International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

A test which can predict how successful a second attempt at in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment will be has been developed by scientists from the University of Stanford in the US.

The new patented test is apparently 1,000 times more accurate than any existing methods, and experts believe it could help couples decide whether they want to undergo a second round of treatment.

An experimental morning-after pill could help relieve millions of women from the womb condition fibroids.

The drug, which is called ulipristal acetate (UPA), could provide a non-surgical alternative treatment for the condition that causes women to suffer pain, heavy periods and infertility, researchers from the US National Institutes of Health said.

Europe is currently leading the way in terms of assisted reproduction technologies and has been the home of the majority of all initiated cycles, a study has found.

Women who undergo ovary transplants to preserve their fertility could also live longer, new research has revealed.

Researchers in the study, which took place in Tokyo, transplanted ovaries from young mice into ageing ones.

They found the transplant not only made the rodents fertile, but it also prolonged their life and energised their behaviour.

Women over the age of 40 may get free in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment on the NHS in a bid to reduce "age discrimination".

In the future, health trusts may have to scrap the age limitations for IVF to avoid being sued under laws in place to protect against age discrimination.

The female body has an in-built system which rejects sperm that it does not think will create a pregnancy, researchers have found.

Within the female reproductive system there is something that assesses to see whether the male's sperm is likely to fertilise the eggs, resulting in a pregnancy, reports ABC News.

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) babies are almost twice as likely to suffer birth defects compared with children conceived naturally, a new study has revealed.

Test-tube babies have a higher risk of being born with heart problems and malformed reproductive systems, the research, which examined more than 15,000 births in France from 2003 to 2007, has found.

How fertile a person is can be dictated by personality, a new study has revealed.

Women who are neurotic and extrovert men are more likely to produce more children in societies with traditionally high birth rates, researchers from the University of Sheffield in the UK found.

Women over the age of 40 who are struggling to get pregnant have been advised to consider a fertility treatment that sees embryos placed directly into the fallopian tube.

John Jain of Santa Monica Fertility Specialists highlighted the potential benefits of Zygote Intrafallopian Transfer (Zift) as an alternative to in-vitro fertilisation.

A new fertility treatment may be developed as scientists have discovered a means to stimulate sex hormones.

Researchers from Imperial College London found that injecting women with the hormone kisspeptin - a product of the KISS-1 gene and regulator of reproductive function - can address infertility.