• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.43-53
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was to identify what experience meant for the wives that attempted IVF-ET(In Vitro Fertilization-Embryo Transfer) program due to the spouse's infertility and provide fundamental materials to improve nursing interventions. Method: Giorgi's phenomenological method was employed, the subjects were five wives who had ever attempted IVF-ET program due to the infertility of their spouses. In-depth interview and observation method were utilized to gather information from April to December 2003. Result: The significant results from analyzing the interviews can be grouped into 34 themes, 8 categories. The essential themes for the experiences of the wives were 'shocked by the unbelievable reality', 'can't give up the connection to the blood', 'Lack of social education on pregnancy, and childbirth', 'self-pity', 'feelings of both families', 'Being afraid of the unexpected result', 'physical and mental agony', 'Positively coping with the reality. Conclusion: The results show that infertility is not a mere personal matter, and infertile people, their families and society should team up with in tackling it. The physical, psychological and social problems triggered by infertility could be ironed out by making both personal and collaborative approaches to that.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.103-108
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• 2011

Objective: To investigate adverse pregnancy outcomes in non-obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) compared with obese-PCOS and control groups. Methods: Women with PCOS who underwent assisted reproductive technology (ART) from August, 2003 to December, 2007, were considered. A total of 336 women with PCOS were included in the study group and 1,003 infertile women who had tubal factor as an indication for ART were collected as controls. They were divided into four groups: a non-obese PCOS group, obese-PCOS group, non-obese tubal factor group, and obese tubal factor group, with obesity defined by a body mass index over 25 kg/$m^2$, and reviewed focusing on the basal characteristics, ART outcomes, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Results: There was no difference among the groups' the clinical pregnancy rate or live birth rate. Regarding adverse pregnancy outcomes, the miscarriage rate, multiple pregnancy rate, and prevalence of preterm delivery and pregnancy induced hypertension were not different among the four groups. The incidence of small for gestational age infant was higher in the PCOS groups than the tubal factor groups ($p$ <0.02). On the other hand, the morbidity of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) was not high in the non-obese PCOS group but was in the obese groups. And in the obese PCOS group, the newborns were heavier than in the other groups ($p$ <0.02). Conclusion: Non-obese PCOS presents many differences compared with obese PCOS, not only in the IVF-parameters but also in the morbidity of adverse pregnancy outcomes, especially in GDM and fetal macrosomia.

• 대한생식의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.117-117
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• 2006

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.513-517
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• 2000

Enterohepatic recycling of estrogen after oral administration of 1 mg non-radioactive estriol was studied in fourteen women selected as the control subjects and ten infertile women in whom the infertility was appearing to be of endocrine origin. The extent of enterohepatic recycling of estriol ($E_3$) during the early follicular phase of menstrual cycle was assessed by monitoring during 48 h the urinary excretion of its two major metabolites i.e; estriol 16 $\alpha$-glucuronide ($E_3-16$$\alpha-G$) and estriol-3 glucuronide ($E_3$-3-G). The change in urinary level of $E_3$-3-G with respect to ($E_3-16$$\alpha-G$G was considered to reflect the extent of enterohepatic recycling of estriol. Lower values of urinary output of both metabolites in the infertile women as compared with the control subjects and the urinary excretion profile of both metabolites during 48 h after estriol ingestion reveal that the reduced extent of enterohepatic recycling could possibly be one of the factors which contribute towards the incidence of infertility in women.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.102-112
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• 2015

Objectives: This study was performed to obtain reference data of traditional Korean medicine diagnostic methods for the practical usage in women infertility. Methods: The study involved 38 female patients of age 20-38 years that had diagnosed of infertility. All the subjects answered to pattern identification questionnaire and Questionnaire for the Sasang Constitution Classification (QSCC II). Pattern identification scores and constitution types have been analyzed with variables of infertility factors and age. Statistical analysis was performed by adopting descriptive and inferential tests. Results: In pattern identification questionnaire analysis, the patterns were observed in order of frequency: liver stasis; blood deficiency; kidney-yang deficiency; kidney-yin deficiency; damp-heat; blood stasis; and phlegm. The group, less than 35 years old, had the higher average score of liver stasis (p<0.05). Also, the group with tubal and peritoneal factors, had the higher average score of blood deficiency (p<0.05). In QSCC II analysis, So-yang type had the higher average score of liver stasis, kidney-yang deficiency, and kidney-yin deficiency. So-eum type had the higher average score of liver stasis, kidney-yang deficiency, kidney-yin deficiency, and blood deficiency. While, Tae-um type had the higher average score of liver stasis and phlegm. Conclusions: We would accumulate the clinical data for the practical usage of traditional Korean medicine diagnostic methods in women infertility.

• 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.

• 대한생식의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2002.11a
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• pp.73-73
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• 2002

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.111-118
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• 1997

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) recently has been utilized widely as the most successful technique to overcome the unfertilization problem in cases of severe male infertility in couples who could not be treated by conventional IVF. Recently, indications of ICSI have been extended further and more fertilized oocytes become available. Thus, it is necessary to examine the efficiency of freezing the surplus embryos obtained from ICSI. We compared the survival rate and the future outcome of cryopreserved embryos obtained either after conventional IVF or ICSI during the same period. After ICSI or IVF, five best-quality embryos from each patient were transferred in the stimulation cycle and the surplus pronuclear (PN) stage oocytes or multicellular embryos were cryopreserved by slow freezing protocol with 1,2-propanediol (PROH) as a cryoprotectant. A total of 792 embryos from ICSI trial were thawed and 65.2% (516/792) survived. The survival rates of PN stage oocyte, multicellular embryo and PN + multicellular embryo were 63.5%, 68.2%, 64.0%, respectively. After 111 transfers, 34 pregnancies were achieved, corresponding to a clinical pregnancy rate of 30.6% per transfers. We thawed 1033 embryos from IVF trials and 57.5% (594/1033) survived. In IVF cycle, the survival rates of PN stage oocyte, multicellular embryo and PN + multicellular embryo were 58.2%, 65.2%, 40.2%, respectively. Thirty eight clinical pregnancies were established after 134 transfers, corresponding to a pregnancy rate of 28.4% per transfer. The cleavage rate of thawed PN stage oocytes from ICSI trial (61.3%) was significantly higher than those from conventional IVF (53.4%). The developmental rates of good embryo (${\geqq}$ grade II) in thawed PN stage oocytes obtained from conventional IVF and ICSI were 63% and 65%, respectively. We concluded that PN stage oocytes, multicellular embryos resulting from ICSI procedure can be successfully frozen/thawed with reasonable clinical pregnancy rates comparable to those of IVF.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.1-15
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• 2022

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to report the results of Korean medicine treatment infertility support program in Gwang-ju Metropolitan City in 2021. Methods: Participants of Korean medicine treatment infertility support program were provided Herbal medicine, acupuncture, pharmacopuncture and Counseling for 3 months and followed up for 3 months after the treatments. The project was carried out for 100 infertile women under the age of 42 living in Gwang-ju Metropolitan City, of which 91 completed treatment until the end. Collected data of 91 women containing pregnancy rates, characteristics of subjects, treatments, and satisfaction of the program were analyzed. Results: After the treatment, 23 out of 91 subjects were pregnant, two of whom were miscarried, and 21 were maintained. The average age of pregnant women in 23 pregnant subjects was 33.8 years old, of which the average age of those who maintained pregnancy was 32.4 years old, and the age of one miscarried person was 39 years old. More than 85% of subjects answered that they were satisfied with the program in the satisfaction survey. Conclusions: Based on this report, the clinical data were obtained from the infertility treatment program. This study can be used as basic data to help establish infertility support programs and subsequent policies like support for men in the future Korean medicine infertility project and extension of the herbal medicine treatment period.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.114-117
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• 2012

Objective: It is well known that fresh blastocyst transfer results in better pregnancy outcomes with a smaller number of transferred embryos compared with cleavage stage embryo transfer. However, in terms of frozen-thawed blastocyst transfer, only a few studies are available. We aimed to evaluate clinical outcomes of frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) with blastocysts. Methods: Retrospective analysis of FET cycles with blastocysts (B-FET) between Jan 2007 and June 2009 was performed. Age-matched FET cycles with cleavage stage embryos (C-FET) during the same period were collected as controls. A total of 58 B-FET cycles were compared with 172 C-FET cycles and also compared with those of post-thaw extended culture blastocysts from frozen pronuclear stage embryos (22 cycles). Results: There was no difference in the patient characteristics of each group. The embryos' survival rates after thawing were comparable (>90%) and there was no difference in the implantation rate or clinical and ongoing pregnancy rate among the three groups. Conclusion: In FET, blastocyst transfers may not present better pregnancy outcomes than cleavage stage embryo transfers. A further large-scale prospective study is needed.