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Background: Infertility is a highly meaningful issue with potentially life-changing consequences, and its incidence has been growing worldwide. Assisted reproductive technology (ART) has made giant strides in terms of treating many infertility conditions, despite the risk of developing ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), a potentially life-threatening complication. Methods: This narrative review draws upon scientific articles found in the PubMed database. The search spanned the 1990–2024 period. Search strings used included "OHSS" or "ovarian hyperstimulation" and "IVF" and "GnRH" and "hCG"; 1098 results were retrieved and were ultimately narrowed down to 111 suitable sources, i.e., relevant articles dealing with the condition's underlying dynamics, management pathways, and evidence-based criteria and guidelines, crucial both from a clinical perspective and from the standpoint of medicolegal tenability. Results: The following features constitute OHSS risk factors: young age, low body weight, and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), among others. GnRH antagonist can substantially lower the risk of severe OHSS, compared to the long protocol with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist. However, a mild or moderate form of OHSS is also possible if the antagonist protocol is used, especially when hCG is used for the final maturation of oocytes. For women at risk of OHSS, GnRH agonist trigger and the freeze-all strategy is advisable. OHSS is one of the most frequent complications, with a 30% rate in IVF cycles. Conclusion: Providing effective care for OHSS patients begins with early diagnosis, while also evaluating for comorbidities and complications. In addition to that, we should pay more attention to the psychological component of this complication and of infertility as a whole. Compliance with guidelines and evidence-based best practices is essential for medicolegal tenability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surrogacy is an arrangement by which a surrogate mother bears a child for another couple or person, and is often thought of as a form of 'treatment' for couples (or even individuals) with fertility or sterility issues. Still, surrogacy entails ethical issues related to gender, fundamental human rights, exploitation and inequality. Starting from the Italian state of affairs, the authors have set out to briefly expound upon such complexities, taking into account relevant jurisprudence on the subject, with a particular focus on inter-country surrogacy and second-parent adoption, which can themselves engender significant legal dilemmas. When residents of countries where surrogacy is banned travel abroad and hire a surrogate, that may lead to considerable legal hurdles as well. In Italy and elsewhere, the courts have all too often had to fill the vacuum left by the lack of targeted legislation. The Italian Constitutional Court has recently urged lawmakers to enact new legislation to uphold the minor's best interests. In fact, while some countries recognise the surrogate as the legal parent, others ascribe parenthood to the commissioning parents. That discrepancy can lead to a 'clash of laws', resulting in children ending up stateless and unable to maintain an already established family relationship. Just like fundamental protection of human rights and public health, the regulation of revolutionary technologies that change the very notion of reproduction, parenthood, and human identity needs to be governed by uniform standards, shared at least by nations which espouse common core values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: SARS-CoV-2 has infected over 614 million people worldwide, killing more than 6.5 million. COVID-19 impact on fertility may have far-reaching ramifications, considering that only in Italy, over 20 million people have been infected, many more considering unconfirmed cases., Methods: The authors aimed to outline the repercussions of COVID-19 on female reproductive capabilities, through an analysis of underlying mechanisms and dynamics liable to cause long-term COVID-19 complications and sequelae, including direct virus-induced tissue damage., Results: The entry receptor for SARS-CoV-2, Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) can be found in several tissues and organs within the human body, including ovaries, oocytes and placenta. In order to assess the fertility-damaging potential of the disease, it is necessary to clarify highly complex mechanisms such as the ovarian renin-angiotensin system (OVRAS) affecting ovarian physiology and dysfunction. COVID-19 and its potential to undermine the fertility prospects of millions cannot be underestimated. It is therefore essential for lawmakers to solve inconsistencies such as those in Italy's Law 40/2004, which has been all but dismantled by Constitutional Court and European Court of Human Rights rulings, and cannot therefore offer a sufficient degree of certainty and reliability., Conclusions: When crafting novel, updated standards, norms and regulations to govern access to medically-assisted procreation, national leaders need to take into account the grave threat to fertility in a country such as Italy, which already has one of the world's lowest birth rates, posed by COVID-19 in light of currently available research findings outlining its impact on reproductive capacity.

Obesity has been associated with reduced fertility, although the dynamics and mechanisms which link excess weight to reduced fertility are not yet fully clarified. Obese women, especially those with central obesity, are less likely to conceive per cycle. Obese women suffer from perturbations of the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary axis, disturbances of the menstrual cycle and are up to three times more likely to suffer from oligo/anovulation. A delicate hormonal balance regulates follicular development and the maturation of oocytes and it has been observed that obesity can alter the hormonal environment: adipocytes, in fact, are responsible for the production of a hormone called leptin (present in high quantities in obese women) which has been associated with reduced fecundity. In addition to compromising ovulation, obesity negatively affects the development and implantation of the endometrium. The expression of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is regulated, in part, by weight, so obese women with PCOS often have a more severe phenotype and higher subfertility rates. Furthermore, obesity impairs women's response to medically assisted procreation (MAP) treatments. The authors have set out to delineate a broad-ranging overview of obesity's impact on female fertility, by drawing upon sources spanning the 1994-2022 period. Assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures are also discussed as they relate to obese patients. In addition the dynamics by which maternal obesity reportedly affects fetal, neonatal and child development have also been briefly enunciated.

The Italian Supreme Court ruling no. 18901 of May 13, 2021 has determined that doctors who are opposed to abortion can refuse to perform it on grounds of conscience, but such a refusal does not exempt them from providing assistance to the woman before and after the procedure itself. The legalization of abortion should be considered within a broader strategy to put an end to underground and unsafe abortions, to raise awareness and enhance reproductive education and accessibility to contraceptive methods. The authors have set out to briefly analyze the legal and ethical complexities inherent in the effort to reconcile women's reproductive autonomy and freedom of choice with conscience-based refusal on the part of numerous healthcare professionals. Such an apparent conflict highlights the need for an ethically tenable solution that takes into account the dignity of unborn children, based on the conviction of many healthcare professionals primarily based on moral and religious tenets, that life begins at conception as well as the reproductive freedom and autonomy of women.

Background and Aim: The emergency caused by the spread of COVID-19 has overwhelmed health care facilities and required the reorganization of health systems in many nations worldwide. A year after its appearance, measures aimed at further containing disease transmission through massive vaccination campaigns. In pregnancy, vaccination should be administered with caution, in light of the lack of reliable data, since pregnant women have been excluded from experimentation. The pandemic has had a significant impact on assisted reproduction procedures in Italy. Methods: The authors have set out to analyze the measures issued by the Italian government in order to counter the spread of COVID-19, in addition to the national and international guidelines on assisted reproduction., Discussion: The purpose of these documents is precautionary in nature: such measures are based on the principles of responsibility and solidarity, essential to stave off the saturation of health systems, curb contagion, but also to lay out a set of rules to starting a pregnancy while preserving the health of couples, operators and newborns. The authors also expound upon the rights claimed by couples seeking access to MAP (i.e. the right to become a parent, the couple's right to health, interest in demographic development). Conclusions: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had a major impact on infertile couples. Since the pandemic broke out, Italy, like most European countries, has interrupted most ordinary activities of the centers operating in the field of assisted fertilization. We believe that access to assisted fertilization techniques by sterile and infertile couples should be part of the right to health rather than of the supposed right to become parents or the increase in the birth rate, also evoked as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded. The current system of compensation and reimbursements needs to be reconfigured in order to prevent any form of discrimination.