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Controlling Fertility & IVF. GCSE BIOLOGY SCIENCE

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Oral contraceptives

Oral contraceptives allow couples to choose the time they start a family, and choose the time they stop having children.

However, some women who take the pill may suffer from changes in weight, mood and blood pressure, as a result of the hormones in it. There is also a chance of an increased risk of developing blood clots. On the other hand, there is evidence of a decreased risk of developing cancer of the uterus or ovaries.

Fertility treatment

Fertility treatments increase a woman's chance of becoming pregnant, although the treatment may not always work. On the other hand, because the treatment boosts the production of mature eggs, multiple conceptions sometimes occur, with twins or triplets being expected. This increases the risk of complications in pregnancy and childbirth, and may lead to premature or underweight babies.

IVF

If a couple are having difficulty conceiving a child because the quantity or quality of the man's sperm is poor then in vitro fertilisation - or IVF - can be used. This is where the egg is fertilised outside the woman's body and then implanted back into her uterus. As FSH can also be used to encourage the production of several mature eggs at once, it is used as part of IVF to increase the number of eggs available for fertilisation.

Watch

You may wish to view this BBC News item from 2006 about IVF.

Some people worry about the ethical implications of IVF, and are concerned that couples may only want fertilised eggs with 'desirable' qualities. For example, they may want a girl if they have lots of boys in the family, or they may wish to avoid producing a baby with an inherited defect.

Now try a Test Bite

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Benefits and problems of controlling fertility

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Oral contraceptives allow couples to choose the time they start a family, and choose the time they stop having children. However, some women who take the pill may suffer from changes in weight, mood and blood pressure, as a result of the hormones in it.

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GCSE Biology Revision: Hormones to control fertility

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Some women have difficulty becoming pregnant because they don't produce enough FSH to allow their eggs to mature. Fertility drugs contain FSH and LH, which stimulate eggs to mature in the ovary.

Fertility treatments increase a woman's chance of becoming pregnant, although the treatment may not always work. On the other hand, because the treatment boosts the production of mature eggs, multiple conceptions sometimes occur, with twins or triplets being expected. This increases the risk of complications in pregnancy and childbirth, and may lead to premature or underweight babies.

In vitro fertilisation, IVF

If a couple are having difficulty conceiving a child because the quantity or quality of the man's sperm is poor then IVF can be used. This is where the egg is fertilised outside the woman's body and then implanted back into her uterus. As FSH can also be used to encourage the production of several mature eggs at once, it is used as part of IVF to increase the number of eggs available for fertilisation.

Designer babies

Watch

You may wish to view this BBC News item (2006) about IVF.

Some people worry about the ethical implications of IVF. They are concerned that couples may want 'designer babies' with 'desirable' qualities, so may only want certain fertilised eggs. For example, they may want a girl if they have lots of boys in the family, or they may wish to avoid producing a baby with an inherited defect.

Now try a Test Bite.

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Some women have difficulty becoming pregnant because they don't produce enough FSH to allow their eggs to mature. Fertility drugs contain FSH and LH, which stimulate eggs to mature in the ovary. Fertility treatments increase a woman's chance of becoming pregnant, although the treatment may not always work.

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BBC - GCSE Bitesize: Controlling fertility

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A secondary school revision resource for AQA GCSE Science about human biology and hormones