, the 67-year-old said: “You
can now call me Baba Miracle, Baba Bes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-81679395965602652632016-10-21T13:25:00.001-07:002016-10-21T13:25:38.923-07:00Bayelsa Gov’s wife gives birth to quadruplets at 43 with help of IVF<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1sbwtsi9mxlUZtJUrWUYAhyphenhyphenDdbprXimhGJ9X5_gxV-RCUAAsKWmxIZIqS6TogaZzKtD8VbFbzhkSm0IMBCfhl4rSrCSeTKiPGefXHgF2wVSIIvfStUBJrOor6quMiyouxjHCeK6CBBc/s1600/bayelsa-2-890x395_c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1sbwtsi9mxlUZtJUrWUYAhyphenhyphenDdbprXimhGJ9X5_gxV-RCUAAsKWmxIZIqS6TogaZzKtD8VbFbzhkSm0IMBCfhl4rSrCSeTKiPGefXHgF2wVSIIvfStUBJrOor6quMiyouxjHCeK6CBBc/s320/bayelsa-2-890x395_c.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #5e5e5e; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Dr. Rachael Dickson, wife of the Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake
Dickson, has given birth to a set of quadruplets in the United States of
America after undergoing fertility treatment at an IVF clinic.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #5e5e5e; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">More than 10 years after the Bayelsa State first couple married they had
no child of their own, and when the bundle of joy arrived on Friday in the form
of quadruplets, it was via In Vitro Fertilisation(IVF).</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #5e5e5e; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">According to wikipedia: “IVF is a process by which egg is fertilised by
sperm outside the body: (in glass). The process involves monitoring and
stimulating a woman’s ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs)
from the woman’s ovaries and letting sperm fertilise them in a liquid in a
laboratory… The techniques can be used in different types of situations. It is
a technique of assisted reproductive technology for treatment of infertility.”<br />
However while announcing the birth of his quadruplets, Gov. Dickson in a
statement he released through his media aide, Iworiso-Markson, glossed over the
side of the IVF.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #5e5e5e; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The statement reads: “The season of celebrations continues in the family
of Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State as his wife, the First Lady,
Dr. Rachael Dickson, was delivered of a set of quadruplets: a bouncing baby boy
and three beautiful baby girls. She gave birth in the United States. Mother and
children are doing well.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #5e5e5e; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“This is particularly good news for the family and Bayelsans because
this bundle of joy is coming after many years of praying and waiting upon the
Lord.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span>Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-52398976232480500972016-06-11T15:59:00.000-07:002016-06-11T15:59:30.502-07:00Vine Branch Fertility Centre Ibadan Delivers its First IVF Baby<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJngV6kh8jYsPNE6Cm_6Sed37nCcXkzrG7GqdrSmXIZ0Rx2wVjKrfoaCcB7MivpBvowxr9ZeBS0udlztQd7CLO7fdjLxovdoGrdQecgxODESEi1vBpkK3hTpMVRGYBGqGO5ZW7xSS7JU/s1600/Baby+Akeju.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJngV6kh8jYsPNE6Cm_6Sed37nCcXkzrG7GqdrSmXIZ0Rx2wVjKrfoaCcB7MivpBvowxr9ZeBS0udlztQd7CLO7fdjLxovdoGrdQecgxODESEi1vBpkK3hTpMVRGYBGqGO5ZW7xSS7JU/s320/Baby+Akeju.jpg" width="166" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Baby Akeju</em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The joy
in the family of Mr and Mrs Akeju knew no bounds on Wednesday, 16th March 2016
when they were delivered of a baby.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This
follows about 21 years of seemingly endless search for the fruits of the womb
to no avail. Succour finally came their way when the Vine Branch Fertility Centre in
Ibadan opened in May, 2015. This lucky couple found their way there (Vine Branch) where the IVF was done.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Invitro
Fertilization (IVF) otherwise known as Test tube babies is a medical procedure
deployed to help infertile couple achieve pregnancy by fertilizing the sperm
and egg in the laboratory and then putting the embryo in the mother’s womb to
grow. It is a form of assisted reproductive technique.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The first
IVF baby was born in 1978 but this procedure was not conducted in Nigeria until
1989 after which Ibadan joined the league with this baby whose IVF was done in
July 2015 and delivered in March, 2016.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is a
great feat in Ibadan and further gives hope to couples who have been battling
with infertility without success.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The 47
year-old proud mother of the baby could not hold back her tears of joy as the
baby was christened Precious Grace Oluwasindara Akeju to the admiration of
friends and relatives who had been patiently waiting and praying with the
couple. To God be the glory.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Also
speaking, the Fertility expert and Consultant Gynaecologist who led the team of
experts to carry out the successful IVF, Dr Oluwabukunmi Kolade of Vine Branch
Fertility Centre, Mokola, Ibadan gave all thanks to God almighty for the
opportunity to finally put a smile on the faces of these couple. He narrated
that the centre which opened barely a year ago was able defy all odds to
achieve the feat. Asked about the average success rate of such a newly opened
fertility centre, Dr Kolade averred that it takes about 8 months to one year
for most centres to achieve their first pregnancy but with the help of God and
dedication of the management and staff of Vine Branch Fertility Centre, they
were able to achieve pregnancy in their first attempt at IVF. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">He
further stated that the Centre will not rest on its oars as they have even
acquired some sophisticated equipment to ease their task of giving hope to
couples. On the cost of IVF in Ibadan, Dr Kolade believes that “if a couple can
afford a small Tokunbo car, then they can afford an IVF” it is that affordable,
yet the result remains priceless.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span>Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-2657576449376752122016-02-29T02:02:00.000-08:002016-02-29T02:07:14.507-08:0059-YR OLD HAS 1ST BABY AFTER 30 YEARS OF MARRIAGE AT ST. IVES HOSPITAL<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpe-_gwrfXFz6mDYe1_oBkWrZPiNkIGmNP0Oe4QCfXlBS2IOYdkWzzBPXDimcNApxkH77Zk-khS7gIFvWU2t9CQZP1tjJ7PPBw6-0XtRDF8dNloCc6I3KvVC-n6xsGfisFzdWtlbIzqYo/s1600/10683519_476557589200308_7111655921414238785_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpe-_gwrfXFz6mDYe1_oBkWrZPiNkIGmNP0Oe4QCfXlBS2IOYdkWzzBPXDimcNApxkH77Zk-khS7gIFvWU2t9CQZP1tjJ7PPBw6-0XtRDF8dNloCc6I3KvVC-n6xsGfisFzdWtlbIzqYo/s200/10683519_476557589200308_7111655921414238785_o.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><strong>Baby Abodunde</strong></span></em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>God is a faithful & covenant keeping father; we
appreciate your loving kindness towards us. <strong>Pst. & Dcns. Abodunde E.S<o:p></o:p></strong></em></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-39969835023956161662016-02-04T13:54:00.001-08:002016-02-04T13:59:51.961-08:00OLIVE BRANCH LEKKI : +2348032011536<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZWJitFEJPdUM0ezFjlHmgM0f_V4vW5DuYnlLs74QA81sEPH6hP23NLMC4N0keqbLMXcIlxHr001mV71rjMF9eEn-65h7FgQXqon7WiuHoMed2Q4SiQF7oGA1cw-GZe_qqG9bQAan-_sI/s1600/untitled+%25284%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZWJitFEJPdUM0ezFjlHmgM0f_V4vW5DuYnlLs74QA81sEPH6hP23NLMC4N0keqbLMXcIlxHr001mV71rjMF9eEn-65h7FgQXqon7WiuHoMed2Q4SiQF7oGA1cw-GZe_qqG9bQAan-_sI/s400/untitled+%25284%2529.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.olivebranchhm.com/"><strong>http://www.olivebranchhm.com</strong></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-20103588518926195232015-12-21T16:17:00.000-08:002015-12-21T16:17:17.486-08:00“How IVF saved us from childlessness” – Women count their blessings, become advocates<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_disj-QxX1vMOSOMqnHAI4ncOJz-pYVITCR0OQiXFEqBW1DQVLUa_1RQUjAyAJyEhV4YaHgkRiesRwIsVTeYM94IIlFCQ1A_4hywXH5-3OqOA9KTarO4cMfE48DqEdwzT72kNUb8rGo/s1600/how+ivf+saved+us.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_disj-QxX1vMOSOMqnHAI4ncOJz-pYVITCR0OQiXFEqBW1DQVLUa_1RQUjAyAJyEhV4YaHgkRiesRwIsVTeYM94IIlFCQ1A_4hywXH5-3OqOA9KTarO4cMfE48DqEdwzT72kNUb8rGo/s320/how+ivf+saved+us.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mrs. Ifeoma
Emekwue had fertility problems after signing the dotted lines with her husband
several years ago. She became a proud mother after undergoing In-Vitro
fertilization (IVF). Was she afraid of stigma, having conceived through
Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) or IVF? She snapped, “No. From the day I
was told I was pregnant, I called my mother and mother-in law to tell them I
was pregnant. My children are now 16 years old, and they know they are products
of ART.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 15.75pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mrs. Ifeyinwa
Kpaje, a mother of five, who had her first four children through IVF, except
the last child that came naturally, noted that the problem of infertility in
Africa can drive couples and families involved to the edge that at some point
they will not care about the ‘how’ of the conception of the children they so
desperately want.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Kpaje said that “at a
point, the mothers-in-law want to see children and not how you got them. I had
4 children through ART, and the last one came naturally. I have 5 children now.
My first son looks like my husband. They resemble us because the sperm they
used are from my husband and the eggs are from me, only that it was assisted
conception.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">On the resemblance of IVF children to their parents,
Mrs. Ifeoluwa Okusanya, a beneficiary of IVF, said “… the genetic identities
are so strong.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mrs. Titilayo Aketi, another beneficiary of assisted
reproductive technology said, “ After some period of childlessness, when I took
in, people were like ‘are you sure?’ After I put to bed, my son is not only
like the father in appearance, he (also) walks like his father.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">However, experts agree that if the sperm and eggs used
for the IVF are not from the couple, there may be no genetic resemblance. Experts
also maintain that children from IVF are normal children.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Today, Ifeoma Emekwue, who is Brand Ambassador of
Association for the Prevention of Infertility and Promotion of Reproduction
Health and Rights (ASPIRE) has challenged the stigma associated with IVF
treatments to give it a human face, and is encouraging women with fertility
problems to consider IVF. She is not in this alone. Ifeoluwa Okusanya, Ifeyinwa
Kpaje, Titilayo Aketi, Lanre Kazeem-Abimbola, Patricia Jibor, all wives,
mothers and beneficiaries of IVF are members of the group.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In-Vitro Fertilization, commonly known as
Assisted Reproductive Technology, is the process of fertilization by manually
combining an egg and sperm in a laboratory dish, and then transferring the
embryo to the uterus. Other forms of ART include Gamete Intra-Fallopian
Transfer (GIFT) and Zygote Intra-Fallopian Transfer (ZIFT).<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Experts say that IVF is used to treat infertility in
patients with blocked or damaged fallopian tubes, male factor infertility
including decreased sperm count or sperm motility, women with ovulation
disorders, premature ovarian failure, uterine fibroids. Also, women who have
had their fallopian tubes removed, individuals with a genetic disorder and
unexplained infertility.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">According to a fertility expert “there are five basic
steps involved in the IVF and embryo transfer process. Monitor and stimulate
the development of healthy egg(s) in the ovaries. Collect the eggs and secure
the sperm.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Then, combine the eggs and sperm together in the
laboratory and provide the appropriate environment for fertilization and early
embryo growth.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“In transferring embryos into the uterus, the
following steps are taken: Fertility medications are prescribed to stimulate
egg production. Multiple eggs are desired because some eggs will not develop or
fertilize after retrieval. Transvaginal ultrasound is used to examine the
ovaries, and blood test samples are taken to check hormone levels.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Eggs are retrieved through a minor surgical
procedure that uses ultrasound imaging to guide a hollow needle through the
pelvic cavity to remove the eggs. Medication is provided to reduce and remove
potential discomfort. The male is asked to produce a sample of sperm, which is
prepared for combining with the eggs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“In a process called insemination, the sperm and eggs
are mixed together and stored in a laboratory to encourage fertilization. In
some cases where there is a lower probability of fertilization, Intra
Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) may be used. Through this procedure, a
single sperm is injected directly into the egg in an attempt to achieve
fertilization. The eggs are monitored to confirm that fertilization and cell
division are taking place. Once this occurs, the fertilized eggs are considered
embryos.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“The embryos are usually transferred into the woman’s
uterus three to five days following egg retrieval and fertilization. A catheter
or small tube is inserted into the uterus to transfer the embryos. This
procedure is painless for most women, although some may experience mild
cramping. If the procedure is successful, implantation typically occurs around
six to ten days following egg retrieval.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Meanwhile, ASPIRE, primarily aimed at tackling the
silence and social stigma associated with infertility, seek to lend a helping
hand in partnering with individuals who may not necessarily have had IVF
treatment but wish to support the cause of shattering the silence of couples
with such challenges.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The group, courtesy of the quality treatment received
from the foremost fertility center in Nigeria, The Bridge Clinic, also seeks to
encourage couples going through such challenges to move above the prevalent
prejudices and seek for quality treatment of their health conditions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the recent re-lunch of ASPIRE, Brand Ambassador
Emekwue said the advocacy group seeks to redress the challenges of development,
which almost all groups of this nature experienced in their early days. The
advocacy group is made up predominantly by people who have overcome the
challenges of infertility at some point in their lives. However, as part of
it’s success, the group seeks to deploy their experience in assisting couples
going through infertility challenges.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Emekwue said: “The association, which started as group
of people who overcame the challenges of infertility, targets to extend to
other regions as well, although not in the same magnitude as the Lagos region,
and expects to scale up their reach in many other cities.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“It’s objectives include shattering the social stigma
associated with IVF (and dispelling the rumours that IVF children have
challenges.) Also, fostering and encouraging open dialogue about causes of
infertility and its prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“The group also seeks to mentor couples about to
undertake or currently undertaking the journey.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">She said: “Against the backdrop of proliferation of
Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) centres in Nigeria, ART is unregulated
in Nigeria and that is one of the causes we are fighting. The government should
move into the sub-sector, and put order to its practices to save Nigerians from
the many fraudsters parading themselves as fertility experts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“It is for this reason that we work with The Bridge
Clinic, the foremost ART center in Nigeria, as our technical partners due to
their experience (16 years), high success rate, the quality management system
and their international affiliation with IVF Professor Zech (who ensures they
are at the cutting edge of ART services both in delivery and outcome).”</span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "Open Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><strong>Source: dailyindependent</strong></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span>Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-21616429297180868322015-09-29T17:25:00.003-07:002015-09-29T17:25:45.959-07:00FREE IVF SCREENING AND TREATMENT
<a href="http://lilypie.com/"><img src="http://lacm.lilypie.com/TikiPic.php/kL3N9SL.jpg" width="100" height="80" border="0" alt="Lilypie - Personal picture" /><img src="http://lacm.lilypie.com/kL3Np1.png" width="200" height="80" border="0" alt="Lilypie Assisted Conception tickers" /></a>Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-7293391403913095832015-06-25T10:56:00.001-07:002015-06-25T10:56:31.094-07:00The Hannaniya's quest for a child<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><strong><em><span style="color: orange;">It was gladness and great joy as embryos frozen more
than 5 years earlier in England were sent to a Lagos clinic, transferred to
Gladys’ uterus, successfully implanted and ended in a delivery of twin girls 29
weeks later...</span></em></strong></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Dr. Gladys Duruyani and Dr. Ishmael Hannaniya
were married for 20 years and just like any other couple, they tried to have
children.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, unlike others, it took them several years to conceive and
despite the challenge with conception and their expectations, all the
pregnancies unfortunately ended in miscarriages.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This was a very grievous deal for them because the babies would
grow to about five or six months in the womb and then a miscarriage would occur
and some of these miscarriages were for multiple babies.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The enlightened couple utilized their globe-trotting exposure to
seek medical solution overseas, all to no avail. Eventually as time progressed,
Duruyani became ill and was diagnosed severally with various kinds of ailments.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She developed a type of cough the doctors could not understand and
on the film some dark spots were seen in her chest region and lungs. Being
devoted Christians, they sought medical solution to all the challenges yet
committed them all to the Lord as they expected some miracle.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eventually the Lord took this strange ailment away from her. Their
challenges were numerous, and one day, while they dined at a Chinese restaurant
in Abuja, Duruyani began to bleed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She knew what was happening. Her husband, who is a microbiologist,
a specialist neuro-physician, also rushed her to three different hospitals.
Unfortunately, in each hospital, the senior doctors had all gone home.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After the third stop, he rushed her to the National Teaching
Hospital where he found out again that all the senior doctors had also closed
for the day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At this point of desperation, he had to take the bull by the horn,
choosing to go against the ethics of his profession that advise against a man
performing such a major surgery on his spouse. He had a vague idea of what to
do, besides there were some junior doctors around.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With the few junior doctors on duty, they quickly set up the
theatre and began the surgery to take out the blood clot that was about to
snuff life out of his beloved wife until an experienced doctor who came around
the hospital for an entirely different reason heard of the situation and ran to
take over the surgery already in progression.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On another day, she felt ill and in the cause of seeking a medical
solution in South Africa, they were told that the blood result was bad news.
The South African doctors gave the verdict; they were shaken and took the
challenge once more to the Lord in prayers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They said, “it was a rare form of blood disease.” The couple were
shocked and torn apart for a while but braced up, rejecting the doctor’s report
and holding unto the Lord’s report.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They sought medical solution in the UK afterwards and the doctors
became puzzled and asked “who said she had a blood disease, a rare form of
blood cancer? To the glory of God, the results of the latter test showed there
was no trace of the cancer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Did a miracle take place? They rejoiced and praised the Lord. Soon
after this great news, they got a call from the South African doctors stating
that there was a mix-up with her tests.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They investigated further and confirmed that she did not have any
form of cancer in her system. Having gone through so much and having wailed on
the Lord in the secret place of the Lord, they remained sober and thankful for
once more sparing her life from the clutch of death.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After a while, they tried to have children again but it was to no
avail as the series of miscarriages continued. Eventually they figured that
since her womb could not keep the pregnancies, they would consider the option
of surrogacy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Their Harley Street doctor who is one of the first doctors in the
world to successfully deliver in-vitro (IVF) babies had been very sympathetic
to their cause and after series of the failed IVF had suggested surrogacy to
them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They began the necessary procedures and as embryos could be stored
for years, they decided to store the excess embryos while they sought for a
surrogate mother to carry their child.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, the surrogacy laws in Britain were so strict that
it would have been impossible to find a mother to carry the child. The doctor
who was natively Greek suggested that they find a surrogate in Greece.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They quickly embraced the idea but it was soon forgotten because
there was a serious problem with the transportation of the embryos out of the
region. When that failed, they tried to transport the embryos to Nigeria but
the results were the same as that of Greece. It seemed like they would never be
able to have their own children so they opted for adoption.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They adopted a little boy now six years old and they later adopted
a girl who is now aged four. Duruyani’s body had gone through so much strain
over these years and age was not on her side as she was classified as High Risk
Pregnancy (if she took in).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On two occasions she had been diagnosed with a strange form of
cancer, and later lymphoma, she had suffered a hemorrhage, suffered from a
strange cough which left dark patches on her lungs, she had suffered emotional,
physical and psychological trauma at the travails she had gone through amongst
other health challenges too numerous to mention. She had also been on total bed
rest all through these series of pregnancies that resulted in miscarriages.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yet from all these, the Good Lord delivered her from the cold
hands of death. Her husband, Hannaniya, who is a rare Igbira man from Kogi
State and a distinguished gentleman remained a most loving husband to her, an
Igbomina from Kwara State and kept all their travails away from family and
friends. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">THEY loved and doted on their two
adopted children and once more wondered if it was necessary to have more
children having gone through so much agony in their quest for their own
biological children.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Lord understood
the desires of their heart and decided to seal their faith with a remarkable
gift to them in the year 2014. They got a call from their doctor in Harley
Street that the Law had lifted the storage limit of the human eggs/embryo which
negated the earlier law of five years. Perhaps because they were silently
thinking once more of their unborn children, they became expectant as a result
of the serendipity they experienced. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once more at this
point in time, her embryos were still available and having tried all to no
avail, including the suggestion of surrogacy that could not hold for statutory
reasons, their deciding to try once more was not out of place. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This time they asked
for the frozen embryos to be sent to Nigeria and this became the appointed time
for them, as they were able to transport these embryos and implant them in
Lagos, Nigeria. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twenty-nine weeks
after the implantation of the embryo, Dr. Hannaniya, while at work, got a call
from the surgeon that his twin baby girls had been delivered weighing 0.9kg and
1kg respectively. He could not believe his ears and questioned the time and
date of delivery to which the surgeon responded that it was either they were
saved at that point in time or they were lost like all the others gone.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dr. Hannaniya, knowing
what everybody in this country and beyond knew which was that the babies had a
slim chance of survival in a country like Nigeria, did not get excited. He did
not worry either but chose as usual to leave this one more challenge to God. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the first time
their babies had been delivered alive so it was clear that the Lord had given
them the miracle of an identical twin birth but with the incessant power
outages and the inadequate medical care especially for neonates in the
incubators, what would be the fate of these little ones? As usual and with
wisdom, he chose to keep the news away from family and friends for he did not
want to get excited over his preterm babies. They willingly submitted the case
to the Lord and waited for time to celebrate if it was the will of God for
them. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As God gave his
approval, both babies survived and were christened Grace and Esther on Sunday,
22nd March 2015 at the time of their expected date of delivery. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The other two children
who had been adopted were also christened on the same day aged six and four. There
was a lovely celebration of the two healthy babies and their older adopted
siblings afterwards at the beautiful event organized by the family in the
Federal Capital Territory of Abuja. Their phenomenal testimony was shared by
the husband himself and all those present were amazed as Dr. Hannaniya shared
this incredible testimony of over 90 minutes while their guests were
entertained with food and drinks. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Their parents,
siblings, relations, friends, colleagues and well-wishers were speechless and
moved to tears of joy for the Grace of God on his beloved children, Duruyani
and Hannaniya, as they finally found complete joy in their now family of six.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There were great
lessons to learn from the power of prayers and the power in sealed lips for
they did not give room to any interference or sympathy from family and friends.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They had toured the world in search of
children of their own, they had spent money over the years, the Lord continued
to provide for them and eventually when they least expected it, the Lord showed
them that something good could still come out of their own country, Nigeria,
and this was the serendipity of our Lord, the perfection of science, their
dogged hope and above all, the abundant blessings of the Great God they serve.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span>Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-16661908912266887002015-05-16T12:03:00.003-07:002015-05-16T12:03:50.586-07:00Renewed hope for motherhood through IVF<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMJOVS57KAc2gY54N_zNZpJwMe3Y_3dQdQL3sMhgYlIMaDbmVBsvx1jikTyk6HLXALjD9Wjltlt9oclOMaY0YIfw_c5NlYkYKDN1Rn2iP5IcaLz7ZRtA2nvpCS_IqAZdbIL763XUxzHk/s1600/muinat+oladipo+baby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMJOVS57KAc2gY54N_zNZpJwMe3Y_3dQdQL3sMhgYlIMaDbmVBsvx1jikTyk6HLXALjD9Wjltlt9oclOMaY0YIfw_c5NlYkYKDN1Rn2iP5IcaLz7ZRtA2nvpCS_IqAZdbIL763XUxzHk/s320/muinat+oladipo+baby.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><em><span style="background-color: #38761d;">AGBENI Market is a popular market in Ibadan, Oyo
State. It as a notorious market for adulterated or fake drugs such that the job
of any helmsman at the National Agency for Food Drugs Administration and
Control (NAFDAC), cannot be complete without close monitoring of this market.
But that is not all about this market at the city centre, as it is home to
other goods and services. The best place to visit for household utensils,
toiletries and foodstuff, is still Agbeni.<o:p></o:p></span></em></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You can then imagine the hustle and bustle going
on in this market on a daily basis. Men, women, young and old are engaged in
one transaction or the other at any point in time in the market. But tucked in
the bowel of this market is 47 year old Muniat Oladipo.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the outward, she could pass for a well to do
trader. And that is what she is. But beyond the façade is an unhappy woman that
has been denigrated and called names by her womenfolk in the market for a
challenge that was not her creation. She is childless after many years in
matrimony.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Indeed, life without a child for a woman of her
age bracket is comparable to the taste of solution inside the
gallbladder of a famished and dehydrated cow in the mouth of a thirsty
marathoner.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Besides, like the Biblical Hannah who was
repeatedly taunted by her rival Penninah for being childless in the house of
Elkanah, Mutiat, had to painfully bear her “unfortunate condition” for 20years.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“The most painful thing then was listening to
deliberate discussions of some women of child bearing age in my presence, of
such issues as labour pains, ante natal care, immunization of babies, dentition
experienced in baby growth and such other stuffs in an efforts aimed at making
me feel as if I am not a complete woman.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Some called me a witch, others said I had
donated my ovaries to the occult world and therefore would not, for life,. be
able to carry my own baby. We had visited too many spiritualist we thought
should be potent enough to make me carry the seed of the womb to no avail. But
throughout all these ordeals my greatest strength was the unwavering supports
of my 62 year old husband, Asimiyu, who never, for once, left me in the lurch.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Time was ticking for Muniat. Hope was giving way
and despondency was setting in. Indeed, menopause was knocking at her door. But
she was not willing to give up. And just at the nick of time miraculously, a
lifeline came from the horizon. This time, through the support of improved
technology, Muniat became a proud mother of a baby girl.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Muniat was the cynosure of all eyes at the
University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), recently when she was
delivered of a baby girl through the hospital’s third successive Assisted
Reproductive Technology (ART) thus terminating her experience of 20 years
of marriage without a conception.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After the delivery via caesarian session at
about 10:45 am by a team of Gynaecologists led by the Chief Medical Director of
the UITH Professor Abdulwaheed Olatinwo, the mother gazing at the baby weighing
3.2kg said sobbing, “so I can be a mother at last.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">UITH is the third public hospital in Nigeria
after National Hospital Abuja and University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH)
with the services of the ART unit.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to Olatinwo, in whose tenure,the Renal
unit of the hospital had performed the first Kidney Transplant in a male
patient, added that arrangement had been concluded for the first Open Heart
Transplant (OHT) of the UITH by June this year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The elated Olatinwo, a Professor of Gynaecology
and Obstetrics, disclosed how the hospital had sponsored, to India on training,
a team of Gynaecologists led by Dr Lukman Omokanye, to learn the skills
of the IVF.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Already, the IVF unit of the hospital, has
become a much sought after centre by patients and their relatives just as it
has equally become a financial autonomous section.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The CMD noted: “We don’t need to travel outside
Ilorin for what can be done here. The IVF depending on its type can be done
here with a paltry sum of about N600,000. We even give some rebate, through the
hospital revolving funds, to some indigent patients.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“But we are canvassing more of private supports
for the unit, especially in the area of adoption of some couples in need of its
services. Today, we are training doctors from other hospitals on the IVF. Very
soon, we shall be receiving patients from outside the country paying us hard
currencies to strengthen the nation’s exchange rates capacity.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to the mother of the baby, “I had lost
any hope of having my own baby in life. I had been to many hospitals, visited
countless spiritualists to no avail. But today, looking at this baby, I know
that there is nothing God can’t do. I thank God and all the health workers who
took very good care of me here at the UITH.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She was married to her husband some 20years ago.
She recalled how she was diagnosed of Fibroid (Myomectomy) 12 years ago in a
private hospital in Ibadan and the growth was also promptly removed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When all efforts at conceiving failed even after
the operation, the woman, now exhibiting knowledge of many medical terminology
apparently due to her ordeal and frequent contacts with medical
practitioners said she was referred to the UITH for more investigations
on her reproductive system. This according to her was five years after her last
menstruation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“The UITH doctors told me of the need to make my
womb active because a woman of my age and who had last seen her menstrual period
some five years ago would practically be having a dead womb.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“They commenced treatment by first placing me on
medication. When it was time, they fertilised my eggs with the semen of my
husband. On the third day, they transferred three embryos into my activated
womb. After three weeks, they conducted a pregnancy test on me and it was
positive.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“It was like a dream to me when the doctors
asked me to commence ante natal at the sixth week of the pregnancy. My husband
asked me to hide in Ilorin. I had to put up with my brother, Alhaji Ajibade
Suleiman until I was delivered of this miracle baby. I never thought that a
woman at menopause could still have a baby.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Speaking with The Guardian on telephone from
Ghana, the husband, said the day of the birth of the baby would remain
indelible in his mind and a date that has taught him the greatest lesson that
God is just and loving to those who diligently await his promise.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He added, “I am extremely happy today and will
be eternally grateful to God and all the medical team at the UITH who assured
us of the success of the IVF when we commenced the treatment with them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“I must confess to you, I never thought it would
work out well at the initial stage, but my wife was very optimistic of the
positive outcome of it. She increased my faith on the IVF and today we are
grateful to God and all those who stood by us in our sad moment of life.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For Suleiman, the elder brother of the proud
mother of a new born baby, the love of the husband of his sister remained the
impetus that sustained the woman throughout her waiting period.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Suleiman said: “he did not just profess love to
my sister, he showed what love is. Even though my sister is not his only wife,
he showed her exceptional love and refused suggestions of a divorce common with
many African men, including my humble self. Today, he has showed us the results
of being patient.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Speaking with The Guardian in Ilorin, Omokanye
the Reproductive Medicine Clinician of the UITH advised couples with challenges
of conception not to lose hope of a reversal of their conditions but with a
caveat that early presentations of their cases would boost their chances under
the IVF.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Besides, he praised the UITH management for the
vision of the programme, just as he urged women already carrying the toga of
barrenness to have faith in God and seek for more medical solutions to their
challenges.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“We always emphasis the issue of age in IVF
procedures, because early ages make women to have the ability to produce
fertilisable eggs. So women with this presentation should, apart from
putting their trust in God, seek early medical solution towards boosting their
chances.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Although, two previous successes had been
recorded before this feat at the hospital, Omakanye said the case of Oladipo
was unique due to her menopausal stage when she presented at the hospital.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, while medical experts said IVF is the
best treatment for certain kinds of fertility problems, they are of the opinion
that it can be demanding and doesn’t always result in pregnancy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They suggested that if one is about to start a
course of IVF, such person should find out as much as he can about the
treatment, adding that knowing what to expect can make IVF easier to manage.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What is
IVF? </span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
When a couple conceives naturally, sperm from the man and the egg from the
woman meet in the woman’s fallopian tubes. These are the tubes that join the
ovaries to the uterus (womb). One sperm penetrates the egg and fertilises it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In IVF, this process of fertilisation happens
outside the woman’s body. A woman’s eggs are surgically removed and
fertilised in a laboratory using sperm that has been given as a sperm sample.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next, the fertilised egg, called an embryo, is
surgically implanted into the woman’s womb.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Typically, one cycle of IVF takes between four
and seven weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What to
expect of IVF treatment </span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
IVF does not always result in pregnancy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the UK, around 20-25% of IVF treatment cycles
result in a birth. In general, younger women have a higher chance of success.
Success rates decrease dramatically in women over 40 .IVF can be a physically
and emotionally demanding process. Some men and women have mental health or
emotional problems such as anxiety or depression during or after IVF.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you’re undergoing IVF, ask
about counselling to help with the emotional impact of the process and its
results.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">IVF risks
</span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
There are health risks involved in IVF treatment. These include:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Multiple pregnancy<br />
There is an increased chance of multiple pregnancy with IVF. Multiple
pregnancy has health risks for both the mother and children as twins or
triplets are more likely to be born prematurely and to be underweight at birth.<br />
Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Drugs used to stimulate the ovaries during IVF
can lead to ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In OHSS, the ovaries enlarge and become painful,
causing abdominal discomfort. More severe cases
can lead to shortness of breath, fluid retention in the
abdominal cavity and formation of blood clots. In these cases, you may
need a stay in hospital.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Infection</span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
When eggs are removed from the woman, a fine needle is passed through the
vagina and into the ovaries. There is a risk of introducing infection into the
body, though antibiotics and surgical hygiene ensure that this rarely occurs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How IVF
is performed </span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
The IVF technique was developed in the 1970s. It may differ slightly from
clinic to clinic but a typical treatment is as follows.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For women</span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
S</span></span><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">tep one: suppressing the natural monthly cycle</span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
You are given a drug that will suppress your natural menstrual cycle. This is
given either as a daily injection (which you’ll be taught to give yourself) or
as a nasal spray. You continue this for about two weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Step two:
boosting the egg supply</span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
Once your natural cycle is suppressed, you take a fertility hormone called FSH
(follicle stimulating hormone). These fertility hormones are known as
gonadotrophins. This is another daily injection you give yourself,
usually for about 10-12 days, but it can vary depending on your response.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">FSH increases the number of eggs your ovaries
produce. This means more eggs can be collected and fertilised. With more
fertilised eggs, the clinic has a greater choice of embryos to use in your
treatment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Step
three: checking on progress</span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
The clinic will keep an eye on you throughout the drug treatment. You will have
vaginal ultrasound scans to monitor your ovaries and, in some cases, blood
tests. About 34-38 hours before your eggs are due to be collected, you’ll have
a final hormone injection that helps your eggs to mature.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Step
four: collecting the eggs</span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
For the egg collection, you’ll be sedated and your eggs will be collected under
ultrasound guidance. This involves a needle being inserted through the vagina
and into each ovary. The eggs are then collected through the needle.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Some women experience cramps or a small amount
of vaginal bleeding after the procedure.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Step
five: fertilising the eggs</span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
The collected eggs are mixed with your partner’s or the donor’s sperm in the
laboratory. After 16-20 hours they’re checked to see if any have been
fertilised.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If the sperm are few or weak, each egg may need
to be injected individually with a single sperm. This is called
intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection or ICSI (see below).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The fertilised eggs (embryos), continue to grow
in the laboratory for one to five days before being transferred into the womb.
The best one or two embryos will be chosen for transfer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After egg collection, you will be given
medicines, either progesterone or hCG (chorionic gonadotrophin), to help prepare
the lining of the womb to receive the embryo. This is given either as a pessary
(which is placed inside the vagina), an injection or a gel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Step six:
embryo transfer</span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
The number of embryos to be replaced should have been discussed before
treatment starts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 15.05pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Women under 37 in their first IVF cycle
should only have a single embryo transfer. In their second IVF cycle they
should have a single embryo transfer if one or more top-quality embryos are
available. Doctors should only consider using two embryos if no top-quality
embryos are available. In the third IVF cycle, no more than two embryos should
be transferred.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.3pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Source Sans Pro"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Women aged 37–39 years in the first and second full IVF cycles
should also have single embryo transfer if there are one or more top-quality
embryos, and double embryo transfer should only be considered if there are no
top-quality embryos. In the third cycle, no more than two embryos should be
transferred.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span>Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-91962151927126887632014-03-27T10:46:00.001-07:002014-03-27T10:46:19.493-07:00UNILORIN Teaching Hospital, Mother celebrate birth of first test-tube baby<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEpUNmo3SMYA3VeJtCMXaBx_hK0i_CHgOytylN86J9-SEdvSIsfxNW0vPZ6xmZ3Dz2F2saMZKgReGDjsV2I7IJ3Lo6aiHeXyaZktyECCxz7qZSkRH0iSzYnoUQydNZOsx6SluXRLizBZk/s1600/unilorin+test+tube+baby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEpUNmo3SMYA3VeJtCMXaBx_hK0i_CHgOytylN86J9-SEdvSIsfxNW0vPZ6xmZ3Dz2F2saMZKgReGDjsV2I7IJ3Lo6aiHeXyaZktyECCxz7qZSkRH0iSzYnoUQydNZOsx6SluXRLizBZk/s1600/unilorin+test+tube+baby.jpg" height="141" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mrs. Ramat Jamiu’s joy knew no bounds when she was delivered of a bouncing
baby boy in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State. Her bundle of joy had arrived
after nine tormenting years of childlessness and anxiety.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The nursing mother had cause to be grateful to the doctors at the University
of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, whose expertise had ensured the safe delivery in
the first place.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Jamiu’s baby is the product of the hospital’s first successful attempt at
In-Vitro Fertilisation. With this feat, the UITH officially joins the list of
teaching hospitals that have undergone this medical procedure in the country.
The others are the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Lagos;
Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife, Osun State,
and the University College Hospital, Ibadan , Oyo State.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In an interview with our correspondent on Friday, Jamiu admitted that
initially she had refused to undergo the treatment. Eventually, she
decided to give it a try after the doctors told her that IVF was her only
chance of having a baby of her own – husband, a professor of Islamic and
Arabic Studies at the Kwara State University, encouraged her, she noted.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The ‘brand new’ nursing mother said she had visited several private
hospitals in Kano, Abuja and Lagos – in search of a solution to her
childlessness and had spent a lot of money, but failed to achieve any positive
result until her husband advised her to try a teaching hospital.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">She said, “It is a shameful experience not to have a baby after several
years of marriage. But thank God, I am happy now that I have a baby of my own.
I have been to hospitals across the country. I spent so much money, but in
vain. Eventually God answered my prayer and things worked well for me at UITH.
For the couples who are having difficulty in child birth, they should know that
God is capable of giving them a child. When God says your time has come,
nothing will stop it.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Still relishing the arrival of her baby, Jamiu urged Nigerians to have more
faith in the public healthcare system. She advised fertility-challenged couples
to take advantage of the benefits of modern medicine to solve their problems.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">She said there was no reason for Nigerians to seek medical treatment abroad
since the local hospitals were capable of handling their cases at cheaper
costs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So far, over five million babies have been born, via IVF, in the world since
the birth of the first test tube baby, Louise Brown, in a London Hospital in
1978. Also, an estimated 2000 babies have been born through the same procedure
in Nigeria.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at the UITH, Dr. Lukman
Omotayo, said Jamiu was managed by the hospital for about one year before she
had the baby through a Caesarian Section last Friday.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Omokanye said, “Infertility in marriage is not just for the woman; both the
husband and the wife must be involved to achieve any form of success. That is
what happened in this case; we had her husband cooperation all the way.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">He said that after several consultations with the woman and her husband and
every possible case of gynaecological deformity had been ruled out, the
hospital had decided to try IVF.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“Fortunately we found out that the husband’s sperm, in spite of his age,
could fertilise his wife’s eggs and that she also had viable eggs that
could be fertilised by sperm. So, we were expecting a fruitful result. The
procedure is to get fertilisable eggs from her. It took us one month.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“First, she was down-regulated with a drug called Suprefact® for 14 days. We
prepared her for eggs collection and subsequently we did micro epididymal sperm
aspiration to obtain sperm from the spouse to fertilise her eggs through a
procedure called intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“We injected the sperm into each egg. This was then incubated for 72 hours
and confirmed evidence of fertilisation. After 72 hours, it became an
embryo. This was later transferred into her womb. That is what
eventually developed into pregnancy. Pregnancy was confirmed after two weeks of
transfer into the womb.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Omotayo said that prior to delivery, Jamiu had been coming to the clinic
every two weeks to ensure that the baby was fine because, according to him, the
pregnancy was very special.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">He said that the pregnancy was uneventful, meaning that there was no
complication, apart from the conventional challenges of pregnancy, such as
abdominal discomfort and occasional body weakness.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Omotayo said , “We confirmed that she was carrying a baby boy after 18
weeks. She was meant to deliver on August 16, but this kind of special baby
could not be allowed to go through the stress of labour. Another thing about
this pregnancy is that the baby was coming as a breech (a baby comes with the feet
as opposed to the head). However, there were no hitches during delivery. He
weighed 3.25kg. This is a memorable day in the history of UITH as the centre
also witnessed the inauguration of several projects.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Also, the UITH Chief Medical Director, Prof. Abdulwaheed Olatinwo, described
the development as another major breakthrough recorded by the institution in
its quest for medical advancement.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">He said, “I am very happy for the family and UITH. We are happy that we were
able to do this. For a very long time, we kept our competence and capability in
assisted reproductive technology low so that there would not be much noise.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“This is the beginning of good things to come. I said with prayers and the
support of people, by the grace of God, before the end of the year, we should
have the first baby through laboratory procedure.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Olatinwo said the UITH was capable of
assisting more mothers in Kwara State and beyond to achieve conception. He
added that the hospital had also bought some modern medical equipment for this
purpose.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span>Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-58308834074206360732013-02-24T13:45:00.003-08:002013-02-24T14:45:54.094-08:00Couple breaks ice on IVF success
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">SAMUEL, 48, and Victoria, 42, Olayiwola have become the first couple to
publicly acknowledge that they were able to have quadruplets after 17 years of
marriage, at first attempt, through In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) in Medical Art
Centre (MART), Maryland, Ikeja, Lagos. The Olayiwolas, pastors at Living God
Preparatory Assembly (Rehoboth Basilica), Abule-Egba, Lagos, on Thursday,
February 9, 2012, became proud parents of three girls and a boy – Elizabeth,
Mary, Samuel and Deborah. The quadruplets were delivered under the watchful
eyes of Prof. Godwin Ajayi at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH),
Idi-Araba.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The Olayiwolas, who
celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary on Sunday, March 4, 2012, got to know
of the services offered at MART by the Joint Pioneer of IVF technique in
Nigeria and Adjunct professor at University of Illinois United States, Oladapo
Ashiru, through an article published in newspapers.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">When the couple got to
MART, Victoria was diagnosed with blocked fallopian tubes and overweight. She
was put through a detoxification programme and had to lose 20kg before the
technique started. Victoria and Samuel were put on some antioxidant drugs to
boost the quality of eggs produced by the ovaries and the sperm from the
testicles.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">How did it all happen?
Samuel during a thank you visit to MART recently told The Guardian: “I am here
to show my appreciation to the man God used to bring joy to my family.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">“Two things worked for us;
our faith in God and level of education. Number three is our family members;
maybe because they believe in God they did not put much pressure on us. Finally
what helped my wife was that I had the insight that when you are talking about
infertility it may not necessarily be the lady. My wife and I, we prayed and
the day I saw professor’s interview in the newspapers, the spirit of God said
to me ‘this is an opportunity you should not allow to pass you by.’<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">“When we finally got to
Prof. Ashiru he told us that we could not wait any longer trying other methods
due to our ages, that we have to go straight to the sure method. My wife had
blocked fallopian tubes. When Prof. heard our ages he said ‘where have you
been?’ I am 48 and my wife 42. I got assurances from Prof. that my sperm and my
wife’s eggs were okay. He said I was okay but needed to take some drugs to make
my sperm better.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">What were the challenges?
Samuel explained: “When it was confirmed that my wife was pregnant I was weary
when I was asked to go and sign an undertaking that if anything happened, the
hospital would not be liable. But Prof. explained that it was to make sure that
I understand that if problem arises that the two teams will solve it together
and not to heap the blame on the hospital.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">“Another issue was during
the period of transfer of the embryo back into my wife, Professor travelled and
left it for his assistants. My wife was worried but I told her that Professor
must have set everything right. After the implantation, the first scan showed
three fetuses but by the second one, the fetuses were four; this was because
one of the embryos turned to twins, it later divided again.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">“Another issue was when two
of my babies needed blood and my blood was taken to check whether it matched
for possible transfusion. I was jittery because of stories I read of the use of
donor sperm. But I prayed that my blood corresponds to theirs. I did not doubt
MART but you know naturally I was worried. But when it was confirmed I was very
happy.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">“Another challenge was when
Professor advised that my wife needed the best obstetric care for the babies to
be delivered successfully. We wanted to travel abroad for the delivery but we
had problems getting United Kingdom (UK) visa. I already had South Africa visa
so it was easier to get for my wife. Along the line I was told that South
Africa may have the facilities but Nigeria has better hands. Prof. Ashiru
recommended Prof. Godwin Ajayi of LUTH. He said Ajayi is one of the best hands.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">“When we got to Prof.
Ajayi, he did not allow my wife to go home that day. She was immediately admitted
in his clinic at LUTH. We had problems during the January strike against fuel
subsidy removal. The doctors were helpless in helping. But we prayed that the
strike got resolved quickly.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">On why benefitting couples
were not enthusiastic to come forward? Samuel said: “People are not keen to
come forward to accept that their children were born through IVF probably
because of societal perceptions. As a man of God I feel I should not cover it.
Personally, this issue of nobody coming out is somehow. But I said that if God
will answer me I would testify publicly. In this modern age there is nobody
that is not assisted by technology whether it is scan or drugs. The first time
I met Prof. Ashiru he was talking about his new technology. He said ‘don’t let
this woman get beyond the opportunity.’”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Samuel in a letter of
appreciation to Prof. Ashiru made available to The Guardian said: “On behalf of
myself and my wife, I wish to appreciate you for deploying your God-given
wisdom and knowledge at ensuring that we have children of our own. Sir, you are
a channel who God used to give us everlasting joy; this we are very much
grateful.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">“…I must add Sir, that with
this type of opportunity and prayer, many would stop visiting herbalists that
usually compound their problem. Words cannot express our gratitude.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">To this, Ashiru responded:
“I think we should recognise that the gentleman that came here is the first to
go public. We at MART have been well commended to be the best in Africa. We
have improved the technique in such a way that we are now having several
multiple pregnancies. But in the developed world now, they do not want to hear
the word<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">multiple pregnancy. They
are looking at the economies and all the complications.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">“So, the preaching is to
reduce the number of embryos. We have done that and the multiple pregnancies we
are having this year is less than what we had three years ago. Two years ago we
were having quadruplets because we were using four embryos. Now we have reduced
the number of embryos we are putting back to just three. But as God will do it,
this three ended up four because of twinning.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">“But among the people who
have benefited, the Olayiwolas are coming out to break the ice in such a way.
The last time we had this type of event, the woman wanted to but the husband
did not allow her. People should recognise that there is a technique that can
help people. People are now coming from throughout West Africa to benefit.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">On whether there were
challenges in handling the Olawiyolas case? Ashiru said: “I think they were
very lucky, there were no hindrance. There was little or no challenge. All they
had to do is to take medication to make sure the ovaries and sperm were fully
functional. They took antioxidant drugs to ensure better sperm and ovarian
production. The next thing was that the woman had to lose weight. She lost
20kg. She had to go through our detoxification and weight loss programme.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Ashiru, who is also the
medical director of MART further stated: “This thing will demystify IVF. In
some years back if people delivered through caesarean section they did not want
people to know. I thank the Olayiwolas that they are able to come forward. I
hope by so doing Nigerians will know that IVF is a normal process and these
babies are normal children.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">“I have been in this process
since 1981 but the successes have been hidden because people do not come
forward and even when they do, they come with pseudo-names. The Olayiwolas’s
success is the reward for patience and dedication. I take this as God’s help
from the Almighty. To me this call is a call to humanity, to service.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-13509591947441245912012-06-09T04:37:00.003-07:002012-06-09T05:01:29.297-07:00‘I didn’t know that treatment for our issue was a bus stop away’<div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><strong>the quadruplets below:Elizabeth, Samuel, Mary & Deborah</strong></span></div><div><strong><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:78%;"></span></strong> </div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:180%;">Seventeen ye<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-KZps48TGctqraNAlQcanhlMkGNW2ks0SNK3DanBI38J8hlwhjHXsffaqAfr67FY6nZ9-3xLf_QUPSVxfyjXNnfvXOwjCXtWZtAcZJvT0rNjdp53JyLxCeSWyHQMPyM-cGufiEphFQk/s1600/The-Olayiwola-quadruplets-Elizabeth-Mary-Samuel-and-Deborah-360x270.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 320px; height: 240px; float: left; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5752005246686017346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-KZps48TGctqraNAlQcanhlMkGNW2ks0SNK3DanBI38J8hlwhjHXsffaqAfr67FY6nZ9-3xLf_QUPSVxfyjXNnfvXOwjCXtWZtAcZJvT0rNjdp53JyLxCeSWyHQMPyM-cGufiEphFQk/s320/The-Olayiwola-quadruplets-Elizabeth-Mary-Samuel-and-Deborah-360x270.jpg" /></a>ars ago when they got married, Samuel and Victoria Olayiwola had no idea of the battle they had to wage against childlessness. Doctors told them they were perfectly normal to have kids. But they didn’t, until they read an article in Sunday PUNCH and their story changed for the better, writes SOLAADE AY-ADERELE. His effusiveness on the phone was palpable. And when he presented himself physically to be interviewed for this story, his joy was infectious. He simply couldn’t contain his gratitude to God and his physician.<br />His wife was no less happy, though she seemed to be savouring the reality of becoming a mother for the first time after 17 years of marriage.<br />For Mr. Samuel Olayiwola and his wife, Victoria,<br />the joy of being parents after nearly two decades of trying for children is indescribable, what with the attendant frustrations and search for solutions that took them to various hospitals before they finally berthed at the Medical Assisted Reproductive Therapy Centre, Lagos, headed by internationally-acclaimed fertility expert, Prof. Oladapo Ashiru.<br />Tracing the history of their childlessness, Samuel says the problem became more complicated when doctor after doctor told him and his wife that they were perfectly normal to achieve pregnancy as a couple. This was after they had done all that was humanly possible yet unproductive.<br />“When you are told you have no biological impairment as to be barren, then you wonder what the problem is all about,” the joyous father reminisces. The puzzle and prayer continued until, as Samuel<br />says, he read an article about the possibility of having children through scientific processes as published in the Sunday PUNCH of February 6, 2011. Without wasting time, he located Prof. Ashiru who was interviewed for the story.<br />Even after meeting the professor of reproductive<br />endocrinology, who is one of the two pioneers of in-vitro fertilisation in Black Africa in 1984, and produced the first test tube baby in West Africa in 1989, Samuel still hesitated to access the available treatment; the cultural<br />bias against the treatment he was being introduced to was a deterrent, never<br />mind the nights of tears he and his wife had had to endure as a result of their childlessness. Relations on both sides of the divide were able to convince the couple that there was nothing wrong in the treatment on offer, and, some months after the first visit to MART, the Olayiwolas commenced treatment. In less than one year, their dreams were fulfilled via the delivery of a healthy set of quadruplets.<br />As Samuel and Victoria Olayiwola were interviewed<br />for their story, it was obvious that the delay wouldn’t have dragged on for so long if the various doctors they had seen earlier had diagnosed the problem. In<br />fact, the case seemed so minor that, unlike some IVF cases where the patients have to undergo many trials before conception can be achieved, Mrs. Olayiwola<br />got pregnant the very first time she went through the treatment — a feat which Ashiru attributes to superior technological advancement that MART uses.<br />Ashiru explains that about 20 per cent of female<br />infertility can be attributed to tubal causes; and this can be as a result of Pelvic Inflammatory Diseases, infection during medical procedures, when faecal matter comes into contact with the vagina, high fever in children, and sundry other reasons.<br />In the case of PID, Ashiru says, as an infection begins, the body gets ready to attack. White blood cells and other fluids fill the tubes to fight the infection. If the body resistance is good, it wins; but in the bargain, the fragile walls of the tube get scarred.<br />“Due to this, the end of the tube towards the ovaries can get partially or completely blocked and scarred tissues form on the outside of the tube. These circumstances can affect the functions of the<br />ovaries and the fallopian tube and can lead to infertility,” he says.<br />Because of the sensitivity of couples that come for fertility treatment, Ashiru says, MART takes patients through some counselling sessions, preparatory to the actual treatment, during which they are told the nature of the problem and the appropriate treatment.<br />While Ashiru says age is no barrier when couples come for IVF treatment, he does agree that after age 40, both woman and man may need a little treatment to boost the eggs and the sperm respectively.<br />Indeed, according to a 2004 issue of the American<br />Journal of Gynaecology, in one study of couples undergoing high-tech infertility treatments, researchers concluded that a man’s chances of fathering a child decrease with each passing year.<br />In the study, the odds of a successful pregnancy fell by 11 per cent every year; while the couple’s chances for obtaining a successful live birth declined even farther. “In such situation, the man receives medications to make the semen viable,” Ashiru says.<br />Hence, when Samuel demurred after his first visit to the clinic, Ashiru warned that considering that both husband and wife were in their 40s, it was advisable to get the job done while the window of opportunity was still open.<br />Ashiru also discloses that sometimes, a woman can<br />be taken through weight loss programme prior to IVF treatment if she’s considered overweight. Victoria went through this, shedding almost 20kg in the process.<br />While studies connecting obesity to anovulation<br />(failure to produce eggs or to discharge them from an ovary) are not new, a study led by Dr. Van der Steeg, a medical researcher at the Academic Medical Center in The Netherlands shows that even women who regularly ovulate experience sub-fertility when their body mass index is in the overweight or obese category.<br />In other words, the researchers found that women<br />with regular cycles and otherwise no obvious fertility problems still have a hard time getting pregnant if they are overweight. They also found that the<br />more overweight the woman is, the lower her chances of pregnancy.<br />Ashiru says excess weight in women prevents<br />fertility by many factors. “For one, ovarian hormone is destabilised, making<br />hormonal stimulation complicated when undergoing IVF treatment, as treatment can disappear into fatty tissues, among others; hence the weight loss advice<br />where necessary, which we have found to be effective over the years.”<br />While the couple would not put a price to the treatment they received, Ashiru jokes that they paid for a child and got four in the bargain. What happened is this: generally, in any IVF treatment, embryos are transferred into the woman. In the early days of IVF, more embryo transfers<br />took place in part because the rate of success was quite low; and patients sometimes went through several trials — sometimes as many as 10 or more cycles<br />before conception could take place. Then, it was common to have sextuplets.<br />However, as technology advances, the picture becomes clearer and, to make for the health of mother and child(ren), fewer embryo transfers are done. In fact, in recent times, experts advise that no more<br />than three embryo transfers should be done. So, the Olayiwolas had three embryo transfers, and an egg later divided into two, with all of them surviving till birth. The<br />couple had three girls and a boy.<br />After Victoria’s pregnancy had been confirmed, the Olayiwolas didn’t want to take chances. Samuel decided to take his wife abroad, where he thought she could obtain the best monitoring while the pregnancy lasted. The couple obtained South African visas, but Ashiru<br />successfully talked them out of it, referring them rather to a trusted colleague of his, a professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Godwin Ajayi, who nurtured Victoria under his<br />care, successfully delivering her of the children on February 9.<br />When asked what his advice is for couples-in-waiting, Samuel says it’s better for them to seek treatment once it has been confirmed that something is amiss.<br />Indeed, doctors advise couples to seek viable<br />treatment if, after one year of unprotected sexual intercourse they fail to achieve pregnancy.<br />Samuel says that until he came about the Sunday<br />PUNCH article, he wasn’t aware of any such treatment. “Knowledge is power,” he confesses.<br />Ashiru commends the Olayiwolas for “putting a<br />face” to the IVF treatment. This becomes necessary, he says, because couples are almost always reluctant to come out in the open to say they’ve accessed IVF<br />treatment simply because of the ignorance and cultural bias that people still have about the procedure.<br />Explaining the scientific advancement that has<br />been achieved through the IVF, Ashiru says, “with IVF, even couples who are both sickle cell carriers can have absolutely normal children without a trace<br />of the disorder. We deploy a technique called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to determine the healthy genetic status of embryos before transfer. Ditto for other genetic disorders like Down’s Syndrome, etc.<br />“Children born through the IVF are as normal as<br />any child and there is no reason whatsoever to see them otherwise,” Ashiru concludes.<br /><span style="font-size:78%;">SOURCE PUNCH NIGERIA</span><br /></span></div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:180%;"></span>Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-84493539959852273802012-04-20T00:42:00.003-07:002012-04-20T00:51:40.150-07:00Sex selection: Between desire and necessity<em><span style="font-size:85%;">dr. ogunkoya</span></em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsbZ940YncieDQGI6b41HOUf2ieCOCKm_lRJyzWMvQbyskAG65V8w5ra5ci-gd29C40Ff4-bZBz0CCYgSI6j37GjzCf0Y9DGCD6nRi9NnoLryTYwS95tGy097uhWgiG-v19qwuZWxWv24/s1600/dr_ogunkoya_of_hope_valley.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 169px; height: 200px; float: left; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5733387205014561666" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsbZ940YncieDQGI6b41HOUf2ieCOCKm_lRJyzWMvQbyskAG65V8w5ra5ci-gd29C40Ff4-bZBz0CCYgSI6j37GjzCf0Y9DGCD6nRi9NnoLryTYwS95tGy097uhWgiG-v19qwuZWxWv24/s200/dr_ogunkoya_of_hope_valley.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">GOD gave us choice so we have the right to choose!” Henrietta was telling John,<br />her husband why they needed to have a girl third time around. The couple<br />already had two boys, Kenneth and Kevin who were 5 and 3 respectively.<br />Now Henrietta was pregnant again and<br />her belief was that baby No. 3 should be a girl. But John was being more<br />practical. “Let’s not tempt God. It doesn’t matter whether this child turns out<br />to be a boy or girl. If God wanted us to be choosing, He would have asked Adam<br />and Eve to choose,” he argued.<br />According to John, God didn’t give<br />Adam and Eve choice for their children’s gender, rather, in His wisdom, He gave<br />them Cain and Abel, both boys.” We should be thankful that we even have<br />children that are healthy and normal. Children are the same after all.”<br />But Henrietta would have none of<br />that. “Children are not the same because there are boys and there are girls.<br />They are different and we should have both. We already have two sons and that<br />is enough. I want a daughter and I am willing to do whatever is necessary to<br />get one,” she said with finality. The argument continued.<br />The Abahs had a similar challenge.<br />Like every other couple in this part of the world, Josephine and Joseph Abah<br />looked forward to having children with a balanced gender bias. Eleven months<br />after their wedding vows, their first child arrived. It was a boy.<br />Their joy knew no bounds, more so<br />when they live in a parochial society where male children are give preference.<br />But this joy was short lived. Few months later, it was discovered that the baby<br />boy had Haemophilia, an abnormal blood clotting condition more common in males.<br />The Abahs were devastated. They<br />tried again for the second child. The second baby also turned out to be a boy.<br />Alas, he also came down with the same disease condition. Neither Josephine nor<br />Joseph could explain their predicament.<br />The search for treatment began.<br />During one hospital visit, they met a doctor who explained more about the<br />condition and possible treatment. They were told the disease is sex-linked and<br />prevalent in the family, and that a way out is to try sex selection principles<br />through assisted reproduction to reduce chances of having another male child<br />with such condition<br />Said Josephine, “It dawned on us<br />that even though we are capable of making children naturally, we can only have<br />healthier children through In-Vitro Fertilisation, IVF. We went to a very good<br />fertility treatment centre in Lagos. We did it and we were able to select the<br />preferred sex for our baby.”<br />However, gender balancing or gender selection<br />has remained an issue, especially in Nigeria. Many homes have been broken but<br />with the advent of science of gender selection many homes will be saved.<br />Hope Valley Fertility Clinic is a<br />major player in the technique. Thanks to the technique, Josphine now has a baby<br />girl.<br />Toyin Odoh also benefited from the<br />wonders of IVF. Diagnosed with Turner ’s syndrome, a condition that results<br />from a missing or incomplete sex chromosome, for Toyin and her hubby, Ben, it<br />was like there was not going to be normal children.<br />After two years of unsuccessful<br />attempts, they turned to fertility clinics. Although, they were in London,<br />Toyin returned to Nigeria for treatment. The couple’s testimony was moving. “In<br />199 I was diagnosed of Turner syndrome and this means I cannot conceive<br />normally. We have been married for two years wish to have our own children”<br />At first, “I read an interview of<br />Dr. Michael Ogunkoya of Hope Valley Fertility Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos. I<br />called him from London, explained my condition and he invited me over. I came<br />to Nigeria in April 2009 and he placed me on medication for IVF and one month<br />later to God’s glory, it was successful.<br />After all my treatments abroad, it<br />was at the Hope Valley Fertility Clinic, I was treated and conceived. I thank<br />God for putting smiles in my home and family,” she noted.<br />Sex selection fact and myth<br />A Consultant Gynaecologist &<br />Fertility Specialist, Ogunkoya who successfully handled the cases enumerated<br />above gave insight into the many issues surrounding sex selection, as well as<br />increased reports on male infertility and why multiple births are occurring in<br />older women.<br />An experienced physician of<br />international and local standing, he explained: “Sex selection has always been<br />on the agenda for many homes in Africa before now. Even the old Chinese<br />believed that the male sperm comes from left testis. There have been other<br />efforts around the world to influence sex of babies. In Nigeria for instance,<br />some people believe that if some people use some back of trees or leaves they<br />will have male children.”<br />Ogunkoya who stressed that there<br />have been so many tales and myths that are completely not true about sex<br />selection, said: “Sex selection is not all about balancing sex rather the main<br />aim of sex selection is to reduce and prevent abnormalities.<br />The fertility specialist who stated<br />that many IVF babies have been delivered at Hope Valley Clinics said sex<br />selection has also been successfully achieved. “Apart from gender balancing,<br />there are other reasons, one of such is to avoid sex link disorders that are<br />prevalence in some families like colour blindness, haemophilia and acute<br />haemophilia.<br />Sex selection allows such families<br />who are prevalent to such disease conditions to decide the gender that suits<br />their family. Like in the case of Josephine, the couple was able to decide<br />whether to have a male child or a female child.<br />Sperm sorting<br />Ogunkoya noted that the only<br />clinically proven method of sex selection was the MicroSort Sperm Sorting<br />Theory. “The MicroSort principle is a clinical technique used to sort and<br />separate the two different types of sperm, X and Y, that is the female and the<br />male sperm.<br />Once the sperm is sorted out, it can<br />be artificially inseminated (IUI), in this case you would need the sperm<br />sorting to be done on the day of ovulation.” Although it said that sperm cannot<br />be sorted into the two types 100 per cent accurately, clinical examination has<br />shown success rates for girls is 90 per cent while male chances of success fall<br />around 75 per cent.<br />According to him, “For a Nigerian<br />couple that needs the procedure, we are living in a parochial society where<br />there are much desire for male children, here if somebody has good sperm and<br />wants a male child we collect sperm from him and freeze it and send to<br />MicroSort abroad in a special container and when it gets there the separate the<br />male sperm and female. So separation has always been on our agenda but it<br />attracts extra cost”.<br />Explaining how the separation is<br />done he said: “The principle of MicroSort is based on the fact that the female<br />sperm has a bigger DNA and attracts more dye to the DNA, when you now put the<br />sperm on a conveyor belt, on either side you will now put an anti- dye which<br />will now attract DNA.<br />The anti dye will therefore attract<br />the sperm that has more dye to the female sperm to the side. So female sperm<br />tends to aggregates more to the side of the conveyor belt while the male sperm<br />remains at the centre. The sperm has a head, neck and a tail. This head is<br />where the DNA is. The female sperm DNA is fatter, and sluggish in movement, and<br />because the female sperm is fatter the DNA is more and that of the male sperm<br />is slimmer but faster.<br />Male sperm vs female sperm<br />“When the sperm is poured on the<br />conveyor belt, and the anti – dye, on either side, you put an anti- dye; the<br />dye will stain the head of the DNA because the DNA attracts the dye. So the<br />head of the female will attract more dye because it is a bigger DNA.<br />The sperm is moving along the<br />conveyor belt and the anti dye both sides will sort of, attract the dye like a<br />magnet and iron. If you put a magnet here and an iron is moving there, it will<br />attract the iron because the magnet is there.<br />If you put the sperm with the dye on<br />their head and an anti dye on the same axis, but all along the conveyor belt,<br />you find more dye by the side than the centre. And because of the dye on the<br />head of the sperm, it will attract more dye<br />“At the edge of the conveyor belt<br />you find more female sperm at the periphery while the anti dye is at the centre<br />where you find the male sperm. They have used the mere fact that the male sperm<br />contained less DNA and less dye than the female sperm which contained more DNA<br />and more dye in separating them since the anti – dye attract and the female<br />sperm to the side.<br />So the principle is therefore<br />separating the female sperm and male sperm. At a distance, you discover that<br />many of the sperm at the side will be female and many of the sperm at the<br />centre will be male. And it is the only objective demonstrating method of sex<br />selection known. It is still under research. It is still not available.<br />So for some reasons when you<br />separate such sperms, the person who wants female will take and the person who<br />also wants the female will use the female”<br />However, due to extra costs, most<br />clients opt for another method of sex selection which is a bit more scientific.<br />“It is the fact that some people make love around the time of their ovulation.<br />This involves timing of intercourse.<br />The idea is based on the fact that<br />female sperm are larger and slower and Male sperm is faster but more fragile.<br />So a few days before ovulation favours the larger but slower female sperm while<br />sex at the time of ovulation favours the faster male sperm”.<br />However, Ogunkoya counseled that<br />this method requires careful counting and ovulation testing to determine<br />exactly when the ovulation will occur. The fertility expert who noted that the<br />recipe for success is not just simple but a combination of so many factors<br />which includes diligence, hard work and transparency to patients emphasized on<br />factors such as regular updating of equipment, training and retraining of<br />staff.<br />Desire for male children<br />According to him: “There is more<br />desire for male babies but statistically most IVF babies tend to be male a<br />ratio of about 8 to 2 or 4 to 1. We cannot tell you precisely, the basis for<br />that. In our practice we have noted that. In our practice we have sort of noted<br />that there must be a factor within the concept of Assisted Reproduction which<br />imposes that. We are yet to find out the science behind it.<br />“Somehow, the process of IVF relies<br />on the fact that sperm should be able to fertilise the egg to make embryo. It<br />is usually that the sperm that is moving faster to get to the eggs should make<br />the embryo. We still don=t know. A lot of efforts have to be put into it. May<br />be we should start marking sperm to know which one makes the embryo. It is also<br />possible to actively influence sex by selecting them”<br />Explaining the advent of multiple<br />births in old women, he notes; “During the process of IVF we normally transfer<br />more than three embryos back to the woman’s womb although these days, you only<br />need to transfer less than three embryos.<br />In some cases one and the idea is<br />that most European communities rather not have multiple pregnancies and<br />deliveries because of the social preferences. In Africa, we like multiple<br />births and in fact we celebrate them. The tendency therefore is that if you go<br />to such countries today, if you have 10 embryos, the highest they can transfer<br />is two.<br />And if you probably have twins<br />before and you do IVF again, and the eggs are beautiful, they will probably<br />transfer only one egg. There is the advocacy for two embryo transfer or one in<br />some countries. But in Nigeria we still transfer up four embryos for reasons<br />that we welcome triplets. If the three or four embryos are implanted properly<br />that may result to triplets or quadruplets. So there is propondence of multiple<br />births in Assisted Reproduction than in non assisted births.<br />Male infertility<br />“Yes as a woman gets older, the eggs<br />become older as in fewer quality and quantity because as she gets older at age<br />13, the eggs that are being released are of a better quality than the eggs<br />later in life. That is the law of natural selection. But to a man is the same<br />but that of a man is to a lesser extent because the sperm of a man of 20 years<br />is definitely better than that of a man of 30 years.<br />As a man’s age advances, the sperm<br />gets poorer. It is easy to say that more men are getting problems of<br />infertility but all is enough awareness. The apparent increase of male problems<br />is created out of increase awareness. If there is any increase at all, it could<br />be traced to environmental problems and nutrition.<br />Increase awareness, a lot of people<br />now know where to go for their problems, there is no true increase in male<br />infertility it is increase in awareness. Women are now being encouraged to come<br />forward and the women are also being encouraged to bring their husbands along for<br />necessary tests.<br />Multiple births<br />In Africa people do not talk about<br />their pregnancy and a lot of people do not talk about achieving pregnancy<br />through IVF. They prefer to keep it secret. Anybody who gets pregnant at the<br />age of 42 is mostly through IVF but I am not saying that at 42 women cannot get<br />pregnant on their own.<br />But in reality, after age 45, it is<br />really difficult for women to get pregnant on their own apart from assisted<br />reproductive system. If they introduce two to three eggs and most times the<br />result came out to be multiple births and for somebody at that age, will want<br />to have three or more children at a time and forget about having more.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:78%;">source: vanguard; by chioma obinna</span></strong></span>Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-52136689867438400032012-02-14T10:11:00.000-08:002012-02-14T10:15:48.539-08:00ANOTHER FEAT IN IVF RECORDED BY NAUTH GYNAECOLOGIST<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbdcb1VD65JQZWjDQl_0RkzW66Pgv0Fn9K1BJrveP3LlObhc1UcQJkHrV5zYyk0zdYelkS8JGIiEaLJMm6lOL3vkgStdJF38SuSw_Jc02p8QZB_LZAF23QamEIBgVUAi4O_sLclNVxTE0/s1600/prof+ikebechelu.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5709056641752318194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbdcb1VD65JQZWjDQl_0RkzW66Pgv0Fn9K1BJrveP3LlObhc1UcQJkHrV5zYyk0zdYelkS8JGIiEaLJMm6lOL3vkgStdJF38SuSw_Jc02p8QZB_LZAF23QamEIBgVUAi4O_sLclNVxTE0/s320/prof+ikebechelu.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">Another feat in Invitro Fertilization (IVF), has been recorded by the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, NAUTH, Nnewi, Gynecologist, Professor Joseph Ifeanyichukwu Ikechebelu, the Medical Director of Life Specialist Hospital, Nnewi with the delivery of a baby boy – Favour, through Invitro Fertilization (IVF).This brought to five women who have delivered through the process in the hospital within the last 6 months.</span></div><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">Confirming that the mother and child were in stable condition, Ikechebelu, said the baby boy delivered Saturday by 8.02 weighed 2.7 kg.</span></div><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">Ikechebelu who is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Nnewi and his team of doctors, nurses and embryologists performed the cesarean operation to deliver the baby and concluded other processes within 45 minutes.“This is the fifth time this processes is being carried out in this hospital. Our first baby-baby Joseph through IVF was delivered on 6th August, 2011, second was triplets delivered on 17th November, 2011; third baby boy was delivered on Nov 28, 2011.The 4th were triplets again delivered on December 26th, 2011 and this one now.‘‘We have over ten women already pregnant and carrying their babies and we are monitoring them pending their time of delivery’’.</span></div><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">Life Specialist is the only fertility hospital in Anambra State specialized in putting smiles on the faces of our women who could not ordinarily conceive and deliver their babies normally’’.Every couple still have a chance of having their own babies. Here we specialize in turning tears into joy.”Her mother (the babe’s grand mother) , name withheld by this medium said she and members of her family were overwhelmed by joy at the sight of the baby.</span></div><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">“We are happy for this opportunity because for sometime now, she was unable to conceive and deliver her own baby but we are happy and to God be the glory.</span></div><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">Dr Osuorah Chidebele Donatus , a Pediatrician with Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Awka described the processes of IVF as an artificial way of conception through some complex medical procedure outside the woman’s womb before implanting it back into the woman’s body through surgical process.</span></div><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;"><br /></span></div>Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-25290487002869658022010-06-19T08:54:00.000-07:002010-06-19T08:56:30.080-07:00Lagos Hospital Delivers Nigeria’s Oldest IVF Mother<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">A Lagos based specialist hospital, St. IVES has successfully delivered a 57-year-old woman, Mrs. Adeyemi Taiwo, of a bouncing baby girl. This was achieved through the Invitro –fertilization, IVF, unit of the hospital.<br />According to the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Tunde Okewale, the delivery is the oldest case he has handled since the Fertility Unit of the hospital was established.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;"><br />“The woman is arguably the oldest IVF mother in Nigeria. Interestingly too, the baby weighed 2 kg when it was delivered at 7.45 a.m on May 11, 2010 after 35 weeks of gestation,” Okewale stated.<br /><br />The baby was delivered through C/S after comprehensive IVF treatment at the hospital by a team of five doctors which comprised of Obstetrician and Gynecologist, Embryologist and Neonatologists.</span>Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-68860458606770430722010-01-13T01:05:00.000-08:002010-01-13T01:13:54.196-08:00How IVF Saved a-20-Year Old Marriage<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">Lagos — If only Felicia knew she could be relieved of her infertility problem with money, she could not have spent two decades in agony looking for a child, notwithstanding the embarrassments from her husband's relations.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;"><br />When she was married 20 years ago, she was full of expectation that after some months, she will have a baby but unfortunately, she was disappointed. She continued hoping that one day her desires shall be met. Even when she thought of adopting a child, she had probably thought of the implications.<br /><br /><br />But the joy is full when you have your own baby. This issue could have probably become the centre of discussion during her husband's family meeting, and the option of marrying another wife would have been the most desired solution.<br />But, her shame and agony became a thing of the past last year when she gave birth to a set of twins through In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF), an assisted fertility means of getting pregnant.<br />Only the environment could explain how joyful the entire family of Mrs. Felicia was as well as the management of St. Ives Hospital in Ikeja, Lagos State.<br />The babies were delivered through Caesarian Section, and were said to be doing well as they were now out of the incubator. The mother was not disposed due to some medications she is being placed on but it is gathered that she and her babies are doing well.<br />According to medical research, IVF has become the major treatment for infertility when other methods of assisted reproductive technology have failed. The process involves harmoniously controlling the ovulatory process, removing ova (eggs) from the woman's ovaries and letting sperm fertilise them in a fluid medium.<br />The fertilised egg (zygote) is then transferred to the patient's uterus with the intent to establish a successful pregnancy. This is used when parents are having infertility problems or they want to have multiple births. The first test tube baby, Louise Brown, was born in 1978.<br /><br />In an attempt to put the woman on interview to share her experience during those years of looking for the fruit of the womb and how she felt now that she has seen her joy come to pass, the matron of the hospital, Mrs Kudirat Adetoun who happened to be on duty throughout her pregnancy period, spoke to Saturday Vanguard and revealed some of Felicia's expressions when she gave birth to her children.<br /><br />Mrs. Kudirat Adetoun, told Saturday Vanguard that the first time, Felicia set her eyes on her babies, the first statement that came out of her mouth was, <span style="color:#996633;"><strong><em>"So it was because of N500, 000 that I'd waited all this while.," "If I had known, I would have come to this hospital earlier,"</em></strong> </span>then she started crying, said Mrs. Adetoun.<br />"Then I answered and said, may be this is the right time that God has destined for you to see your children.<br /><strong><em><span style="color:#663300;">When God is ready to visit you, all that I know is that He will do it and nobody will share in His glory",</span></em></strong> she continued.<br />I remember, the first day, she came to this hospital and complained that she couldn't take in not even once. As one of the matrons, I was assigned to be her companion based on the test carried out on her. She had undergone series of tests and according to the doctor's findings, it was discovered that she wouldn't be able to conceive on her own except through assisted reproduction.<br />So, she was put on, IVF, and when the virginal scan was done, it became a multiple gestation and when she came after the procedure, she was put on pregnancy test and it was positive although, nobody knew, the result was going to be a set of twin.<br />My surprise is that, women who are in her category hardly come out positive because her case was a special one and that was why she was on a special payroll. Even if, she was going to conceive naturally, it has to be through counseling because of her age.<br /><br />Secondly because she has been infertile for many years, there is a natural tendency that she is tensed up, the blood pressure might be on a high side, so there is need to check and balance, not forgetting that naturally there is pregnancy induced hypertension, so it has been counseling and placing her on drug before she was able to be monitored till date and today, she has her twin babies.<br />When asked to give account of her condition during the period of pregnancy and the delivery especially on her health, the matron confirmed that the condition was not different to a natural way of getting pregnant and there was no complication due to the fact that she had adhered to all medical instructions which is capable of keeping her fit for the condition.<br />"Her health was encouraging because, she had adhered to all medical instructions; her drugs, the salt- free diet, in fact, there is nothing she was told to do that she wouldn't do as a person. I remember that whenever she was told to do anything, she only replies and says, " I don't mind doing anything, if only I would see my child, I wouldn't mind".<br />No wonder people say, "Money answers all things, in fact, there is little that money cannot do. If she hadn't gotten any money, she wouldn't have been a mother now let alone coming to this hospital for IVF . She would rather remain in her formal position crying all the way.<br />Although there are so many rich women outside there who are not ready to use their money on such thing but she was different and we thank God that day, she has gotten her children. There is hope for the hopeless".<br />When asked to predict the joy of a woman who has been looking for a child for a long time and now has a set of twin, Mrs. Adetoun, said, "Even when she doses off, she still wants to remember those moment, the first time, she set her eyes on her children and when she carried them on her arms because it was like a dream that will never come through but now becoming reality. Truly, there is nothing like you having your own child.<br />However, she noted that, although, Felicia's case was the first of its like in the hospital but after hers, there have been lots of women with similar experience, but could now rejoice because they are now mothers. "Apart from Felicia, there are other women who have been placed on IVF in order to have their children; adding that there is no month that the hospital will not have an additional of one or two babies born through IVF.<br />The medical doctor, Tunde Okewale, Chief Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at the hospital who carried out the operation on Felicia also revealed the IVF unit was established at the hospital based on the findings that there had been an intense increase in infertility amongst couples in the country.<br />"When this hospital was established 11 years ago, there was no plan for any IVF unit, but when it was discovered that there had been intense increase in infertility problem, research was carried out on how to curb or drastically reduce the number of people who are affected and that was why an IVF unit was established in July 2007. And by June 2008, we celebrated first IVF baby at the hospital.<br />Sharing his experience, the doctor said, "the operation has been fantastic and it has become an eye opener to infertile couples, some of whom have been relieved of their troubles.<br />"With IVF, those who are written off can have cause to rejoice. Felicia came to this hospital last year August, although she has lost hope that she was going to have a baby of her own due to her condition and on the condition that she has been barren for the past 20 years.<br />According to medical research, it was discovered that her tube had been blocked and secondly, the husband's sperm was low. Apparently, they have tried all the possible means of fertility prospect and management, but there was no result until they opted for IVF as the last resort.<br />"What makes her case special is that, apart from her 20 years of infertility, she has out-grown the age that she could probably conceive a child, she was 45 years, the less likely that a successful IVF will be carried out on her. The success rate at her age was 16 to 20 per cent, so she was really lucky, I believe that God was ready to favour her, he continued.<br />"Like other unit world wide, the spark of the IVF operation in any unit always call for celebration. The first one is always the biggest one and subsequently. Every IVF baby is always special because of the circumstances behind them. The price paid during the infertility period, the pain, the anger, the depression that the woman or the couple passes through is enough to tell the story.<br />The truth is that a child born through IVF cannot be differentiated from a natural born baby. Another thing is the IVF babies are always brilliant children. There was a case of a woman who after IVF gave birth to her children on her own without an intervention of IVF, so these children have no problem.<br />"The scope of IVF has been expanded as couples prefer to have their children through IVF. And the truth is that, the people might later be having their subsequent children without any assistance.<br /><br />"At times, the effect of the injection given through IVF also helps in producing lots of eggs as the eggs produced are being fertilised during IVF operation. Another aspect is that when the eggs are matured, it is brought out from the woman which is called, retrieval of the egg from the woman. The third part has to do with the proper IVF, which involves mixing the eggs of the woman with the sperm of the man which is called the In Vitro Fertilisation, IVF.<br />"The last part is that the embryos that have grown will be put into the woman which is called embryo transplant. At this period, the process of IVF usually last for 21 days and the doctor will have to wait for another 14 days, before conducting the final pregnancy test.<br />Asked what the cost of an IVF service worth, he said, "IVF is not cheap anywhere in the world because the cost of setting up an IVF unit on its own, or employing dedicated professionals and the facilities to carry out the operation is very expensive".<br />Speaking on the present situation of infertility as a major problem amongst couples in the country, he said, a woman or man could become infertile after having unprotected sexual intercourse for a year on several occasions.<br />The problem of infertility is epidemic in Nigeria to the extent that there is an increase in the number of people who are infertile now unlike in the days of our parents, it was very rare to find two women out of 10 women still looking for the fruit of the womb.<br />But nowadays, there is an increase in the rate of sexually transmitted diseases STDs including gonorrhea which are poorly treated based on people's ignorance to go for proper medical check-up which apparently may result to infertility.<br />"Apart from this problem, the inability of the lady to get married on time has also contributed to the increase in infertility problem.<br />According to medical research, "The peak of a woman's fertility is between the age of 20 and 30. But, due to different career pursuits in life by people, some women prefer to marry at the age of 37 or 38 and at that time her fertility capacity tends to drop and that is another issue.<br /><br />"Pollution and stress are other environmental problems that is contributing to infertility in the country today. About 25 per cent of newly married couples are infertile. 40 per cent of that 25 per cent would get pregnant on their own through some basic infertility investigations and counseling, using some fertility drugs, but 60 per cent of that 25 per cent will require some form of assisted conception which involves IVF.<br />"Obesity is another problem of infertility. For women, the hormone that controls fertility can get easily derailed by fat that is why it is very difficult to women who are above the required age to get pregnant, some women need to lose their weight before they can be pregnant.<br /><br />"Before the invention of IVF, any woman or man diagnosed infertile is always advised to settle for adoption but since 1978,and there is a finality to that issue since 1978 when IVF was discovered, it was tested that a man's sperm which is mixed with the woman's sperm can fertilise outside and then placed into the woman's womb, then the embryo continues to grow without being disturbed.<br /><br />Reiterating that IVF is carried out through an egg brought from the woman and the sperm of the man mixed together in the laboratory and after which it will be returned inside the woman. At that level, the woman, has no control again. It's either the womb accepts or rejects. "For IVF, it is not only one embryo that is used replaced, rather, it is replaced in two, three or four and that is why the babies come either in twice, triplets.<br />"The first result was was achieved in 1978 in United Kingdom by Edward one of the pioneers and at the same year, the first test-tube was born. And at the same year, Indian reported her own case in November, making the second IVF, by 1980.<br />Australia reported its own, in 1981, U.S. had its own IVF baby. Few years after that, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, reported a successful IVF baby. Then the news spread through worldwide and the people that had been written off, can have their babies. As the years went by the indications for IVF started expanding. And since then, millions of babies have been born through IVF, he added.<br /></span>Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-72334161402932864282009-12-22T00:17:00.000-08:002009-12-22T00:21:43.712-08:00BRIDGE CLINIC RECORDS MILESTONE<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">The Bridge Clinic, the leading assisted-conception unit in Nigeria, reached a major milestone in its 10 year existence recently when it recorded its 1000th live birth.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">A statement by Amaka Agu said the baby girl who was born at 8.30am on Thursday 12 November, 2009 at Finnih Medical Centre, GRA Ikeja weighing 3.1kg was born, following a second treatment cycle by In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) with Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), to a couple who had experienced infertility for 13 years and sought treatment at The Bridge Clinic.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">The Clinic, an ISO 9001:2000 accredited assisted-conception unit, has successfully set itself apart as one of the leaders in the field of assisted-conception by being the fertility clinic with the highest record of deliveries in Nigeria today.Currently operating three branches in Ikeja, Victoria Island (both in Lagos) and Port Harcourt, the Bridge Clinic provides high quality fertility treatment in Nigeria; treatments which many of their patients believe is comparable to similar facilities abroad.The company’s Managing Director, Dr Richard Ajayi announced that “Our record is currently unparalleled in Nigeria. We are dedicated to ensuring our clients’ main objective of delivering healthy babies is met and our record of 1000th baby is proof we haven’t reneged on our aim.”He declared that the clinic is determined to maintain these impressive results, stressing that the level of professionalism and care would be maintained through continuous staff development and training. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">He also stressed that the clinic would always keep up with cutting edge developments in its field of assisted-conception and reproductive medicine in general.Ajayi said, “The joy of the clinic’s 1000th birth is like an early Christmas present for us at The Bridge Clinic; a present that reminds us that all the hard work and dedication we put into assisting couples experiencing delays in childbirth is worth it.”<br /><strong><span style="font-size:78%;">SOURCE: THISDAY</span></strong></span>Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-12240027364747093892009-11-22T23:29:00.000-08:002010-01-16T15:11:11.014-08:00Governor’s Wife Pregnant Through IVF<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBnbscXIzoq4VBYjlqLvYXsvuzILsdYANxA59uqLNLEKiRpE_bXltCCkO5lCFwgDwxbE1rMWZfAnVtFd07NpNFXQiALT6OWgUcbG4Setc2QDR4Z3J05gxdTA7xbDyUi_VYJ0Q1w5ls5bk/s1600-h/Graphic1[1].JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427478897102027218" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 172px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBnbscXIzoq4VBYjlqLvYXsvuzILsdYANxA59uqLNLEKiRpE_bXltCCkO5lCFwgDwxbE1rMWZfAnVtFd07NpNFXQiALT6OWgUcbG4Setc2QDR4Z3J05gxdTA7xbDyUi_VYJ0Q1w5ls5bk/s320/Graphic1%5B1%5D.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">The first lady of Oyo State, Chief (Mrs.) Kemi Alo-Akala has been in an unusually gay mood of late. The Oyo State first couple and their immediate family are expecting another baby. The mother of four-year old Olakunle is pregnant and people close to her say that her pregnancy was made possible via<span style="color:#ff6666;"> invitrofertilisation</span>.<br /><br />Mrs. Alao-akala, 45 who is the second wife of the Oyo State Governor, Otunba Christopher Alao-Akala, had her first born, when she was well over 40 (also by IVF) and her quest to give her hubby the second issue informed the IVF effort, which has paid off right now. The first lady had been very happy over this development having waited for four years.<br /><br />SOURCE: COMPASSNEWS</span></div>Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-86105813432054524902009-10-28T03:53:00.000-07:002009-10-28T04:05:52.522-07:00'Infertility Is A Shared Responsibility Between Husband And Wife'<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">DR. Michael Olugbenga Olukoya is the Managing Director of Hope Valley, a fertility centre, whose offices are scattered across Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Benin City. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">In this interview, the University of Lagos trained fertility specialist revealed that the challenge of infertility is a shared responsibility between couples. The former Managing Director of Dolphin Medical Centre, Lagos, also dispels the popular belief that children born through In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) are less human, saying that they are as perfect as any human being conceived through naturally. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;"><br /><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">What is the level of acceptance of In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) in Nigeria?</span><br /></strong>We have to talk about the level of awareness first of all. The awareness level of In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) system is very low. We are trying our best to create awareness. And that is very expensive.<br /><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">Why is the awareness low?<br /></span></strong>Our people generally are very slow in imbibing new technology and culture. Some don't even believe that it exists even though it has been in the world for 35 years now.Our level of education is a major factor in the acceptance of IVF. Otherwise, many people just go to the mosque or the churches to seek succour.But when you are very educated, you are more likely to seek knowledge in the scientific field, rather than go to the unknown field of babalawo (native doctor).<br />I also think that our government has not done enough not only in fertility treatment, but also in creating awareness for it. We usually do immunisation for polio, meningitis among others for children. Thank God that we are doing something about that in Nigeria. But there are many other areas in medicine where the government needs to have been involved before now. But our government has not done these.<br /><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">To those who may not be familiar with IVF, what is it all about?<br /></span></strong>In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) is the process of fertilizing eggs for conception outside the body of the woman. Naturally, they are fertilized inside the body of the woman. It is the egg and the sperm that become the baby. The egg is released from the woman and the sperm goes to meet the egg during intercourse. That is what happens naturally.<br />But in IVF, we don't allow that to happen. We take the egg from the woman outside and take the sperm from her husband, and mix them together outside her body. When they have united, we put the union back to her womb where it normally should be and that would results in pregnancy.<br /><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">Why do you do this?<br /></span></strong>We do this because for some reasons. Some women are not able to get pregnant on their own for three, five, six or more years. Therefore, to create solution to this abnormality, some scientists began to work on that problem some 35 years ago. That was how IVF became established.<br /><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">How true is the popular belief that IVF children are less human and that they have a lot of challenges? </span></strong><br />That is not true. Like any new thing, IVF is subject to speculations. When IVF first came to the world some 35 years ago, all these fears were there. Like everything scientific, facts and evidence have come to assure us that babies born through IVF are as normal or even more normal than those born through non-IVF methods.<br /><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">Any example in the world to show for this? </span><br /></strong>Many as I just told you. Science does not believe on hearsay. There must be proof. Over 10,000 babies have been born worldwide through IVF. Scientists have done research on their developments, their intelligence quotients (IQs) and their abilities to re-produce. And the results are marvellous as they are perfect.<br />Oftentimes, when couples fail to have children, the woman, not the man, is often blamed for the abnormality. As a fertility specialist, is it true that the woman is always the cause of the problem?<br />The problem of infertility occurs in about one out of six couples. We are confident to say that the problem is as common in the male as it is common in the female. Generally speaking, we say it is 40 per cent the male problem, 40 per cent the female problem and 20 per cent should be shared between them. So, the woman should not be blamed all the time.<br /><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">What are the challenges of practising IVF or assisted re-production system in Nigeria?</span><br /></strong>First of all, not a lot of people can to afford it because of the cost. Therefore, you see a lot of people coming to you and begging for discount. That is a bit difficult. And one has to bring the things needed for the system, not from Nigeria, but from abroad. We have mentioned that a lot people don't even know that we have IVF in Nigeria. And those who know find it difficult to accept it as they prefer babalawo. And when they cross that Rubicon and come for the treatment, to be able to afford it is a big challenge.<br />For those who overcome that problem, it is a big challenge for us because we have to source the materials we need, not from within Nigeria, but from abroad. Just imagine the problems that would create -problem of foreign exchange, transportation, and storage among others.<br />Operating in Nigeria means that we have to have electric supply through generator 24 hours of the week and 365 days of the year. Because of the challenge of inconsistent electricity supply, you find us having two generators, UPS, Solar electric system as alternative power sources. Those are heavy challenges indeed. My colleagues who do the same thing abroad don't have to bother about erratic electric supply, or even expend money on generators and alternative electric supply. They don't have problem of electricity failure.<br /><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">In spite of these challenges, what has been your breakthrough and high points in the practice?<br /></span></strong>It has been quite rewarding, when we look at where we are coming from nine years ago. We will soon hit the 700 mark of IVF babies we have delivered. That is a huge leap and satisfying result.<br />We have received many awards including Development in Nigeria Merit Award (DINMA) for excellence in medical science in 2004; Diamond Award for Professional Excellence in Human Medicine (DAPEHM) in 2005. We have also won the West Africa Direct Marketing (WADM), West Africa's Merit Award of Excellence in Fertility Services in 2007 and West Africa's Best Gynaecologist and Fertility Consulting Hospital of the Year.<br />Even being able to make a woman pregnant is a big reward. Each time we come with positive result, it is a celebration time for the patient. A special high point was when we achieved pregnancy in a 45-year-old woman using her own eggs. And that is the first to be done for a woman above 40 years in sub-Sahara Africa. We have been able to make many mothers deliver twins and triplets so many times or get pregnancy in some abnormal situations. We have been able to make a Turner Syndrome patient get pregnant and delivered of her baby. Turner Syndrome is a syndrome in which a human being is born, looks like a female, but the ovaries are very tiny in size, just because something happened during the genesis inside the womb. Therefore, they are not well developed. Their chromosome pattern is abnormal. Therefore, they are born with very small vagina, with small uterus and the ovaries are almost non-existent. This category of women create a challenge for the gynaecologist and big challenge for the fertility specialist.<br /><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">How satisfied are you with healthcare funding in Nigeria?<br /></span></strong>The health sector has been under-funded. We have not really started. Let government tackle the challenges we have in the primary healthcare (PHC) system first, such as immunisation, health screening, health awareness creation before talking about assisted reproduction.<br /><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">What do you want Nigerians to know about IVF?<br /></span></strong>I want Nigerians to continue to imbibe the faith that there is always treatment option for those couples who have challenges with having babies. And they have to help themselves by coming forward for help.<br />What do you want government to do to boost fertility treatment.<br />Government should try and do its best like what foreign countries are doing in helping couples with these challenges. In countries like Sweden and Norway among others, government helps these types of patients financially. Government may not pay fully for the cost of the treatment; it can offer to buy the drugs or subsidise the cost of the drugs. This is what is happening all over the world.<br /><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">Do you see the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) playing a role in insuring these types of patients? </span><br /></strong>No. It can't play a role because of the cost implication. No, it does not fit in. Unless government sits down to formulate some policies, I can't see that happening.</span>Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-10851218911516095342009-10-28T03:52:00.000-07:002009-10-28T03:53:19.820-07:00INFERTILITY IS HELL FOR AFRICANSinfertility is hell for africansOmo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-81049352008839684202009-10-04T12:32:00.000-07:002009-10-04T12:38:51.290-07:00Fertility technique selects healthier babies<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">Ten successful pregnancies from a new in vitro fertilisation (IVF) technology in Nigeria, called Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis have been announced by the Medical Art Centre, in Ikeja, Lagos.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">The technique was first announced at a clinical meeting of the Society for Endocrinology and Reproduction, in April 2009 and it is said to be able to predict embryonic future thus selecting healthier embryos (product of fertilisation).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">“The process will in turn reduce the chances of a repeatedly failed pregnancy through IVF and secondly, prevent children born with abnormalities such as sickle cell anaemia, Down Syndrome, Leukamia, et cetera,” said Professor Ashiru, Director of the Centre. “We diagnosed 20 women using this new technique in April 25th-28th; today, 10 of them are pregnant and five of these are carrying twin pregnancies.”</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;"><br /><strong>Not new<br /></strong>The method, though not new, is yet to be administered by the 16 IVF centres in Nigeria, Prof. Ashiru explained. The current pregnancy rate achieved by IVF is 30 per cent or lower, this according to IVF experts is due to abnormal chromosomes in embryos. But this new technique, he said, promises to select the healthiest embryos, at the laboratory level before implanting into the mother’s womb.<br />“This is another level in IVF and it helps us detect abnormal chromosomes in embryos and discard them,” Ashiru said.<br />“For instance when we can take a woman through IVF, we can get 10 embryos from her. Out of these 10, we will get a biopsy to get the genetic composition of these embryos. We can decide whether these embryos are male or female embryos, we can decide whether they have sickle cell, or whether these embryos will have leukemia in (the) future or whether it will be diabetic, we can know some of the abnormalities that may occur in a person a late age, by looking at those embryos.”<br /><br />Explaining further he said, “For example in a couple who are AS, we can now select the AA embryos alone and transfer them to the mother.<br />“We don’t have to wait until the baby is born or the pregnancy is formed to abort the pregnancy which is what they do now. We can do it at the embryo level. We can do it at the embryo level and it will take three to four days in the laboratory.”<br /><strong>In vitro fertilisation<br /></strong>IVF is a process where infertile couples can get children through artificial insemination. The woman’s egg is fertilised by her husband’s sperm outside the body (in a test tube in the laboratory), the product, called an embryo is then implanted into the woman’s womb, where it grows into a normal pregnancy.<br />Nigeria has one of the highest infertility rates in the world with one to four individuals experiencing difficulty getting pregnant. However, fertility experts say causes are due to sexually transmitted diseases, hormonal and lifestyle factors.<br />An adjunct professor at the University of Illinous, Chicago, Prof. Ashiru said he was determined to create such a centre in Nigeria, following four in United States and two in India, using expertise from both countries.<br />“Pre-implantation diagnosis will save the cost of Nigerians travelling out of the country to seek help,” he said.<br />He added that though it costs an additional 3,000 US dollars over the normal cost of IVF which is from N500,000 - N700,000, the cost is justified, when compared to that of IVF and the aforementioned risks.<br />Women who have reached an advanced maternal age and those with repeated IVF failures or miscarriages, form the clientele.<br />“The pregnant women are in their 14th week now and they attend the antenatal clinic at our centre twice every month,” he revealed. “The next batch will be in August.”<br /><span style="font-size:78%;">SOURCE: 234next</span></span>Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-8807090139367729962009-09-28T17:54:00.000-07:002009-09-28T17:57:57.708-07:00We’ve had 923 Test tube babies in 10 years<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">The Bridge Clinic was set up to provide high quality fertility treatment inducing Invitro-Fertilization (IVF) and Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) in Nigeria.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">The clinic has been assisting couples experiencing difficulty with conception since 1999 and with the birth of over 923 babies, they gained the experience to meet the needs of their clients.It is a legal requirement in developed countries like the United Kingdom (UK) that all clinics carrying out fertility treatment that involve human gametes such as IVF are licensed by the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA). Unfortunately, there are no such regulatory authorities in Nigeria.But Dr Alla Arilesere, Head of Department, Medical Services, Bridge Clinic, said that the Bridge Clinic recognizing the importance of such regulation have always functioned on if it were one of the clinics regulated by the HFEA.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">According to her, “We are mainly focusing on human reproductive medicine, that is helping infertile couples to achieve pregnancy. Naturally, conceived pregnancy in the bedroom that you don’t spend money, you also have about 25 per cent success rate just like Invitro-Fertilization (IVF). The problem could be perhaps fertilization, perhaps implantation, perhaps the ovaries, perhaps the quantity of the eggs or sperm. It takes more than one month for couples without any problem to achieve pregnancy. This is normal, it is acceptable all over the world.“And that is what is applicable to our assisted reproductive technology. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">We transfer embryo on a certain day, what happen to them after the transfer, we wouldn’t know their fate. But the aim is to assist them, at least watching them for awhile, at the transfer, after the transfer, may be wonders will happen, at least the woman will eventually get pregnant.On the issue of high cost of IVF, she said, “At the beginning, I mentioned something about quality assurance, for us to be able to maintain the quality, we cannot compromise on that, it is expensive. Quality is expensive. Firstly, we use high technology equipment, which is important. Secondly, we ensure that we successfully deliver services to our customers, we don’t cut such corners. We must deliver at whatever cost. And it has to be high tech.“Everything that we use for IVF is imported, incubators, culture media, all the materials for IVF, scanning machine, microscope, laboratory and training of laboratory staff. We are trained in Leeds in UK which is one of the leading reproductive science institution in the world, running the medical site, these are all expensive.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">Presently, there is proliferation of IVF clinics in the country. And there is fear it might promote quackery. Dr Alla has this to say</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">, “Actually, we have the annual conference of Nigeria Fertility Society, where we look into issues like this, and we are coming up with ideas and suggestions. The Nigerian Medical Association is the one to control the issue of quacks and things like that. basically, any clinic or hospital that has been registered for the practice, every doctor is supposed to have licence for practice which is to be reviewed every year. Not only IVF clinics, so many other clinics are coming up. Who are setting them up?“I hope the government have something on the ground to be able to control it. Not only assisted reproductive hospitals, but any hospital or clinic at all. Because we have also identified the fact that there are no regulatory bodies in Nigeria for IVF, we are bench- marking ourselves with the Human Embryology Association in the UK. We have from there who came here to audit our reports and procedures. Basically, we practice international standards. We are benchmarked with whatever that is going on in the world. We can’t spread our standards to other clinics because they are supposed to do it on their own.Does the proliferation of IVF clinic in Nigeria mean that the infertility rate in Nigeria has increased? Dr Arilesere said, “Basically, from the statistics, in developed countries, the rate of infertility is between eight and 15 per cent. That means between one out of 12, one out of eight. But in Nigeria or sub-Saharan Africa at large, the statistics indicate that the rate of infertility is 25.This is about double or even triple of what it is in developed countries. Perhaps, it is sexual indiscipline, it could be tubal factor because the rate of woman infertility is about 40 per cent. Perhaps early exposure to sexual life, and may be the use of contraceptive drugs, people right from secondary school or primary school take contraceptive to prevent early pregnancy.“At the age of 13 or 14, girls exposed to sex can become pregnant. So what do they do? They go to the back door to remove the pregnancy so that their patents do not find out. In the process of removing the pregnancy, they may be creating future problems like blocked tubes or infections. Over the years, the rate of fertility, even the quantity of the semen is going down. Perhaps it have something to do with radiation, solar energy, temperature factor, stress, too much of computer.Continuing, she said, “There are two types of IVF, Conventional IVF and ICSI Conventional IVF is applicable to couples where the semen quantity meet minimum of 20 million, that is the semen quality. And the strength of the IVF, whether conventional or ICSI depends on the same quality only. So, for a couple to be qualified for conventional IVF, the count must be at least 20 million, motility must be at least 40 per cent, minimum, morphology must be at least 15 per cent, minimum.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">“In the history of the Bridge Clinic, since 1999 all the couples that have been coming for IVF treatment, they have conventional IVF. They have fertilization period of up to 80 per cent. That means all the couples that are treated, 80 per cent unfortunately did not reach embryo transfer stage because those couples are not applicable to conventional IVF.“What is ICSI? ICSI is Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection. Any couple that do not meet any of the requirements that I mentioned, like high motility and morphology, they need ICSI. There is not much evidence to show that ICSI give a high rate of abnormality among children born through it. The perception that there is high rate of abnormality among children born through IVF may be coming from the internet or may be some wrong information. Comparing children who are born naturally with ICSI babies, there is no significant difference.”</span>Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-64764465352591102962009-09-28T17:51:00.000-07:002009-09-28T17:54:27.057-07:00The Bridge clinic hosts 10th anniversary photo exhibition<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">The Bridge Clinic, a renowned Fertility Clinic in Nigeria recently organised a five-day photo exhibition as part of the events lined up to mark its 10th Year Anniversary at Terra Kulture, in Lagos State.T</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">he exhibition tagged Celebration of Achievements” to reflect the mood of The Bridge Clinic after one decade of successfully assisting couples to fulfil their dreams of parenting their own children, was declared open by Mrs. Ibukun Awosika who is the Chairperson of Chair Centre and former Chairperson, Women in Management and Business (WIMBIZ).“Celebration of Achievements” had on display photos of children from birth to nine years old and also of The Bridge Clinic’s facility, all telling pictorial stories of the children’s successes and excellence.The uniqueness of the photo exhibition was evident in the sophistication of the imagery which portrayed artistically the very advanced technology at The Bridge Clinic. Also, the young talented photographer, Seyi Body-Lawson, creatively captured the essence of each child’s special achievements, talents, dreams and personality in vivid images that spoke volume.The children had outstanding records in sports, art, computer technology and exceptional academic performance from their various schools, at home and abroad. One of them represented Nigeria at an international gymnastic competition in Singapore recently.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">Mrs. Awosika congratulated The Bridge Clinic for the “Celebration of Achievement” initiative commending the artistic and creative qualities of the photos of the children. She also advised couples to take advantage of the fertility technology available at The Bridge Clinic to resolve their fertility problems which can be a huge challenge in a society like Nigeria.Dr. Richard Ajayi, the Medical Director of The Bridge Clinic during his speech at the event revealed that The Bridge Clinic” has assisted a lot of couples and have been blessed with the birth of about 1,000 babies. He said: “Celebration of Achievement’ is organised to celebrate the accomplishment of these children. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">Today we celebrate these children who have all grown to become great assets to their parents and also a source of our own fulfilment.” He attributed the facility’s achievements to the commitment, loyalty and professionalism of the staff over the years.The Bridge Clinic is known for its many innovations which have improved the standard of fertility medicine in Nigeria. It is the first ISO certified clinic in Nigeria and its many milestones include Birth of the first babies by Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) in 2000, delivery of the first baby by ICSI and Surgical Sperm Collection (SSC) in 2000, birth of the first baby through IVF Surrogacy in 2003, implementation of an internationally certified Quality Management System by TUV Austria in 2004 and the Launching of “Let I Happen Naturally” (LIHN) in 2004The Bridge Clinic is currently the only fertility centre in Nigeria to publish its results (including pregnancy rates). The Bridge Clinic also has its results independently verified by Akintola Williams Deloitte.</span>Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7327734146337997977.post-23409023613998008662009-09-11T17:52:00.000-07:002009-09-11T17:54:55.952-07:00Pre-implantation genetic screening holds in Lagos with 25 IVF patients<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;">THE Medical Art Centre (MART) Maryland, Ikeja, Lagos, has started a Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) with 25 In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) patients. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;"><br />Co-pioneer of IVF technology in Nigeria and Consultant Reproductive Endocrinologist at MART, Prof. Oladapo Ashiru, at the monthly clinical meeting of the Nigerian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism (NSEM), hosted by the Centre last week, presented the technique for pre-implantation genetic screening, which was currently used for 25 IVF patients at the Medical Art center between April 21st to April 28, 2009.<br /><br />"MART has commenced the technique of pre-implantation genetic selection for genetic abnormalities and sex selection in Maryland Ikeja. The first batch went through oocyte recovery, Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), PGD biopsy, and Embryo Transfer between April 22nd to April 28th, 2009," he said.<br /><br />Ashiru, who is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, United States, in his lecture titled "Highlights of Assisted Reproductive Technology and The place of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis in Nigeria", said PGD is the next focus of cutting edge work in the IVF field. He said PGD is for the elimination of abnormal genes and gender selection.<br /><br />MART, in January 2009, announced the establishment of pre-birth genetic screening for sex selection and sickle cell disorder.<br />His colleague from Mumbai Dr. Satish Sharma, who is the only person in India running a satellite PGD, amplified the presentation in details.<br />The meeting was chaired by Prof. Oladapo Ladipo, the President /Chief Executive Officer of the Association for Family Health, Ibadan.<br /><br />The other speaker was Dr. Satish Sharma, who spoke on the technique of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. Those present at the seminar included Prof. Osato Giwa-Osagie, who with Ashiru recorded the first IVF delivery in 1989, Prof. Akin Osibogun the Chief Medical Director of LUTH, several other professors and senior doctors from the NSEM.</span>Omo Francahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16602656256699309246noreply@blogger.com0