Research in Reproduction

Infertility affects up to 10% of individuals/couples in the United States. Over the last few decades, treatment options have rapidly improved. Specifically, assisted reproductive technology (ART) success rates have improved with up to a 50% chance of live birth with in vitro fertilization (IVF) in women under the age of 35 (Source: SART National Summary Report). Despite these improvements, some individuals/couples have multiple cycles of IVF without conceiving or experience 'recurrent implantation failure' (RIF). RIF is a devastating and poorly understood diagnosis.

Our outreach program aims to provide support and education to individuals/couples who have struggled with infertility. We also provide education and support to the community through collaborative programming and joint initiatives.

Courtney Marsh, MD, MPH

As a reproductive endocrinologist and chair of the Fertility Outreach Core, I am excited to improve the wellness and fertility of women in the Kansas City metro area. We are focusing on miscarriage, which is a devastating aspect of infertility. Medically, we do not fully understand miscarriages, and emotionally, the process can be very painful. We hope to support women, couples, and families who have experienced a miscarriage. We also aim to educate medical professionals about this process. Please visit the website regularly for updates on future directions!

Stakeholders Meetings for Fertility Outreach Core

February 20, 2020
We had a very successful inaugural stakeholder meeting for our Fertility Outreach Core! Our stakeholders represent many aspects of fertility and include: fertility patients, medical students, reproductive endocrinologists, a public health master’s student, and nurses. Our goal was to bring together individuals from a variety of backgrounds to make our outreach the best it can be!

We brainstormed various ideas for community outreach and narrowed our focus to miscarriage. Miscarriage, which is the loss of a pregnancy before twenty weeks of gestation, is the most common type of pregnancy loss, affecting 3 million women across the United States each year. Miscarriage can be very painful physically and emotionally, and our medical understanding of why miscarriages happen is limited. As miscarriage is often an unspoken condition, we want to raise awareness and support individuals and families who have experienced this loss.

Our outreach will focus on wellness, encompassing seven dimensions: physical, emotional, social, intellectual, spiritual, occupational, and environmental. Although our plans are still developing, we will concentrate on the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual aspects of wellness. More to come – so stay tuned!

Ashley Flynn, Fertility Outreach Core Stakeholder

In 2011, at the age of 24, Ashley Flynn was diagnosed with rectal cancer, which is typically not screened for until age 45. To be cured, Ashley underwent multiple rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, which put her fertility at risk. Fortunately, her oncologists kept her future in mind. Before starting treatment, Ashley met with a reproductive endocrinologist at the University of Kansas Health System Advanced Reproductive Medicine to develop a fertility preservation plan. Ashley’s ovaries were surgically repositioned to protect her eggs from radiation. This meant that to have biological children, Ashley would need to undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF). After completing chemotherapy and radiation, Ashley was declared cancer-free.

Ashley married her husband, Shawn, in 2015. Wanting children, they began learning about the IVF process. With the help of a reproductive endocrinologist and an interventional radiologist at the University of Kansas Health System, they retrieved multiple eggs, resulting in three healthy embryos. Today, Shawn and Ashley have two healthy sons, Samuel, 3, and Luke, 8 months.

Ashley is honored to serve as a stakeholder in the Fertility Outreach Core, aiming to provide insight, support, and hope to others facing infertility.

Katelyn Schumacher, Fertility Outreach Core Stakeholder

I am currently in the combined Doctor of Medicine and Master of Public Health program at the University of Kansas School of Medicine and look forward to positively impacting the Kansas City metro area. The Fertility Outreach Core provides an exciting opportunity to educate and engage the community with the goal of improving mental and physical health surrounding fertility. I am passionate about helping women navigate infertility and miscarriage through education and wellness resources, which aligns with the aims of this project.

Resources

Papers

• Genetic Redundancy of GATA Factors in the Extraembryonic Trophoblast Lineage Ensures the Progression of Preimplantation and Postimplantation Mammalian Development
• EED and KDM6B Coordinate the First Mammalian Cell Lineage Commitment to Ensure Embryo Implantation

American Society for Reproductive Medicine: ReproductiveFacts.org

• Assisted Reproductive Technologies
• Reproductive Educational Videos

The National Infertility Association: Resolve.org

• Support for Friends & Family
• Helpful Resources for Family Building Journey
• Infertility & Relationships
• Managing Infertility Stress