Case Study

Couple 1: Jane and John have waited until their early 30s to have children. They have fraternal twins, who are two years of age. One of the twins has Turner’s syndrome, a genetic disorder in which a female child has only one X chromosome. Jane and John wish to have another child. They are both 35 years of age and have had no known reproductive problems in their past. Because one of their children is also autistic, they wish to be more informed of possible health concerns for their next child.

Couple 2: José and Maria are high school sweethearts and were married at 21 and 22 years of age, respectively. They chose to complete university degrees and start their careers before they started their family. They are now 27 and 28 years of age and want to have children. Maria had severe cramping with her menstrual cycle at the age of 15, and her doctor prescribed her birth-control pills. She took these pills up until two years ago when she and José decided they wanted to start their family. After six months of being off the pill, she was still not menstruating regularly. José has no known reproductive problems.

Couple 3: Olga and Karl are married and wish to build on their blended family by having a child of their own. Karl was widowed when his first wife passed away and left him with two children. Karl had a vasectomy after fathering his two children. Olga and her first husband had tried to start a family, but no children resulted.
identification of a fertility issue for each member of the couple
identification of the underlying issues contributing to infertility
discussion of three issues that you would discuss with the couple about their fertility
discussion of three choices and technologies that are available to address their fertility issues