Doubt Cast Over Effectiveness of Two Infertility Treatments

London, UKTwo widely used infertility treatments that have served as a ray of hope for couples having trouble conceiving the old-fashioned way have been called into question by a new study.

A third of the 580 couples studied were given clomifene citrate, which is a common infertility drug used to stimulate the ovaries to release eggs. The latter is marketed as Clomid, Serophene, and Milophene, among other names.

A second group went the artificial insemination route, which sees sperm directly injected into the womb with a syringe.

The remaining group was advised just to have more intercourse.

Women who achieved pregnancy after six months were monitored until they gave birth and the results, which gave the nod to the artificial insemination group as the winner of the three, were nonetheless not statistically significant, according to the study's Scottish authors.

Of the couples treated with artificial insemination, 43 welcomed babies. Thirty-two of the couples who were counseled to have intercourse more often experienced the pitter patter of little feet, whereas 26 of the babies were born to couples who took fertility drugs.

And while there is a noticeable difference in the figures—still, according to researchers, the differences are considered minor and statistically insignificant. The study was published August 8th in the British Medical Journal.

''These treatments are a leap of faith,'' said Dr. Siladitya Bhattacharya, a professor of reproductive medicine at the University of Aberdeen and the study's lead author. ''None of the treatments studied had any significant benefit over no treatment at all.''

It should be noted that one in seven couples will have trouble conceiving, and doctors will normally try fertility pills or artificial insemination before attempting more complex treatments such as invitro fertilization.

Allan Pacey, who is affiliated with the University of Sheffield and secretary of the British Fertility Society, maintains that artificial insemination is useful in certain situations, including when sperm is donated.

Fertility drugs, which increase the chance of a couple having twins, are tethered to side effects such as nausea, headache and hot flashes.

The results of the study were "not in the realm that you would expect it to be if these interventions were really performing,'' Pacey said. He was not linked to the study, and Bhattacharya offered that he and the five study centers no longer offer the two tested treatments for unexplained infertility problems.

Of course, the foregoing doesn't factor into 'explained' problems, those difficulties that have been isolated and identified. No reference is made within that context.

The results of the study also calls into question the hope heretofore held by couples thinking that science was far and away more effective, and held more promise than getting pregnant the old fashioned way. The statistical interpretation of this study could send infertile couples running to their attorneys crying false hope.

At the end of the day, however, even couples having trouble conceiving have little to lose by simply spending more time with one another. It just might work. However, the statistics suggested by the Scottish study may leave many couples deflated and angry…