Pregnancy after menopause? Not a big deal.

Last published /updated on 1/6/2005A report from a British newspaper and picked up by Reuter's indicated that a woman rendered infertile by chemotherpay has delivered a baby without any treatment. Why this story made the news is anybody's guess but it is certainly not that newsworthy. It has long been known that premature ovarian failure (premature menopause) can be induced by cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation. It is also known that of all the possible causes of premature menopause, ovarian failure caused by chemotherapy and radiation has the highest rate of remission. In other words, it is the most reversible. Studies indicate that women with premature menopause may ovulate and conceive spontaneously in 3-4% of cases. If the menopause was a result of chemotherapy, the rate may be as high as 10-20%. This brings me back to my first point. Why is this news story? Probably the medical center where she delivered had a good publicity department. The fact that a Belgian woman recently delivered a baby after cancer treatment but with transplantation of a portion of her ovary may also have had something to do with it. Non-medically inclined editors may have thought that this was a similar story which, from the Reuter's report, does not appear to be.