Track 5: Infertility disorders

Infertility is an inability to reproduce due to several reasons. The causes of infertility are uncertain as there can be many possible reasons for it. Fertile woman ovulates every month in a periodical cycle by the action of hormones. Infertility is the absence of babies even after having proper planned intercourse. These can be one of the major problems in the health of women with several side effects.

The disorders are fortunately treated by medical advances; The causes may vary from person to person like some may be due to endometriosis a term that denotes the growth of tissues outside the uterine lining or can be due to PCOD (Polycystic ovarian disorder) that are characterized by irregular periods, anovulation, that may interfere with the process of ovulation. Certain auto-immune disorders and infections can also account for infertility in rare cases.

• PCOD
• Endometriosis
• IVF
• Laparoscopy treatments

Track 6: Maternal health

Maternal health is the health of a woman during pregnancy, delivery and the postpartum period. The health of a woman is of prime importance during pregnancy followed by labour as that involves the well-being of the child. The maternal morbidity and deaths have been decreased considerably in comparison with the past due to the developments in healthcare.

Obstetricians, midwives and doctors should take proper responsibility during labor and the expectant mother should have at least a minimum of four antenatal visits to ensure the health of mother and baby. Pregnancy can pose problems like hypertension, pre-eclampsia, heavy bleeding, etc., that should be taken care of in a proper manner.

• Obstetrics
• Maternal mortality
• Abortion
• Pregnancy complications

Track 7: Menstrual cycle

The menstrual cycle also known as ‘menses’ is a natural change occurring in women that is a major important sign of fertility. There are different phases in this process wherein the activities are hormones are well expressed in order to perform the processes of menstruation. These processes include ovulation which is the production of eggs/ova in the ovarian phase which follows the follicle phase and further continued by the luteinizing phase of this cycle.

Menstruation starts between the age of 8 and 15 which marks the attaining of puberty by the stage ‘menarche’ or the first menstrual cycle. Uterus lining is formed during ovulation that provides nutrients for the embryo after implantation. If the egg is not fertilized the uterus lining sheds of as blood which is called a menses. There are physical and emotional changes observed before the onset of periods that is entailed by cramps, mood swings till the bleeding stops. The flow of blood can range from 3 days to 7 days. The period of cycle on an average is 28 days and is stopped between the 45-55 years of age after ‘menopause’. This process causes variety of changes in women.

• Ovulation
• Physical changes
• Menopause
• Mental changes

Track 8: Female genital mutilation (FGM)

Female genital mutilation also known as female genital cutting or circumcision is a traditional procedure followed in the African, Asian countries with an aim to ensure pre-marital virginity of a woman and to reduce the libido of a girl thereby helps her resist extra-marital acts. This ethnic practice has no known health benefits.

The procedure poses potential health risks to women such as difficulty in urinating, retention of urine leading to the formation of stones, pregnancy complications, fertility issues, etc., Despite many organizations and associations, oppose this FGM even the laws are poorly enforced resulting in the practice of this procedure even now. Healthcare sectors should be enforced to prevent this harmful tradition.

• Psychological effects
• Consequences
• Health effects
• Prevention and Protection acts

Track 9: Non-reproductive health

Women are mentally stronger in men and they are good at intellectual decision making however they are also prone to other health problems similar to men other than reproductive health. These include cardiovascular health, cancers of various types like lung cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, colorectal cancer, cervical cancer, etc.,

Dementia and anemia are more common in women than in men. Anemia is the iron deficiency and accounts to many adverse effects like poor pregnancy outcomes, cognitive problems. Violence towards women is one of the major health issues they face in the name of sexual harassment, assault and femicide including FGM that are reduced much more but steps have to be taken for its complete eradication in the society.

• Cardiovascular disease
• Cancer
• Bone health
• Anemia
• Mental health

Track 10: Women and Health research

The contribution of women in all sectors is rapidly increasing nowadays with a drastic emergence in the healthcare industry. Women participate in the prevention and improvement as health in various roles not only as doctors, but also as professionals, researcher in the healthcare industry. Women are also involved in clinical trials that made more women to be recruited in the healthcare industry.

Number of international and national initiatives has been taken to upgrade the standard of women in the society. Increasing focus is given to enforce and protect the rights of women in all aspects thereby elevating the gender equality in the society.

• International and National initiatives
• Women's rights
• Goals and challenges
• Health equity

Track 11: Reproductive medicine

Reproductive medicine is a branch of science that deals with the diagnosis, prevention and treatments of reproductive systems of both male and female with an aim to allow the process of childbirth according to the choice of individuals with improved reproductive health. The field of reproductive medicine is developed based on the knowledge of reproductive anatomy, physiology and endocrinology including several aspects of molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry and pathology.

Reproductive medicine addresses the issues of puberty, sex education, childbirth, pregnancy, sexual dysfunction, infertility and the diseases of the reproductive system. This field combines and enfolds the other fields such as gynecology, andrology, urology, genitourinary medicine, obstetrics and also psychiatry.

• Reproduction
• STD
• Contraception
• Family planning

Track 12: Scope of reproductive medicine

The scope of reproductive medicine covers the clinical science and medical aspects of reproduction, which also includes physiology and pathology of the reproductive tract, function of gonads and gametogenesis, fertilization, embryo development, implantation, etc.,

Studies in the following areas will also be considered andrology, contraception, fertility preservation, infectious disease, infertility, menstrual disorders, psycho-social issues, reproductive genetics, reproductive surgery, reproductive oncology, reproductive epidemiology, and stem cell research.

• Sex education
• Genetics
• Urology
• Genitourinary medicine
• Endocrinology
• Andrology
• Gynecology

Track 13: Anamnesis

Anamnesis means the case study medical study of person to know their medical history in order to diagnose properly and provide the suitable medication. The information given by the patients to the healthcare professionals help them in assessing the medical condition in depth.

These questions vary upon their focus and depth depending upon the purpose as the psychiatry diagnosis requires the life events of the person whereas the other diagnosis may require only the basic information and the hereditary issues in the family.

In reproductive medicine, the case study is much more important so as to prevent the possible hereditary disorders in the baby before birth. Antenatal visits also known as the visits during pregnancy play a vital role in maintaining the proper health of the expectant mother and the baby.

• Diagnosis
• Case study
• Prevention
• Management methods

Track 14: Fertility treatments

Fertility is the ability to produce off springs by a natural phenomenon. The inability to reproduce despite having a planned intercourse is popularly defined as infertility. There are technologies that help us to overcome these fertility problems by various techniques such as intrauterine insemination (IUI), in-vitro fertilization (IVF), and other assisted reproductive techniques (ART).

In the aforementioned techniques egg is made to mature by a process called ‘ovulation induction’  with the help of hormonal medications in the form of tablets or other therapies. Then either the sperm is directly injected into the uterus using certain devices and made to fertilize the egg followed by implantation in the uterine line or the egg and sperm are made to fertilize in lab conditions and the embryo is injected into the uterus for implantation. No treatments can guarantee the pregnancy but can increase the chances of getting pregnant.

• Artificial insemination
• Egg donation
• Sperm donation
• Embryo donation

Track 15: Biomarkers in reproductive medicine

A biomarker is a substance that is used to identify a disorder or to measure the change in the organism. The presence of a disease can be said by the use of biomarkers by introducing it into the organism. It is a measurable indicator of the severity of the physical and physiological conditions in the body.

These biomarkers are accompanied with one aspect of the disease but not all aspects that have clinical importance. Biomarkers are used in reproductive medicine to determine the quality of egg and the function of granulosa cells.

• Neo-hormones
• Clinical biochemistry
• NGS (Next generation sequencing)
• Bioinformatics

Track 16: Assisted reproductive technology

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is often defined as the treatments to curb infertility and other fertility concerned issues. IVF, IUI are some of the ART techniques that aim at treating the reproductive disorders. Some ART techniques are also used in couples who are fertile for preimplantation genetic study to overcome the congenital disorders if any.

The use ART is being increased in the present days in UK, US, to achieve fertility and also to modify the human characteristics based on the choice of the parents before baby is born. The emergence of technologies that combine reproduction and genetic aspects (Reprogenetics) are becoming more powerful.

• ICSI
• Cryopreservation
• Surrogacy
• Genetic diagnosis
• Fertility treatments

Track 17: Biomedical study

Biomedical sciences or the biomedical study is the application of natural science that is the facts of nature combined with logic and other existing formal sciences such as mathematics, statistics, etc., to the knowledge, interventions of technology that are of use in healthcare.

The prevention, diagnosis, treatment, cause and effect of diseases are deeply known by various biomedical sciences to have a thorough information and knowledge of the respective disorder in order to provide the proper treatment and to prevent the onset of those diseases in future.

• Embryonic stem cells
• Pathology
• Biological problems
• Intra fallopian transfer

Track 18: Epigenetics