Pride Angel

The global economic downturn stopped the first rise in fertility rates in more than 40 years, research reveals today.

Academics found that the recession of 2008-09 led to a decline in fertility rates as young, professional women feared for their financial future if they became pregnant. The downturn which started three years ago brought to an end the first concerted rise in fertility rates in the developing world since the 1960s, the study found.

In some large countries like the USA and Spain, the recession actually reversed the upward fertility trend. In others like England, Ireland and Italy, the rising fertility rates were interrupted, following a decade of generally rising fertility after 1998.

The study by the Vienna Institute of Demography of the Austrian Academy of Sciences found that there were differing reactions to the recession depending on sex, age, number of children, education level, and migrant status.

Scientists discovered that fertility rates in 26 of the 27 EU nations were steadily rising until 2008 (with stagnation in Luxembourg), when they then began to either decline or stay the same in 17 countries. In 2009 13 EU countries saw their fertility rates decline and another four countries experienced stable fertility rates.

Researchers said that a rise in unemployment and general job uncertainty was a 'key factor' behind this trend. The decline could last until 2013, according to researchers, but is unlikely to affect overall worldwide population growth.

Tomáš Sobotka, one of the authors of the VID study, said: 'Highly educated women react to employment uncertainty by adopting a 'postponement strategy,' especially if they are childless.

'We have noted some specific patterns of behavior; the young and the childless, for example, are less likely to have children during recessions. 'In contrast, less-educated women often maintain or increase their fertility under economic uncertainty.' Study: Mr Sobotka said the current recession has been serious enough to have 'long-lasting effects' on fertility Mr Sobotka also noted that countries who have recently suffered severe debt problems such as Greece, Portugal and Ireland are likely to see much longer-term fertility declines.

He added: 'Countries like Greece, Ireland, Portugal, or Spain are likely to see protracted fertility declines due to a combination of very high unemployment and radical cuts in social spending.'

It was also noted that for men, those with low education and skills faced increasing difficulty in finding a partner or supporting their family, and often showed the largest decline in first child birth rates. Although previous downturns were too short to have a permanent impact on fertility, it has been said that the current recession has been sufficiently serious to have long-lasting effects.

The study adds: 'Massive cuts in public spending in many developed countries, including Spain and the UK, aimed at reducing the budget deficit, will affect social and family-related expenditures and potentially also fertility.'

The study by Tomáš Sobotka and Dimiter Philipov from the Vienna Institute of Demography of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and Vegard Skirbekk from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis is published in the latest issue of Population and Development Review.

Article: 29th June 2011 www.dailymail.co.uk

Read more about low cost alternatives to IVF at www.prideangel.com

As women postpone having children and face the ticking of their biological clocks, they may turn to donor eggs or donor sperm to help them have children. For women (and men) in Washington State, the fertility industry will be transformed in late July, 2011. Under a law recently signed by the governor, anyone who provides sperm or eggs to a fertility clinic in the state must also provide identifying information and a medical history. While that is, in fact, a customary practice for most fertility clinics, another part of the law will allow children born from donated gametes to return to the fertility clinic when they reach the age of 18 to request the identifying information and the medical history. Although the donor can file a disclosure veto that prevents the clinic from revealing the identifying information, the donor offspring will still be entitled to the medical information.

No other U.S. state has taken the same steps. Not only can fertility clinics destroy records long before the child turns 18, but also donor offspring are not entitled to any information about their donors and medical information is rarely updated and shared amongst donors and recipient families.

Some international laws are different. Sweden enacted legislation in 1984 that allows donor offspring the right to receive identifying information about their donor. Other countries have followed, with Austria, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, the UK, and some states in Australia all prohibiting anonymous gamete donation, and also setting up systems to help people find out their donor's identity. In May, shortly after the governor signed the Washington state legislation, the British Columbia Supreme Court declared that people conceived by donor gametes had to be treated in the same way as people who had been adopted with respect to accessing information about their biological parents.

The new Washington law is an important milestone. It is, however, flawed, because it includes a disclosure veto, allowing the donors' alleged interests in privacy to trump the interests of donor-conceived offspring and the intending parents in learning the donor's identity. For many donor offspring, learning about their biological parent is much more than just learning about their medical history. The issues and concerns of donor offspring are often complex and multi-dimensional. Many feel that until they know about their ancestral, genetic heritage, they will not properly be able to form a full self-identity. As in adoption, many speak of the great desire to know their biological parents so that they can better understand themselves. After many decades of silence, and fueled by the movement towards full disclosure within families, the voices of donor conceived people are being heard round the world, and they demanding what they see as their basic human rights to know about and connect with their genetic families.

Vasanti Jadva, at the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge, collaborated with Wendy Kramer and several others in a study looking at the experiences of donor offspring in searching for, and contacting, their donor siblings and donor. They recruited 165 participants through the Donor Sibling Registry, so there was already some curiosity about their origins. Among the participants, 77% were searching for their donors and listed the top reasons for searching as "Curiosity about characteristics of your donor", "Wanting to meet your donor ", "Medical reasons", and "To have a better understanding of why I am who I am."

More recently, (Human Reproduction, In Press, Beeson et al.) in the largest study of donor offspring (751 in total), with about half of the respondents coming from the general public, 82% of respondents indicate the desire to be in contact someday with their donor. Top reasons for searching were "To see what he looks like", "To learn more about my ancestry" and "To learn more about myself".

As some of them explained:

• "It makes me angry that I am denied the basic right of knowing who my father was and what ethnicity I am."

• "Angry and frustrated that I can't get information about my heritage, genetics, looks, and medical history. I feel that half my identity has been stolen by the doctor, and that is unjust."

While there are fears that lifting anonymity might cause a donor shortage, the experience in other countries provides a useful antidote. A reported shortage of sperm in the United Kingdom has been blamed on the removal of anonymity. As journalist Liza Mundy documented last year, however, "there has not been a decline in registered sperm donors following the 2005 change, and it's arguable that there is not a shortage of donor sperm now. The number of sperm donors has risen in the UK since the identity-disclosure rule took effect." There are also fears that banning anonymity is part of a slippery slope towards regulating not just what gametes are available but who has access to those gametes. This is unjustified. In fact, the UK extended equality of treatment to same-sex couples after it abolished anonymity.

Washington has taken the first step towards what we hope will be a new attitude of openness throughout the country.

Article: 24th June 2011 www.huffingtonpost.com

Read more about known egg and sperm donors at www.prideangel.com

He donated sperm every week for three years when he was a cash-strapped college student 20 years ago, and now Todd Whitehurst is still counting his children.

Four years ago, Mr Whitehurst, from New York, got an email from a girl named Virginia. Mr Whitehurst, a 45-year-old medical engineer, said: 'She said, basically, "I'm 14, and I think I'm your daughter".' Shortly after, he found a son, Tyler, who is now 14. Then he found another, Gavin, now 16. That led to another child, and another, and yet another.

He said: 'It was definitely overwhelming. I'm not even sure how many children there are.' So far he has found nine children sired by his sperm. Statistically speaking, said one biogeneticist, Mr Whitehurst could be the father of 42 to 60 children.

Because of a lack of industry regulation, high totals are all too probable, especially for prolific college kids like Mr Whitehurst. He was paid $50 a time at a clinic on the Stanford University campus in the 1980s and 1990s.

A web site set up for the children of sperm donors has discovered a number of 'superdads' who have fathered dozens, sometimes hundreds, of children. One top seed in Virginia has sired 129 kids and still counting, according to the Donor Sibling Registry, a nonprofit that helps connect families with biological fathers and siblings, the New York Post reports.

Wendy Kramer, a mother to a sperm-donor child, started the online registry when her son began asking questions about his father. She said one donor in the Boston area has been traced to 72 kids.

She added that the registry has found 92 groups of 10 or more offspring, and 336 groups that have up to nine siblings. There's no limit on how many banks a donor can sell his sperm to and about 21 per cent of donor fathers have given to more than one, according to Mrs Kramer.

Albert Anouna, director of Biogenetics and Sperm Bank of New York, cryo clinics should destroy a donor's sperm after it has produced about ten live births. Birth numbers are self-reported by pregnant mothers, which he admits is an incomplete and inconsistent system.

Compounding the problem, donors are screened so that the most fertile get selected, because high sperm count is most likely to produce a pregnancy. High-performers who rack up many pregnancies are among the most popular donors selected by women.

'Up until 1999, physicians could order a pool of vials for their patients,' he said. 'They'd come in and the doctor would say, "This one works fine - it's already gotten three women pregnant. Why don't you try it?"'

Mr Whitehurst is one of a handful of donor dads to step forward and connect with his children. Describing the moment he received that first email from Virginia, he said: 'It was pretty wild. She had my donor number, which I hadn't ever given anybody.

'She sent a picture. She looked a lot like me.' He emailed her back, and Virginia encouraged him to go to the Donor Sibling Registry. His donor number immediately turned up two other families, and later, three more. One of his donor mothers actually has three kids from his semen.

A few years ago, Mr Whitehurst, who has two kids from a previous marriage, travelled to meet Virginia, Tyler and Gavin. Now Tyler and Gavin frequently contact him by phone and emails and phone calls with him. Mr Whitehurst said: 'It's been a wonderful and enriching experience, and I am very happy that I have met them.'

Article: 20th June 2011 www.dailymail.co.uk

Read more about known sperm and egg donation and donors keeping in touch with their children at www.prideangel.com

Co-founders of Pride Angel Erika and Karen are enthusiastic about sharing their experience and knowledge through seminars, talks and workshops across the UK.

Their next talk will take place within the L Group families’ workshop:

Titled:
Co-parenting and using a known donor
Ever considering co-parenting or finding a known donor to conceive? How will the anonymity law affect any future children? Find out more about the practicalities, finding a donor through a website, legal considerations and treatment options available.

Talk: Co-parenting and using a known donor

Date: Sunday 3rd July

Time: 11.00 -13.00

Venue: London Friend, 86 Caledonian Road, King’s Cross, London, N1 9DN.

You can reach London Friend by:
Rail: King's Cross or St Pancras Station. Tube: King's Cross/St Pancras. Buses: 10, 17, 30, 45, 91, 93, 73, 205, 259 or 390.

If you are organising an exhibition, run a charity or support group and would like Pride Angel to give a talk at one of your seminars or workshops, please contact us at info@prideangel.com for further information. Read more about our Pride Angel Seminars.

Or if you are interested in finding out about a future talk in your area please Contact us. The more requests we get for a specific area, the sooner we will arrange a talk in that location of the UK, so please get in touch.

Visit L Group families the organisation supporting lesbian parents and lesbians wanting to become parents.

For more about lesbian and gay parenting, co-parenting and using a known donor visit www.prideangel.com

Every year, thousands of desperate couples sacrifice their time, emotions and hard-earned cash in pursuit of their dream baby. The average IVF spend is £5,000, with some couples forking out up to £40,000 for a child that might never arrive. Almost 40,000 women had IVF treatment in the UK in 2008.

While around 15,000 children are born every year as a result of the treatment, shockingly just a quarter of IVF cycles end with a baby being born safely. Encouraged by success stories, many childless couples desperately want to believe that impressive records from certain clinics make a baby a real likelihood, rather than just a possibility.

And while most of us don’t have the budget to pay for endless IVF cycles – not to mention the physical strain and emotional turmoil that go with them – there is no doubt some couples will do everything in their power to conceive. It is this level of desperation that some people fear is being exploited by some UK fertility clinics.

Dr Marilyn Glenville, an expert on improving fertility naturally, says: “Some clinics are doing extra tests when they’re not necessary. “But would-be parents are desperate and will try and pay for anything when they don’t know how much is absolutely necessary.”

For Sian Buchanan and her husband Tony, 46, the need for a baby turned into rounds of tests, treatment and IVF cycles that took them to the depths of despair.

Sian, 42, explains: “Being told you can’t have a baby makes you want one even more, and it’s hard to be told you can’t be a mother. “When me and Tony started looking into fertility treatment we had only been trying for six months, but, at 37, I knew I had to get a move on if we were to have a family.

“And although we knew we were entitled to a cycle of IVF on the NHS, we were prepared to pay whatever it took to conceive. “In that situation, you almost become numb to handing over your credit card.”

For Sian, there was no hesitation when an NHS fertility consultant advised them to go to a private clinic rather than wait for their free cycle. At her age, she was convinced she couldn’t afford to wait any longer.

She recalls: “We chose a London clinic that had an incredibly impressive success rate for IVF. “We had tests, scans and blood tests, but when we came to the point of starting IVF, having built us up, they suddenly told me my hormone levels were too high.

“Even though we’d paid £1,000 by this point, we walked away as we didn’t feel they were giving us enough clear information, and suspected they were more concerned about their success rates than me getting pregnant. “We felt we were handing over money without knowing what was really happening.

“It was so disheartening. We then started private IVF treatment through a hospital, at a cost of £6,000, but this not only didn’t work but it also left me with an infection that landed me in hospital. “It was a very lonely and desperate time for us.

“After spending that much money, the feeling of disappointment and isolation was huge.” Apart from the cost and the trauma, it seems the biggest problem is a lack of information and support for couples, resulting in misinformed decisions. Some would-be parents are even missing free treatment.

Couples contemplating IVF should do research in advance, says Camille Strachan, whose charity To Hatch provides details on NHS fertility policies, criteria for each area, plus clinics’ success rates.

She explains: “When you first visit your GP to discuss options, it pays to do your homework first or you could end up losing out on free NHS treatment. “There’s a referral period, which in some areas is six months, but for others can be up to two years.

“Your age can affect whether or not you’ll be referred – if a woman’s not on a waiting list by 38, there’s a good chance she’s not going to be seen in time. “And in some boroughs you must have lived there at least a year.”

NHS guidelines recommend offering eligible couples up to three cycles of IVF, but budget constraints have been so severe that several health trusts have been forced to restrict access to fertility treatment, with some suspending artificial insemination altogether. It’s no surprise that up to 80% of IVF work is done privately, with cycles costing £3,500 on average – and extras, including hormone treatments, cost thousands more.

Camille, who herself had one failed cycle of IVF before conceiving naturally with the help of acupuncture and Chinese herbs, believes clinics are overcharging and taking advantage of couples’ desperation to conceive. She says: “Prices vary enormously between clinics. One might charge £1,900 for IVF and another £2,500. And there’s no difference between the treatment offered. “I believe that there should ­simply be ­a blanket set price agreed ­between them.” Of course, a price list doesn’t tell the whole story.

Medical circumstances might mean couples need more tests or surgery, or require a higher dosage of drugs. It might cost one couple £2,000 or £3,000 more than another, and that cannot always be avoided. Camille explains: “This just increases the belief that some clinics will overcharge. “There needs to be transparency over the potential costs of IVF.”

So how do clinics massage their figures? Dr Glenville explains: “Some keep their success rates high by being very selective – they won’t take on any unsuccessful candidates for a full-term pregnancy as it would affect their statistics. “Couples in that situation end up getting private IVF through hospitals that don’t have that criteria.

“Or some clinics will take a couple through the start of IVF and then tell them it’s going to be turned into a IUI (artificial insemination). “By doing that, it doesn’t class as an abandoned cycle of IVF, thus not affecting the clinic’s statistics.” If you have to go private, there are key things to check when choosing a clinic.

“Look at the take-home baby rate, not just the pregnancy rate, as many IVF pregnancies end in miscarriage,” explains Dr Glenville. “And look for success rates in your age group, not just the average across the board.”

The good news is the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has committed to making clinics take more responsibility for patient information, ensuring their websites give vulnerable couples realistic guidance. This news comes after fertility treatment pioneer, Lord Robert Winston, criticised clinics for making exaggerated claims and overcharging for treatment and drugs.

For many hopeful couples, the changes can’t come soon enough. But in the meantime, there are alternatives to IVF. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs are believed to help boost fertility, and lifestyle changes can make a massive difference.

At the Marilyn Glenville Clinic couples are helped to conceive naturally through making lifestyle changes, which can ­­also improve the chances of IVF being successful. Dr Glenville says: “We can’t change the quantity of a woman’s eggs, but we can improve quality.” This normally involves two visits, costing between £155 and £175 for the first appointment and from £97 to £115 for the second.

Helen Heap, senior nutritionist at the clinic, says: “Follow a wholesome diet with minimal additives, eat meals cooked from scratch and lots of fruit and veg. “Cut down on tea, coffee, sugar, alcohol and red meat and stick to organic meat and milk, or there can be negative hormonal influences.” Sian has had a happy ending, but not without a struggle.

“We finally had our free cycle of IVF on the NHS and also a treatment called ICSI where the sperm is injected into the egg, but we were struggling to get viable embryos. “As I was about to turn 40 we decided to do another cycle privately after my birthday, as three embryos get transferred (before 40 only two are transferred) increasing your chances of conceiving.

“So, for the first time in a long time, we kicked back and relaxed with our family for a while. “And that’s when, to our utter disbelief, I got pregnant naturally. “When the test showed positive I crumpled on the floor, sobbing. “I’d learned to live with ‘no’ and this was so unexpected – and so incredibly welcome.” Now their daughter Francesca is a happy, 20-month-old child.

And anyone would think Sian wouldn’t dream of enduring the trauma, cost and discomfort of IVF again – right? She says: “Tony doesn’t want to, but I would – we’d find the money somehow. I’d give it one more go and then stop trying.”

● IUI or Artificial Insemination – lower cost, lower success rate but less invasive and traumatic. Sperm are washed and the best are inseminated into the cervix with the help of an ultrasound scan to monitor ovulation.

It is a good idea to try this before IVF.

● Egg sharing – during the course of an IVF cycle, you donate six of your 12 eggs, and these can be sold to another woman – in theory, paying for your IVF. But you must be happy with the thought that the other woman may conceive with your eggs, and there’s a chance you may not. Anonymity has now been taken away for donors, so any children can track you down from the age of 18.

● Embryo freezing – if your IVF treatment produces 12 eggs and six are good embryos, only two can be implanted so the rest can be frozen. If that cycle doesn’t work, those frozen embryos can be implanted for the next cycle, and this reduces cost.

Article: 22nd June 2011 www.mirror.co.uk

Read more about IVF and low cost alternatives such as home insemination at www.prideangel.com

The Independent newspaper are doing feature about same-sex parents and would love to speak to lesbian or gay couples who are bringing up children together.

It would be very straightforward - about what it's like at the school gates, other people's perceptions, whether attitudes are changing and also simple practical issues. It would be for a phone interview which could be done anonymously if you prefer.

If you can help at all please email: info@prideangel.com or alternatively contact us at Pride Angel for further information.

The piece is tied to a new newspaper that is coming out called Pink Parenting.

With modern life comes the modern family as many gay and lesbian couples seek to fulfill their biological needs of having a family. Pink Parenting is here to do just that.

Bringing you everything you need to start a family from surrogacy options, adoption and the legal aspects of being a modern family to what's the best stroller out there on the market.

Find out more about Pink Parenting magazine just visit: www.pink-parenting.com

For more information about sperm donation, using a known donor and gay parenting visit www.prideangel.com

Happy father’s day to all the dads out there, be it biological, non-biological, co-parents or donors who may be known as ‘Dad’.

Whatever role you play in a child’s life, today is the day to remember and celebrate. Some children may have two dads; other families may not have a dad in their lives. Father’s day can be a great opportunity to celebrate the other father figures in your child’s life, be it an uncle or grandfather.

Maybe you are not a dad yet, but have thought about the options. In Los Angeles, Father’s day is used to highlight and encourage gay and lesbian couples to consider fostering or adoption. Maybe you want to be a full time dad through surrogacy, a part-time dad by being a co-parent or a ‘dad’ without all the responsibility by being a sperm donor.

Visit Pride Angel for more information about gay parenting and register today for free.

Off The Fence Productions are developing a new documentary for BBC1 which will feature in a series of programmes looking at Modern Britain and the changing landscape of what a typical family looks like today.

They are specifically looking to find a gay or lesbian parent family who would be willing to share their story and experiences in the form of a one hour documentary.

In particular they are looking for families who already have children and could give an added insight into family life and what it is like growing up with gay/lesbian parents.

The programme would be an overarching look at modern families, however they would need to follow a family event taking place over the next 12 months.

This could be anything from trying for/adopting another baby to a christening, a marriage, starting a business, an extended family holiday, prom, etc.

The tone of the programme would be warm, inspirational and a celebration of diversity in Britain but also highlighting the attitudes and systems that still need to change.

If you feel you have an interesting story to tell and would like to find out more please do get in touch. All correspondence will be treated with the strictest of confidence and there is no initial commitment to any filming or involvement. Please email Naomi@offthefence.com

Alternatively contact Pride Angel for more information.

Hello. My name is Helen Lay and I am looking for sperm donors to interview for my Anthropology Masters dissertation. Within anthropology there has been a lot of work on the experiences of women who act as egg donors and surrogates but the voices of men who choose to act as sperm donors have been somewhat overlooked.

The stereotypical view of sperm donors as young students who do it for ‘beer money’ does not reflect the complexity of the motivations and experiences of this decision, particularly in the case of men who choose to act as co-parents or have a degree of involvement in the lives of the children who they help to conceive.

I would like to explore the thoughts, feelings and experiences of sperm donors, including men who are considering acting as donors, in as much depth as possible. I intend to share my research with Pride Angel with the aim that it may help people who are considering being sperm donors, and contribute to a broader understanding of the experiences of men within assisted conception. My research will be conducted in accordance of University of Sussex ethical guidelines, and interviewees will have complete anonymity.

If you are interested in being interviewed and adding to knowledge and understanding of the lived experiences of sperm donors in the UK and beyond please contact me at helen.s.lay@googlemail.com or alternatively contact Pride Angel for further information.

I am based in the South-East of England and am happy to travel reasonable distances to meet you or alternatively talk via e-mail or skype at your convenience. I look forward to hearing from you.

A London council is appealing for more gay couples to come forward to foster children in need of homes.

Lambeth council says it particularly needs carers for teenagers, disabled children and those on remand.

Cllr Pete Robbins, Lambeth Council Cabinet Member for Children and Young People Services, said he was concerned that so few gay couples in the borough are coming forward.

He said: “We are worried that gay couples in the borough think they can’t apply but this is simply not the case. There are many myths around who can be a foster carer, so this Fathers’ Day, we are urging single men, gay men and gay couples to come forward and find out more about fostering. The ability to provide a stable and loving environment for a child is the first qualification.”

Same-sex couples have been allowed to adopt or foster children jointly since 2005. However, only 3.75 per cent of children adopted in England in 2010 were adopted by gay couples. London is suffering a city-wide shortage of foster carers, especially those who can look after teenagers.

Mr Robbins added: “We are looking for foster carers from diverse backgrounds to provide children with a stable environment until it’s time for them to return home, move to a new permanent family or move to independent living. You do not have to be married, own your home or have children.

“At Lambeth, we are particularly in need of carers who can offer care for teenagers and young people who have been remanded to Lambeth by the courts. As well as carers for babies, children with a disability, and children who need a break from their natural parents (respite care).”

Lambeth council is inviting anyone interested in fostering to attend an information meeting in room 101 of the Town Hall on June 28th, between 4.30pm and 5.45pm. For more information, call 020 7926 8710.

Simon and his partner have been foster parents with Lambeth council for four years.

He said: “Many gay people are put off applying as they don’t think they will be accepted as foster parents but this is not true. Fostering is a joy and you will make a real difference to a child who needs it. The ability to offer a child a loving and stable home life is the main criteria.

“We fostered a 16-year-old who came to us lacking confidence and with very low self-esteem. He told us he ‘felt worthless’ and was a ‘waste of space’. Eight months later he performed a song he’d written to an audience of 200 people. Through offering support, stability and a happy, loving home, he gained so much confidence and belief in himself. When you see a change like that you know exactly why you do it.

“We decided to foster through Lambeth for several reasons. We didn’t like the idea of fostering through an agency because morally it felt wrong to work with an organisation that made a profit from children in care. We found Lambeth to be open, flexible, diverse and it offered great support. Since we’ve fostered with Lambeth, we have found that there is a brilliant support network through the Lambeth Foster Care Association.

“Through it, you meet other foster carers, share common experiences and make new friends. It also organises lots of social things, like day trips, children’s parties and dinner parties, as well as training opportunities. The LFCA also has an excellent working relationship with the council, and we have regular open, candid and honest dialogue. Yes, its challenging, and a 24/7 commitment. It has tested us and our relationship, but it has also brought us closer because you make decisions together and you compromise together. We have disagreed on many things, never in front of our foster children, but we’ve worked through it, and the truth is we’re better parents for it.”

Article: 10th June 2011 www.pinknews.co.uk

Read more about gay parenting at www.prideangel.com