Guidance sets out advice for couples with fertility problems
Advice that should be offered to couples with fertility problems has been set out by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence this week.
NICE makes recommendations on how often couples should have unprotected
sex and suggests that they should be offered advice on smoking and weight.
In addition, it says that couples should check whether or not any medicines
they are taking could affect their fertility. The new guideline, published
by NICE in conjunction with the National Collaborating Centre for Women’s
and Children’s Health, also sets out the types of treatment and
investigations that should be available to people with fertility problems
in England and Wales.
Couples who have been trying for a pregnancy for three years, or who
have a known reason for their fertility problems, should be offered three
cycles of stimulated in vitro fertilisation (IVF) if the woman is aged
between 23 and 39 years. The guideline also identifies couples who should
be offered intra-uterine insemination. In response to the guidance, Health
Secretary John Reid, said: “As a first step, by April next year
I want all primary care trusts, including those which at present provide
no IVF treatment, to offer at least one full cycle of treatment to all
those eligible.”
One of the priorities for implementation is that prescribing costs should
be minimised. NICE also recommends that all women with fertility problems
should be screened for chlamydia. The guideline is available on the NICE
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