New Study Reveals Key to Increasing Pregnancy Chances

News

New Study Reveals Key to Increasing Pregnancy Chances

New Study Reveals Key to Increasing Pregnancy Chances

A collaborative review involving researchers from University of Oxford and British hospitals has unveiled a crucial method for improving the likelihood of couples attempting to conceive becoming pregnant and having a live birth.

While these research findings are encouraging, they need to be interpreted with caution due to potential bias in studies funded by manufacturers and the lack of evidence for other timing methods.

New Study Reveals Key to Increasing Pregnancy Chances

Recently, a Cochrane analysis on strategies for enhancing fertility rates demonstrated that planned intercourse guided by urine ovulation testing is likely to increase the live birth rate and pregnancy rate for women under 40 who have been trying to conceive for less than a year.

A study conducted by the University of Oxford, the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, and the Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton involved seven randomized controlled trials. These trials included 2,464 women or couples attempting to conceive.

Since the lifespan of sperm and eggs is limited, the window for successfully conceiving each month is quite narrow, starting around five days before ovulation (the release of eggs) and continuing for a few hours after ovulation.

Women’s menstrual cycles can be determined through various methods, including urine ovulation tests (devices that detect hormonal changes in urine, marking the time of ovulation), fertility awareness-based methods (FABM) (including calendar tracking, monitoring changes in cervical mucus and body temperature), or ultrasound to determine the timing of egg release.

This review aimed to assess the benefits and risks of timed intercourse for couples attempting to conceive in terms of pregnancy, live birth, adverse effects, and quality of life.

Research Findings and Expert Opinions

The study found that timed intercourse using a urine ovulation testing device before and after the fertile period can increase the chances of pregnancy and live birth to 20% to 28%, compared to a 18% chance without using such a device. This is particularly applicable to women under 40 who have been trying to conceive for less than 12 months.

Dr. Tatjana Gibbons, a doctoral researcher in the Nuffield Department of Women’s & Reproductive Health at the University of Oxford and the primary author of the study, stated, “Many couples find it challenging to conceive, which can lead to concerns about their fertility.”

The simple and readily available urine test can increase the likelihood of successful conception for couples, which is an exciting finding because it can empower couples with more control over their fertility journey and potentially reduce the need for infertility investigations and treatments.

Professor Christian M Becker of the Nuffield Department of Women’s & Reproductive Health remarked, “Cochrane reviews demand high-quality evidence, so the fact that even this moderate-quality evidence can demonstrate the effectiveness of urine ovulation testing is impressive, and considering that urine ovulation testing has been around for quite some time, it’s also surprising.”

However, the researchers caution that since many studies were sponsored by the manufacturers of urine ovulation testing strips, the study results should be interpreted with caution.

They also found that there is not enough evidence to determine the effectiveness of other methods in the studies, including the impact of timed intercourse on clinical pregnancy (pregnancy confirmed by ultrasound) and the effectiveness of using FABM during timed intercourse compared to intercourse without predicting ovulation.