• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.42-50
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• 2022

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristics of female infertility patients who come to Korean medicine clinics and analyze the trends of Korean medicine treatment methods and the effects of female infertility by registry data. Methods: We are recruiting study participants from Korean medicine hospitals and clinics. If female infertility patients come, we will ask them to register for this study. After enrollment, we will collect demographic information, treatment methods, pregnancy results, adverse events, and treatment costs. Result: First, we will analyze the characteristics of patients, the status of the use of Korean medicine treatment interventions, the cost status of Korean medicine infertility treatment, and the delivery characteristics of pregnant women after Korean medicine treatment. Second, we will analyze the effectiveness of Korean medicine treatment. The primary outcome is clinical pregnancy rate, and secondary outcomes are 12-week pregnancy maintenance rate, degree of dysmenorrhea and premenstrual syndrome, stress level, and health-related quality of life score. Discussion: This study is the first observational multi-center study in Korea for female infertility. By establishing the registry, we are creating a resource that contains patient-reported outcome measures for female infertility. The registry is expected to provide valuable data for developing Korean medicine Clinical practice guidelines for female infertility.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.174-183
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• 2021

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the pregnancy outcomes of in vitro fertilization with embryo transfer between embryos cultured in a time-lapse monitoring system (TLS) and those cultured in a conventional incubator (CI). Methods: The medical records of 250 fertilized embryos from 141 patients undergoing infertility treatment with assisted reproductive technology at a tertiary hospital from June 2018 to May 2020 were reviewed. The study population was divided into TLS and CI groups at a 1 to 1 ratio (125 embryos per group). The primary outcome was the live birth rate. Results: The TLS group had a significantly higher clinical pregnancy rate (46.4% vs. 27.2%, p=0.002), implantation rate (27.1% vs. 12.0%, p=0.004), and live birth rate (32.0% vs. 18.4%, p=0.013) than the CI group. Furthermore, subgroup analyses of the clinical pregnancy rate and live birth rate in the different age groups favored the TLS group. However, this difference only reached statistical significance in the live birth rate in women aged over 40 years and the clinical pregnancy rate in women aged 35-40 years (p=0.048 and p=0.031, respectively). The miscarriage rate, cleavage rate, and blastocyst rate were comparable. Conclusion: TLS application improved the live birth rate, implantation rate, and clinical pregnancy rate, particularly in the advanced age group in this study, while the other reproductive outcomes were comparable. Large randomized controlled trials are needed to further explore the ramifications of these findings, especially in different age groups.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.983-992
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• 1997

During pregnancy and lactation, folate status is important because folate requirements increase during the periods as well as maternal folate status influences on pregnancy outcome and human milk folate; especially folate deficiency around periconceptional period may induce neural tube defects(NTDs) of fetus. There have been a plenty of evidences that maternal folate status deteriorates during pregnancy of fetus. There have been a plenty of evidences that maternal folate status deteriorates during pregnancy and lactation if folate needed is not sufficiently provided. The Public health Service of the United States recommends all child-bearing is not sufficiently provided. The Public Health Service of the United States recommends all child-bearing women to intake 0.4mg of folate daily, and the Food and Drug Administration the folate status of child-bearing women and to reduce the rate of occurrence of NTDs. Many authors have insisted that the current recommended dietary allowances of folate for Americans are too low to maintain good folate status. There are little data about Korean folate status including pregant and lactating women. A couple of reports indicated that the folate intakes of Korean pregant and lactating women are below the Korean RDAs of folate and serum folate levels of them are subnormal. The authors pregnant and lactating women. Therefore, it is worth to review the assessment methods of folate status of pregnant and lactating women, folate RDAs for them, the relationships between maternal folate status and pregnancy outcome as well as human milk folate, the methods to increase folate intake, and the problems of large dose of folic acid supplementatiion.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.77-97
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• 1994

Despite the fact that the national family planning program in korea has accomplished its primary goals of fertility reduction and universal contraceptive use, the induced abortion is still high and there has been an increasing trend in the population sex ratio at birth. It seems that the changes in the imbalance of sex ratio have originated from traditonal boy preference. This indicates that much of the current family planning program can be overhauled, so that the program quality could be better controlled, by preventing the number of unwanted pregnancies and the imbalance of sex ratios. This paper aims, therefore, to examine the determinants of induced abortion through the investigation of pregnancy outcomes and their changes over time and to study the interaction between induced abortion, boy preference and the imbalance of sex ratio in Korea. The abortion rate had increased rapidly until the mid-1980s when there were about the same number of abortions as live births. Thereafter, the abortion rate has been maintained at this high level. By parity it shows a much higher abortion rate for a higher parity at all time. From the first parity, the sex composition of previous children stands out as the most important factor in deciding the pregnancy outcome at all time. The probability of a pregnancy ending in an abortion increases substantially when parents already had a son. The decline of the desired family size and the sustained strong son preference has made the sex of children a more important factor in the determination of the pregnancy outcome. Women's education has had consistently positive effects on the probability of a pregnancy ending in an abortion, but the effect shows a steady decline over time. The premarital pregnancy and urban residence also increase the abortion probability. This study suggests that the main concerns of the family planning program should be to strengthen the social support policies so as to weaken the son preference value leading to a balanced sex ratio and prevention of induced abortions.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.68-72
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• 2012

Objective: To investigate the value of stimulated intrauterine insemination (IUI) in women with unilateral tubal occlusion. Methods: Superovulation and IUI was performed during 2003-2010 and the medical records were reviewed retrospectively. Thirty-seven infertile women (52 cycles) with unilateral tubal occlusion diagnosed by hysterosalpingography and without other causes of infertility were selected. One-hundred fourteen patients with unexplained infertility served as a control group (182 cycles). The main outcome was the clinical pregnancy rate per cycle. Results: The pregnancy rate per cycle was similar, 17.3% for the unilateral tubal occlusion group and 16.5% for the unexplained infertility group. The rate of miscarriage (11.1% vs. 23.3%) and ectopic pregnancy (11.1% vs. 6.7%) was similar between the two groups. The pregnancy rate was higher in patients with proximal occlusion (25.0%) compared with distal occlusion (13.9%) or unexplained infertility, but not statistically significant. Conclusion: Stimulated IUI can be suggested as the initial treatment option in women with unilateral proximal or distal tubal occlusion.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.106-113
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• 2022

Objectives: Herbal medicine is a worldwide health topic. Vitex agnus-castus L. (VAC) is a popular plant used for gynecologic problems due to its hormonal effects. The aim of this study is to reveal VAC extract effect on fetus when this herb is used started from antenatal period or during pregnancy. Methods: Performed from starting day of January 2019 till February 2019, 48 rats were assigned in randomly divided eight-member six groups: control (C1), treated group with 365 mg/kg VAC from initiation of insemination (T1) and 30 days prior to pregnancy (T2), control that underwent caesarean section on 15^th day of gestational age (C2) and treated group with 365 mg/kg VAC from initiation of insemination (T3) and 30 days prior to pregnancy (T4) that underwent caesarean section. Weight, sex and number of fetuses, abortion and still birth rate and estradiol level were evaluated using t-test by SPSS software. Results: We showed increased weight among T1 group considering totally and sex-dependent which is significant (all p-value < 0.05). We also detected significantly decreased weight in T2 in total (p-value < 0.0001) and when considering female fetuses (0.043) but not males (0.17). Although the results showed slightly non-significant increased weight among fetuses of T3 (totally or based on the fetus sex) compared to the control group (C2), T4 group had statistically decreased weight compared to control group. Pregnancy rate and pregnancy outcome were affected by VAC usage. The time of VAC initiation also affected live birth and abortion rates. Conclusion: VAC extract may affect pregnancy rate, live birth rate, abortion and stillbirth rates. Its effect on the weight and the sex showed dual pattern depends on the time of initiation and pregnancy trimester of evaluation. Prescribing this medicinal plant for patients being prone to pregnancy should be with caution. Further study is recommended.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.117-123
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• 1993

The condition of the endometrium is an important factor which may influence the success or failure in IVF-ET. This study was undertaken for evaluation of the value of endometrial growth as an early predictor for the success of IVF. Ultrasonographic endometrial measurement were performed in 43 IVF cycles that conceived, 101 cycles that did not with an IVF-ET There was no significant difference in the endometrial thickness and the serum concentration of estradiol in the pregnant versus nonpregnant group(10.4 vs. 9.9 mm: 2348 vs. 2017 pg/ml no hCG administration day). No correlation was found between the ultrasound image and serum estradiol levels around the time of hCG administration(r=0.54, p=0.13 no Day 2; r=0.45, p=0.14 no Day 1). The duration of gonadotropin treatment, number of follicles, number of oocytes retrieved, and fertilization rate were not statistically different in the two groups, however, there was a significant difference in the number of embryos in the pregnant versus nonpregnant group)p< 0.05). A higher pregnancy rate and ongoing pregnancy rate occured with an endometrial thickness over 11 mm compared with below 7mm(p< 0.05, p< 0.005). however, no significant differences were noted in the implantation rate and abortion rate among the groups that classified according to their endmetrial thickness. The endometrial growth(${\Delta}$) from hCG administration day(DO) to D6 was greater in the women who achieved pregnancy than in the nonpregnant group(p< 0.01). There were no significant differences in serum estradiol levels, implantation rate, pregnancy rate, and abortion rate among the groups that classified according to the pattern of echogenesity of endometrium, however, significantly higher ongoing pregnancy rate was noted in group A, B compared with group C.(p< 0.0001, p< 0.001) These results suggest that there were no ultrasonographically detectable differences in the patterns of endometrial growth and development around the time of hCG administration in patients who conceive versus those that do not in IVF-ET.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.217-223
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• 1997

This study was performed to determine if women with day 3 serum inhibin-B concentrations <45pg/ml (conversion factor to SI unit, 1.00) demonstrate a poor response to ovulation induction and assisted reproductive technology outcome to women with inhibin-B${\ge}45pg$/ml, independant of day 3 FSH, E2 and patient age. From Jan 1996 to Dec 1996, 16 volunteers patients who underwent 25 IVF cycles with luteal phase GnRH agonist suppression and HMG stimulation were allocated to the study group. We evaluated day 3 serum inhibin-B, FSH, E2, peak E2, cancellation rate per initiated cycle (%) and clinical pregnancy rate per initiated cycle (%) according to the above two groups and independent of patient age, day 3 FSH, day 3 E2 and all of above combined. Women with day 3 serum inhibin-B${\ge}45pg$/ml demonstrated higher average day 3 inhibin-B level, clinical pregnancy rate per initiated cycle ($20.3{\pm}2.5$ pg/ml vs $80.9{\pm}5.0$ pg/ml, p<0.05; 24.8% vs 8.5%, p<0.05) and lower day 3 FSH level, cancellation rate per initiated cycle ($6.9{\pm}0.3$ mIU/ml vs $8.5{\pm}0.5$ mIU/ml, p<0.05; 1.5% vs 9.0%, p<0.05). Women with day 3 serum inhibin${\ge}45pg$/ml and age<40 year demonstrated higher pregnancy rate per initiated cycle (28.2% vs 7.4%, p<0.05) and lows. day 3 FSH level, cancellation rate per initiated cycle ($6.9{\pm}0.5$ mIU/ml vs $8.2{\pm}0.7$ mIU/ml, p<0.05; 1.0% vs 9.0%, p<0.05). Women with day 3 serum inhibin${\ge}45pg$/ml and day 3 FSH<15mIU/ml demonstrated higher pregnancy rate per initiated cycle (33.5% vs 9.5%, p<0.05) and lower day 3 FSH level, cancellation rate per initiated cycle ($7.7{\pm}0.2$ mIU/ml vs $8.5{\pm}0.5$ mIU/ml, p<0.05; 1.5% vs 10.0%, p<0.05). Women with day 3 serum inhibin${\ge}45pg$/ml and day 3 E2<50pg/ml demonstrated higher pregnancy rate per initiated cycle (30.0% vs 9.5%, p<0.05) and lower cancellation rate per initiated cycle (1.5% vs 9.5%, p<0.05). Women with day 3 serum inhibin${\ge}45pg$/ml, age<40 year, day 3 FSH<15mIU/ml and day 3 E2<50pg/ml demonstrated higher pregnancy rate per initiated cycle (30.0% vs 10.8%, p<0.05) and lower day 3 FSH level, cancellation rate per initiated cycle ($6.8{\pm}0.6$ mIU/ml vs $8.4{\pm}0.9$ mIU/ml, p<0.05; 1.5% vs 7.8%, p<0.05). Therefore women with low day 3 serum inhibin-B concentrations demonstrate a poorer response to ovulation induction and are less likely to conceive a clinical pregnancy though ART relative to women with high day 3 inhibin-B and day 3 serum inhibin-B, in addition to a day 3 FSH, E2 and patient age, appears helpful in prediction in IVF-ET outcome.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.119-126
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• 1987

Exponential rise rate(ERR) of serum estradiol concentrations during active follicular phase was calculated for 49 ovulation induction cycles by human menopausal gonadotropin to know the ovulation induction outcome according to ERR classified into 3 groups with low, moderate and high ERR values(Group I${\leqq}$0.3, 0.3${\leqq}$0.6，Group III>0.6). The results were summarised as follows : 1. No significant difference in the dosage of human menopausal gonadotropin was identified in each group. 2. The mean serum estradiol concentration at the day of human chorionic gonadotropin injection in Group II and Group ill was significantly higher than that in Group I . 3. The mean diameter of leading follicles at the day of human chorionic gonadotropin injection showed no significant difference in each group. 4. No significant difference in the ovulation rate was observed in relation to ERR. How ever, 20% and 20.8% of pregnancy rate in Group I and Group II were achieved while no pregnancy was occurred in Group III. 5. The ovarian hyperstimulation frequency was significantly higher in Group ill that in Group I and Group II. In conclusion, the study suggests that exponential rise rate of serum estradiol is a useful tool in HMG ovulation induction by preventing ovarian hyperstimulation without reducing pregnancy success rate.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.176-183
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• 2020

Purpose: : The purpose of this study was to evaluate the intrauterine insemination (IUI) success rate and to define the variables for predicting success. Methods: The secondary data analysis was used with data collected from infertile females who underwent IUI in Fertility and IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) clinics, who benefited from the 'National Medical-aid Program for ART (assisted reproductive technology) in 2016', in which the data of 34,920 IUI cases were retrospectively reviewed. The primary outcome measure was the clinical pregnancy rate in elderly and young infertile females. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, χ2 test and logistic regression. Results: The pregnancy rate was 12.1% (2,095 cases) in elderly infertile females and 15.6% in young infertile females (2,758 cases) (χ2 = 87.90, p< .001). Using the logistic regression analysis, clinical pregnancy was positively associated with the ovulatory factor (OR= 1.48, p< .001) and male factor (OR= 1.19, p< .05) in elderly infertile females. It was positively associated with the ovulatory factor (OR= 1.30, p= .001) and the peritoneal cavity factor (OR= 0.58, p< .05) in young infertile females. Conclusion: Our results indicate that the pregnancy rate in young infertile females was higher than that in old infertile females, and the IUI is the effective option in pregnancies in all ages with infertility due to the ovulatory factor. Additionally, further studies are necessary to fully describe pregnancy experiences for all the infertile females.