Lying Still Raises Artificial Insemination Success

Oct. 31 -- THURSDAY, Oct. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Women who lie flat for 15 minutes after being artificially inseminated greatly boost their odds of becoming pregnant, new research suggests.

"Allowing women treated for subfertility with IUI [intrauterine insemination] to remain in supine position will yield a 50 percent higher chance at conceiving," said Inge Custers, lead author of a study to be published online Oct. 30 in the BMJ.

Custers and colleagues aren't sure why this simple step yields better results, but they hypothesize that the supine position prevents sperm "leakage" from the vagina.

IUI involves placing sperm directly into the uterus, where conception then hopefully takes place. It differs from in vitro fertilization, which involves fertilizing the egg in a test tube before implanting the embryo in the uterus.

According to the editorial, IUI offers several benefits, including minimal drug involvement and low cost. It is also more accessible, being offered in smaller clinics. A main downside is a pregnancy rate lower than that achieved by in vitro fertilization.

IUI remains one of the most common fertility treatments worldwide, the study authors stated.

This study involved almost 400 couples in The Netherlands who were undergoing intrauterine insemination. The women were randomized to lie prone for 15 minutes after insemination or to get up right away.

Twenty-seven percent of women who stayed still for 15 minutes became pregnant vs. 18 percent in the other group. Live birth rates followed a similar trend: 27 percent in the first group and 17 percent in the control group.

The main problem with this method would be taking up more time and space at fertility clinics.

On the other hand, achieving conception the first time around would mean fewer repeat visitors, the experts noted.

"Over the years, subfertility is an increasing problem, which causes higher demands on busy offices, trying to treat as many patients as possible," said Custers, a student and registrar at the Centre for Reproductive Medicine at the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam. "With increased efficacy of the procedure, these women will therefore not return for subsequent cycles. A positive effect of this study was observed in The Netherlands: more and more women have been allowed this treatment strategy. Whether this will be implemented globally remains to be seen."