This is ELANZINE, a newsletter featuring must-read content by patients, clinicians and reproductive health industry experts. We bring both sides of the coin together in one place to help you become the most informed patient, clinician or women’s health leader you can be! If you enjoy this issue, please forward to a friend or colleague and hit the subscribe button to keep learning from peers and experts.

Here’s what we’re covering in today’s newsletter:

• Why is fertility so hard to detect in humans?

• What to expect from each stage of egg freezing - and how much it costs

• The menstruation equity movement gathers pace

• The epigenetic changes in sperm that could predict autism in children

• Mandy Moore reveals her fertility struggles

What’s New

The fight for menstruation equity around the world continues in 2021. The start of the year has seen the end of the so-called “Tampon Tax” in England—the culmination of a seven-year organizing campaign. And Scotland made history as the first nation to mandate free period products to anyone in need, and other European governments are funding steps in that direction.

Isobel Marshall was named Young Australian of the Year for her initiative that aims to help the 30 per cent of girls in the developing world who have to drop out of school once they start puberty, and one in 10 women around the world can’t afford menstrual products.

Research shows one in five American girls miss school because of menstrual complications. Since 2005, the University of Iowa has distributed free supplies—rather than charging for them through vending machines in bathrooms—when it realized it would spend $29,000 less every year in administrative costs. Fortune reports on why private businesses should follow suit and help end ‘period poverty’ for women in America.

From The Experts

• What to expect from each stage of egg freezing. Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh / ELANZA Wellness

• How much should egg freezing cost? Valerie Landis / ELANZA Wellness

• Identifying the risk of low ovarian response during repeat IVF (and implications for fertility treatment during the pandemic). Dr Thanos Papathanasiou (Bourn Hall) / BioNews

• Can you do IVF during or after COVID? Dr. James Grifo / ELANZA Wellness

• Do STI’s reduce fertility? Glamour

From The Patients

• Pregnant Mandy Moore reveals her fertility struggles. Access Online

• “How the gender health gap led to my late endometriosis diagnosis - and almost killed me.” Ali Pantony / Glamour

• Woman, 19, going through menopause after cancer treatment at 17 says her symptoms were dismissed as 'teenage hormones.' Hayley Richardson / Mail Online

• 12 celebrities who've candidly discussed their fertility struggles. Nichola Murphy / Hello

• “So I’m single and 30 – it’s time to find out if I’m fertile.” Kelly Bertrand / Stuff.nz

Science & Ethics

• Sleep apnea may increase the risk of infertility in men. Erin T. Welsh / Healio

• Human females rely on aids like charting, test strips or wearable tech to identify periods of fertility, while some animals, like baboons, undergo obvious physical changes during ovulation. How did fertility become so hard to detect in humans? A new study suggests competition between female could be the answer. Jamie Arona Krems et al. / Nature Human Behaviour

• Scientists find that epigenetic changes in sperm may predict autism in children. Clinical Epigenetics Journal

• Researchers have found evidence that women’s menstrual cycles are synchronized with lunar cycles. Chrissy Sexton / Earth.com

Upcoming Online Events

Click Register to secure your spot at these free Zoom webinars.

When the Fertility Doctor Becomes the Patient

Friday 29 January, 11am PT / 2pm ET / 7pm GMT

As a fertility doctor, Diana Chavkin has helped thousands of people become parents. Join this ELANZA fireside chat this Friday, as she reflects on her experience and insights from finding herself on the other side of the desk, as an IVF patient at her own workplace, HRC Fertility in Los Angeles.

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Closing the Gender Data Gap in Health

Wednesday 3 February, 11am PT / 2pm ET / 7pm GMT

The "gender data gap" in medical research is now well documented. Less understood is what is actually being done to close it. Join us to hear from Laura Neale and Dr. Ed Coats from Wellbeing of Women, one of the organizations at the forefront of pioneering research - which has funded discoveries that are leading to new treatments, cures, and better quality of life for people around the world.

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What It’s Like to Use Your Frozen Eggs

Friday 5 February, 11am PT / 2pm ET / 7pm GMT

Despite the boom in elective egg freezing, due to its recency only a relatively small percentage of people who have frozen eggs have actually gone back to try to use them to become pregnant. Agnes Fischer is one them. Join us to hear her story.

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Engineering Your Family Building Years

Friday 19 February, 11am PT / 2pm ET / 7pm GMT

Many of us struggle to consciously design our lives in a way that makes achieving all our goals possible. That's especially true during our family building years, when personal and professional clashes and compromises can feel inevitable. We hear from a software-engineer-turned-coach about how to apply tried and tested change methodologies to concept-model your life, and help you design a plan to optimally work through all stages.

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Past Events

Couldn’t make it to a previous event? Don’t worry! Find recaps and recordings below.

Stress and Fertility: What’s the Link?

A new study has uncovered a "missing link" between the brain and the reproductive system.

Read more

The Latest on Birth Control

A nurse practitioner explains new developments in birth control, and what different birth control options can mean for fertility and family building.

Read more

Thought for the day

“The food you eat can either be the safest and most powerful form of medicine…or the slowest form of poison.”

― Ann Wigmore

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Written by ELANZA Wellness. All things reproductive health, healthtech and patient experience. You can find us elsewhere on Twitter and Instagram.