Hormonal therapy might be a low-cost, safe fertility treatment, study suggests
BOSTON - Fertility treatments, especially IVF, can be expensive and taxing but a simple hormone treatment could provide a low-cost, safe alternative for some couples trying to conceive.
Unexplained infertility affects about a third of couples referred to fertility specialists.
A small clinical study presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology compared couples with unexplained infertility trying to conceive naturally with couples where the woman used a vaginal progesterone treatment during the second half of her menstrual cycle.
Progesterone naturally increases during a woman's cycle to prepare the lining of the uterus to receive a fertilized egg, and in this study, they found that the birth rate was twice as high among the women using progesterone therapy.
Researchers say the study was small and that the difference in conception could be explained by chance alone but are encouraged that the hormonal therapy may actually be effective. Further research is needed in a larger group of people but some experts say given its low cost and general safety, this could be offered by doctors as an option to couples trying to conceive now.