Are you one of several million couples over the age of 30 concerned about infertility ? Do your eggs have stress fatigue from standing too long at the ‘start’ line ? Is your sperm count waning because you are overweight? What’s the difference bewteen IVF and IUI? What’s the latest in genetic infertility research? These and other HOT  topics were covered in the sweltering heat at the SMART ART conference in Las Vegas on Artificial Reproductive Technology (ART). Candy the Nurse was pleased to be one of the Round Table Discussion presenters, hosting the topic (what else?)...

Last week two stories in the news broke my heart. The first, from the June issue of Pediatrics, mentions a study which found C-Sections may increase the risk of celiac disease, as opposed to  those infants born vaginally. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder which leads to inflammation of the gut when the person consumes any foods containing gluten (a protein found in wheat, barley and rye). In terms of the western diet, that’s a toughie. The researchers have no certain understanding of the process at this point, but hypothesize that  perhaps the phenomenon is linked to the fact that...

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, preterm birth in this country has risen 36% since the 1980’s, resulting in roughly 540,000 preterm births in 2006. That number rose in 2007 and decreased slightly (0.1%)  in 2008, despite the March of Dimes’ excellent program (began in 2003) highlighting the problem and funding research to combat it. Certainly, the alarm bell should be sounding, nationwide!  Why is this happening? For years, it has been known that certain physiological events will trigger a preterm birth: trauma or injury to the mother is one, infection is another,...