dway@heraldsun.com; 918-1035
CHAPEL HILL -- Although the population of the United States continues to grow, about 14 percent of women experience fertility complications. A study being conducted at UNC hopes to pinpoint a hormone that might identify those who are most likely to have problems conceiving children.
"Infertility actually affects one in seven people," said Ashley Calingo, study coordinator for Time to Conceive, a research study program being carried out at the UNC School of Medicine's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. "We're just looking to find a way to eliminate that."
By we, Calingo means her and Anne Z. Steiner, a medical doctor who is an assistant professor in the UNC School of Medicine's Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility.
It is a small staff, she concedes.
"Reproductive endocrinology is not as big on the WOW factor" as other medical issues being researched, such as cancer and other diseases, Calingo said. "With budget cuts, we don't have a lot of funding."
So, with no advertising budget to speak of, she has been spending the bulk of her time physically recruiting subjects to participate in the study.
"We've had a relatively big response from the UNC community. But we're trying to reach out" into other parts of the service area, Calingo said.
"We're looking for women between the ages of 30 and 44," she said. "A lot of women are putting off pregnancy because they're more career- oriented, so that's why we're looking at that population."
The initial phase of the study is "looking to see what hormone can predict fertility or infertility," Calingo said.
Should such a finding be successful, "We'll be able to look to see if there is a hormone imbalance" in a woman hoping to get pregnant, she said. "We would try to correct the hormone imbalance."
Testing is "not really invasive," she said. There is an initial draw of blood, but most samples taken are urine.
Research subjects are asked to keep a three-month fertility calendar to record menstruation, intercourse, medications, signs of ovulation, and pregnancy test results.
Urine collection is taken at various intervals in the menstrual cycle, and collection materials are supplied at no cost.
Once a positive pregnancy test is received, Time to Conceive schedules an ultrasound at one of two study sites to evaluate the pregnancy during the seventh week of pregnancy.
"It is an intimate thing," Calingo said of fertility issues and a woman's desire to get pregnant. "We keep it as private as possible."
