Researchers of a new study found that obesity does not reduce the chances of conceiving through in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Previous studies have stated that obesity reduces chances of spontaneous pregnancy in women. Even if an obese woman gets pregnant, there are high possibilities of her suffering complications.
A new study conducted by researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California-Los Angeles, found that these complications are restricted to women trying to conceive naturally. Obesity doesn't significantly affect women trying to conceive through in vitro fertilization (IVF).
"Our study suggests that obesity does not significantly affect whether a woman will become pregnant with donor eggs," said first author Emily Jungheim, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Washington University School of Medicine in a press statement. "This supports the argument that doctors shouldn't discourage obese women from pursuing treatment if they need donor eggs to conceive."
For the study, researchers looked at data of patients from five earlier studies conducted over the past decade along with data from 123 egg donor recipients from the Washington University Infertility and Reproductive Medicine Center.
Most IVF programs have certain BMI restrictions in order to analyze whether a woman is fit to receive the treatment. According to Jungheim, these restrictions need to be re-examined as according to her, there is still a lot to learn about the obesity-pregnancy link.
Researchers also found that obesity is not an influential factor when it comes to analyzing the differences in the rates of miscarriages or live births among obese women who use donor eggs.
"In general, most obese women who want to get pregnant are eventually able to conceive," Jungheim said. "We need to find out what specifically goes wrong in obese women who don't. We think other factors besides BMI are involved."
