Ashlesha Raghubir (34) was diagnosed with premature ovarian failure (POF) five years ago, and was told by doctors that adoption or falling pregnant by egg donation would be the best options to have a baby.

She and her husband Arun declined this option as they wanted to have their own biological baby. So, when a new platelet-rich plasma (PRP) procedure for ovarian rejuvenation – the first of its kind in South Africa – resulted in a pregnancy, they were elated. 

Premature ovarian failure (POF)

POF is a loss of normal function of the ovaries before the age of 40. Sometimes known as premature menopause, it occurs in less than 1% of women, says Dr Sagie Naidu, a gynaecologist, obstetrician and fertility specialist at the Durban Fertility Clinic at Netcare St Augustine’s Hospital who performed the procedure.

Even after being told that she wouldn’t be able to conceive since she wasn’t ovulating at all, they were determined to have their own baby. Having heard good reports about Dr Naidu and the Durban Fertility Clinic, they decided to make an appointment and consult with him.

Dr Naidu explained that POF results in oestrogen deficiency and infertility due to the ovaries’ inability to produce eggs. In these cases, women tend to be unresponsive to conventional approaches to improve their chances of conception.

“While it is a new procedure and its effectiveness in treating POF requires further long-term study, PRP uses autologous blood, meaning that it is from the patient herself, so minimal risks are associated with it,” said Dr Naidu.

The procedure is increasingly being used to successfully treat infertility in women in Europe and the US. Due to its international success rate, and because it is a relatively easy and safe procedure to perform, Dr Naidu, whom Raghubir described as having a “positive can-do approach”, decided to go for it.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) procedure

The procedure involves injecting platelet-rich plasma into the ovaries. This then stimulates the stem cells within the ovaries to generate eggs. 

Raghubir underwent the procedure in June 2018 and conceived just weeks later. When she went for her three-month follow-up, she says Dr Naidu could barely contain his excitement upon discovering she was pregnant. She, too, was in disbelief: “I could scarcely believe that I was finally pregnant; that must count as one of the happiest days of my life.”

According to Dr Naidu, the pregnancy itself developed without a hitch, and Ayush was born on 30 April, weighing a healthy 3.42kg.

Given how difficult it has been for Raghubir to conceive, she and Arun consider Ayush their “little miracle child” and are overjoyed to have him in this world. “We are so grateful to Dr Naidu and the Durban Fertility Clinic for providing us with the benefit of this new procedure,” she added.

Dr Naidu believes that the new PRP procedure provides real hope for South African women with POF, and considers it an important breakthrough for reproductive medicine in South Africa. While the platelet-rich plasma has been used in many areas of medicine to rejuvenate tissue, it was only introduced in reproductive medicine in 2017. 

Dr Naidu and his colleagues were “absolutely delighted with the outcome” of this reproductive revolution, and are happy they could make it possible for the couple to conceive and have their first child.

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A surgeon removed Chelsie Thomas’s healthy fallopian tube by mistake after an ectopic pregnancy.

Funding per person in Scotland is 43% higher than in England, while in Wales it is 33% higher.

Seventeen days after disappearing while hiking, Amanda Eller is speaking out about her harrowing experience, revealing that she chose life over death.

“The last 17 days of my life have been the toughest days [of my] life, and it’s been a really significant spiritual journey that I was guided on,” the 35-year-old yoga instructor, who spoke from her room at the Maui Memorial Medical Center with boyfriend Benjamin Konkol at her side, said in a video shared on the AmandaEllersMissing Facebook page.

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“There were times of total fear and loss and wanting to give up, and it did come down to life and death — and I had to choose,” she said. “And I chose life.”

Eller added, “Seeing the way that the community of Maui came together … Just under the idea of helping one person make it out of the woods alive, just warms my heart. And just seeing the power of prayer and the power of love when everybody combines their efforts is incredible. It could move mountains.”

RELATED: Yoga Teacher Found Alive After Disappearing in Hawaii Forest 2 Weeks Ago: ‘She Was Strong,’ Says Dad

On Friday, the Haiku resident was spotted deep in a forest by a group of rescuers that had been hired by her family to help track her down, according to the Facebook page launched to aid in the search.

A photo shared to the page shows the extent of Eller’s injuries, including extremely swollen and bruised feet and ankles. According to her doctors, Eller suffered an orthopedic fracture and burns on her lower extremities.

“Her date and time of hospital release is unknown,” Eller’s friend, Sarah Haynes, captioned the Facebook video. “She is so incredibly grateful for the coverage that you have given this and how you have played a huge part in getting her home.”

Dr. Zora Bulatovic of the Maui Memorial Medical Center told reporters Saturday that Eller was resourceful, especially considering that a patient would normally be dehydrated after a similar experience.

“She was able to manage to stay hydrated with the river water and eating fresh fruit from the trees,” Bulatovic said, according to NBC News.

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Eller disappeared on May 8 after she failed to return home from a trail in the Makawao Forest Reserve.

A post about her discovery showed the area where Eller was found on Friday.

“She got lost and was stuck and slightly injured in the forest – way way out. Somewhere way far above Twin Falls,” the post read. “Between two waterfalls down a deep ravine in a creek bed. Chris [Berquist] and Javier [Cantellops] spotted her and she spotted them, waving them down. She is being air evacuated now. She just talked to her father on the phone. Amanda Eller is ALIVE!!”

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You might remember Robbie Tripp when he went viral back in 2017 on Instagram—he's the guy who had to tell the world just how sexy he thought his curvy wife was. Now, the "Curvy Wife Guy" is making headlines once again, this time for dropping a music video. The title: "Chubby Sexy."

In that viral post from two years ago, Tripp wrote, "Girls, don't ever fool yourself by thinking you have to fit a certain mold to be loved and appreciated." He seems to be trying to send a similar message with the music video, as well as give women a 
"body positive curvy girl summer anthem," as he wrote in a tweet last month. But just like his 2017 Instagram post, Tripp's music video has made a lot of people angry. 

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In the video, you see Tripp and his wife, Sarah, along with a few other curvy women, dancing by the pool in their bathing suits and rubbing each other's "peaches." Tripp raps lyrics like, "200 pounds, no flat tummy, she don't need a man, yeah she chubby yummy." Another line goes, "Forget that skinny type, that's so 1980. She like a dude that's woke, we like a girl that's weighty." 

While some women felt it was refreshing to see a guy joining the body positivity conversation, others thought the video was straight up objectifying.

Journalist Madison Malone Kircher, who profiled Tripp earlier this month for New York magazine, tweeted: "c*rvy wife guy just dropped his curvy anthem and wow please just shoot me straight into the goddamn sun."

One user replied to her tweet with, "Can someone tell Robbie that body positivity is not about sexualizing and bashing others body types." 

RELATED: This Influencer Is Spreading a Powerful Message by Shamelessly Showing Off Her Cellulite

Tripp has been receiving this kind of criticism since he went viral two years ago. Some say he acts like it's revolutionary for a man to like a curvy woman. Others think guys like him set the bar too damn low for men in general. Others just want privileged white men to stay out of the body positivity discussion altogether. 

There are, however, many who do find his message empowering. "I’m thin, but I’m not one bit offended by this," one user commented on Tripp's Instagram. "We thin ladies have HAD our day in the sun, thin body types get celebrated and hailed every single day in the media, on runways, etc etc. Let Robbie do his thing and raise a glass to the curvy ladies today."

Another wrote, "As a curvy girl myself, it’s so refreshing to see you and your wife work together as a team to preach body positivity."

Tripp's rise to Internet fame has made him quite the controversial figure, but he doesn't care if people don't like his message. In fact, he told Vox in a recent interview, "I have a motto: that whatever people hate you for, do more of that."

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You’ve had your morning coffee (or coffees) and you still don’t feel up to those emails. Maybe you even have a long vacation to look forward to, but these last few days in the office seem damn near impossible. Turns out, burnout is now officially recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an “occupational phenomenon.” In other words, there may be a legitimate reason—and not just lack of caffeine or motivation—for feeling like you just can’t work another minute.

RELATED: Here's How to Stop Work Stress From Turning Into Burnout

In a press release this week, the WHO announced that burnout is included in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), a handbook that provides a guideline for medical providers when making a diagnosis. Burnout was also included in the handbook’s previous version, the ICD-10, but its definition is now more detailed.

According to the WHO, burnout is not a medical condition or illness, but it is a “factor influencing health status or contact with health services”—which means that people might reach out to doctors or other health professionals because of issues relating to it. Burnout is defined in the ICD-11 as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” 

Burnout is also characterized by three main symptoms: feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job; and reduced professional efficacy.

While these symptoms may also be visible in non-work related situations (like feeling overwhelmed with housework and family obligations, for example), the WHO states that this diagnosis should only be used in an occupational context. Health professionals should also first rule out mood and anxiety disorders before making this diagnosis. 

RELATED: 12 Signs You May Have an Anxiety Disorder

According to a 2017 survey from the non-profit American Institute of Stress, work is the third most common cause of stress for Americans. The CDC reports that on average, Americans spend 8% more time working than they did 20 years ago, for an average of 47 hours per week. Additionally, 40% of workers say that their job is high stress, according to the CDC, and 26% feel “burned out” by their job. 

So how can you manage your heavy workload without losing your mind? For starters, you can hit the gym. A 2017 study revealed that exercise might be able to prevent or reverse work-related burnout, so don’t skip out on that Zumba class tonight. 

It may also help to look at other reasons you might be feeling the burn-out effect at work. Other research suggests job-related stress may hit people harder if they’re not getting support at home or from their social network outside of work, and if they’re not taking breaks (even short ones) throughout the day. 

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Few things are as distressing as baby’s cries when his or her first teeth are coming out, but it’s important to know what not to use to soothe that pain.

Over the years, the US Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings about many teething products, starting with over-the-counter gels and liquids containing benzocaine, which acts as a numbing agent.

Benzocaine is linked to a rare but potentially deadly reaction that lowers the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream. This side effect happens mostly in children age two and under, and after just one use. The FDA recommends not using these products in this age group.

A toxic substance

More recently, the FDA has issued numerous warnings against various homeopathic teething tablets and gels because of reports that they’ve caused seizures and other problems, from difficulty breathing and muscle weakness to excessive sleepiness or agitation.

Tests found that the problem ingredient is belladonna, a toxic substance with unpredictable effects. Manufacturers have recalled some products, but others might still be on store shelves and should be avoided.

There are also concerns about so-called teething jewellery, such as beads, bracelets and other items made from materials including amber, wood, marble and silicone. These pose various hazards such as choking, strangulation, injury to the mouth and infection, especially if the jewellery irritates or pierces the gums.

Instead, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends giving baby a teething ring chilled in the fridge or gently massaging his or her gums with a clean finger to ease teething pain.

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Prostate cancer often becomes lethal as it spreads to the bones, and the process behind this deadly feature could potentially be turned against it as a target for bone-targeting radiation and potential new therapies.

A computer-assisted diagnostic procedure helps physicians detect the growth of low-grade brain tumors earlier and at smaller volumes than visual comparison alone, according to a study published May 28 in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Hassan Fathallah-Shaykh of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and colleagues. However, additional clinical studies are needed to determine whether early therapeutic interventions enabled by early tumor growth detection prolong survival times and improve quality of life.

A team from the transdisciplinary laboratory FoAM Kernow and the British Science Association detail how to run an innovative approach to understanding evidence called AccessLab in a paper published on May 28 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology. The AccessLab project enables a broader range of people to access and use scientific research in their work and everyday lives.