IVF add-on treatment of ‘womb scratching’ provides no benefits to couples wanting a baby, study finds
- Involves cutting a groove into the womb lining to trigger inflammation
- This was thought to increase the chances of an embryo sticking to the lining
- Some 31.4% in scratch group become pregnant versus 31.2% of controls
- Live birth rate for both groups is exactly the same at 26.1%
- Treatment is rated six out of 10 on the pain scale, with 10 being the worst
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A painful and costly fertility treatment that involves scratching a woman’s womb before IVF does not work and should be scrapped by fertility clinics, researchers said.
A so-called ‘endometrial scratch’ is an ‘add-on’ treatment costing around £350 offered by clinics that supposedly will boost the chances of having a baby.
The treatment is rated as ‘six out of 10’ on a pain scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most painful and one the least.
By cutting a groove in the womb lining, it is supposed to trigger inflammation, which gives a greater chance that the embryo will stick.
Results from a large trial conducted at 13 fertility clinics in five countries found no evidence that it raised pregnancy or live birth rates.
A painful and costly fertility treatment that involves scratching a woman’s womb before IVF does not work and should be scrapped by fertility clinics (stock)
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‘Clinics should now reconsider offering endometrial scratch’
The findings were revealed at the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology [ESHRE], the world’s biggest fertility conference in Barcelona.
Lead researcher Dr Sarah Lensen, from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, said: ‘Our results contract those of many studies published previously.
‘I think clinics should now reconsider offering endometrial scratch as an adjuvant treatment.’
A total of 1,300 women undergoing IVF treatment took part in the trial.
Half were randomly picked to have endometrial scratching, which is carried out using a small flexible plastic tube. The rest had no ‘add-on’ procedure.
Results showed a pregnancy rate of 31.4 per cent in the ‘scratch’ group and 31.2 per cent in the no-intervention ‘control’ group.
Live birth rate for both groups was exactly the same, 26.1 per cent.
In addition women who had the scratch experienced ‘moderate’ levels of pain and bleeding – another reason why the procedure should be withdrawn, said the researchers.
There is no difference in pregnancy rates between those having the procedure and not (stock)
DO SUGARY DRINKS AFFECT A WOMAN’S CHANCES OF CONCEIVING?
Women who consume sugary drinks while having IVF cut their chances of conceiving, research suggested in October 2017.
Drinking more than one sugary beverage a day reduces a woman’s chance of having a live birth after IVF by 16 per cent, a Harvard University study found.
Having just one sugary drink a day lowers the chance of successful IVF by 12 per cent, the research adds.
Sugary drinks also reduce the number and maturity of a woman’s ovarian cells, as well as lowering their amount of high-quality embryos, the study found.
Previous research suggests sugar stimulates the release of stress hormones that affect the health of the reproductive system.
Eggs and embryos may also fail to thrive in high blood glucose environments.
The researchers analysed 340 women undergoing IVF between 2014 and 2016.
The study’s participants were investigated during the second stage of IVF treatment, known as ovarian stimulation, when the goal is to harvest as many mature eggs as possible from the ovaries.
They completed a questionnaire to assess their drink consumption.
The participant’s IVF outcomes were determined through their medical records.
No link was found between coffee, caffeinated drinks or diet sodas and a woman’s IVF prospects.
‘Patients should not have to pay these costs’
Dr Lensen said: ‘Results from earlier studies have suggested a benefit from endometrial scratching in IVF, especially in women with previous implantation failure.
‘However, many of these studies had a high risk of bias in their design of conduct and did not provide strong evidence.’ Endometrial scratch is a common add-on treatment offered by fertility clinics.
A survey of clinicians in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK conducted by Dr Lensen and colleagues in 2016 found that 83 per cent would recommend the procedure prior to IVF, especially for women with recurrent implantation failure.
The Daily Mail has highlighted how IVF clinics offer ‘add on’ treatments to vulnerable patients, often without much scientific support.
IVF pioneer Lord Winston said yesterday the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority should take more action to clamp down on additional charges made during IVF.
Lord Winston said: ‘The HFEA must do more in making stronger recommendations about IVF charges.
‘For example, many experimental treatments during private IVF are extremely costly and are given without adequate scientific evidence of their efficacy. Patients should not have to pay these costs.’
‘Women can experience a devastating ordeal because of false hope’
Julia Margo, CEO of Genesis Research Trust, which funds research into IVF said: ‘There’s a growing concern around the psychological and financial fall-out for women and their families who undergo cycles of IVF and can experience a devastating ordeal because of false hopes with the misconception that IVF offers a miracle solution to infertility.’
Geeta Nargund, an advisor to NHS England on IVF and medical director of CREATE fertility said yesterday that couples desperate to have a baby were vulnerable to the sale of add-ons, including those whose treatment is being funded by the NHS.
She said: ‘Overall, this group of people are desperate to have a baby and therefore when they are told an add-on can increase their chance, they are willing to pay for it.
‘I have met people who have taken out loans, their parents and grandparents have given them money, and they have taken out second mortgages. And they are willing to pay.’
Stuart Lavery, a consultant gynaecologist at Imperial College said: ‘I think people might now pause and really consider whether this might be something for patients.
‘Because it is painful, it is like having a really uncomfortable cervical smear test. If you want to be putting yourself through that, you want to have some benefit.’
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