The potential impact of undiagnosed sexually transmitted chlamydia infection on men’s fertility has been highlighted in a study. For the first time scientists found chlamydia in the testicular tissue biopsies of infertile men whose infertility had no identified cause.

The average cost for a woman with endometriosis both personally and for society is around $30,000 a year, according to new research, published today in the journal PLOS ONE.

All would-be mothers should be offered genetic screening to detect severe or deadly conditions they could pass onto their children, including cystic fibrosis and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), radical new national guidelines say.

IN November 2018, The Economist devoted several pages to news of the rapid and unexpected decline in birth rates in the United States: “…this trend is bad for America in the long run. A smaller working-age population makes public pensions less affordable and means the national debt is carried on fewer shoulders. Until recently, it looked as though pro-natalist policies such as generous parental leave and subsidised nurseries could be left to those godless Europeans. In America, faith and family values would ensure a good supply of babies.”

Ten thousand would-be parents will get free testing to detect about 500 genes linked to severe disorders they risk passing on to unborn children in an unprecedented trial that could radically transform family planning in Australia.