Return to fertility in nulliparous and parous women after removal of the GyneFix intrauterine contraceptive system.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the return to fertility following removal of the GyneFix intrauterine implant system in women wishing to conceive. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective study was performed on a sample of healthy, sexually active nulligravid/nulliparous and parous women. The participants were 18-41 years of age, with no apparent infertility problem, living in a stable relationship and planning to become pregnant. Women who changed their mind and did not wish to become pregnant immediately after intrauterine device (IUD) removal were excluded from the study. Women were evaluated in terms of rates of conception and fertility outcome. A total of 128 women were evaluated. RESULTS: The study shows that 119 out of 128 (93%) past users of GyneFix have conceived, accounting for a net cumulative pregnancy rate of 88% at 12 months and 99% after 2 years' observation. No statistical differences in pregnancy rates were found for age and duration of use of the IUD. A strong significant difference in pregnancy rate was shown (p = 0.007) between parous and nulligravid/nulliparous women. Seventy-seven women (66.9%) gave birth to a term infant. There were no stillbirths. Twenty-five women (21.8%) are pregnant at the time of writing. Five (4.4%) spontaneous abortions occurred and in eight women (6.9%) the pregnancy was terminated. There were no ectopic pregnancies. CONCLUSION: The results obtained compare favorably with those obtained in previous studies conducted following the removal of copper IUDs. The use of the frameless IUD does not affect future fertility in nulligravid/nulliparous and parous women wishing to become pregnant following removal of the device. Nulliparous women conceive significantly earlier than parous women.

[An evaluation of the first two years of activity at the in vitro fertilization center in the +Notre Dame Clinic in Charleroi+(Belgium)]. / Bilan des deux premières années d'activité du Centre de Fécondation in vitro de la Clinique Notre-Dame à Charleroi (Belgique).

An in vitro fertilisation unit has been working since the 1 st May 1988 in the Notre-Dame Clinic in Charleroi in the Beligium province of Hainaut. This work analyses the practice and results of the first two years activity in which 185 oocytes retrievals were carried out. The account not only deals with the results (according to 8 criteria for evaluation) but also on the factors that modify these results (9 parameters). It is scientific tools that makes it possible to analyse objectively and precisely, the factors leading to success or failure in our technique. The results are compared with those in the literature and in the French national enquiries (these do not exist in Belgium) show that even in modest conditions (2 gynaecologists and a biologist who have other duties) it is possible to carry out in the first year 62 and in the second year 123 oocyte recoveries. The scrupulous attention to technical details in this university centre of reference made it possible from the beginning to achieve worthwhile results (21% pregnancies for all recoveries and 32% pregnancies for all embryo transfers).

Lethal short-rib with median cleft and without polydactyly: a fourth case.

A new case of Beemer short-rib lethal dwarfism is presented in a 27 weeks fetus with discussion of the radiological and clinical pecularities. Differential diagnosis with other short-rib-polydactyly syndromes is briefly developped.

[The evaluation of the risk of spontaneous abortion at various stages of pregnancy. Study of overall risk and of normal ultrasound pregnancy]. / Evaluation à diverses périodes gestationnelles des risques d'avortements spontanés. Etude du risque global et des grossesses à échographie normale.

The authors have studied a series of 2,292 pregnancies that were unselected and have calculated from this the risks of spontaneous abortion before the 28th week of the pregnancy that patients have when they come for ultrasonography for the first time in the pregnancy. They have been able to work out the risks of spontaneous abortion even when the ultrasound was normal for the time of pregnancy. The risks diminish as the pregnancy progresses and rise with the mother's age.