BMJ
September 2024
Objectives: To evaluate whether embryo transfers at blastocyst stage improve the cumulative live birth rate after oocyte retrieval, including both fresh and frozen-thawed transfers, and whether the risk of obstetric and perinatal complications is increased compared with cleavage stage embryo transfers during in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment.
Design: Multicentre randomised controlled trial.
Setting: 21 hospitals and clinics in the Netherlands, 18 August 2018 to 17 December 2021.
Study Question: Does assisted hatching increase the cumulative live birth rate in subfertile couples with repeated implantation failure?
Summary Answer: This study showed no evidence of effect for assisted hatching as an add-on in subfertile couples with repeated implantation failure.
What Is Known Already: The efficacy of assisted hatching, with regard to the live birth rate has not been convincingly demonstrated in randomized trials nor meta-analyses. It is suggested though that especially poor prognosis women, e.
Background: Time-lapse monitoring is increasingly used in fertility laboratories to culture and select embryos for transfer. This method is offered to couples with the promise of improving pregnancy chances, even though there is currently insufficient evidence for superior clinical results. We aimed to evaluate whether a potential improvement by time-lapse monitoring is caused by the time-lapse-based embryo selection method itself or the uninterrupted culture environment that is part of the system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudy Question: Do parental characteristics and treatment with ART affect perinatal outcomes in singleton pregnancies?
Summary Answer: Both parental and ART treatment characteristics affect perinatal outcomes in singleton pregnancies.
What Is Known Already: Previous studies have shown that singleton pregnancies resulting from ART are at risk of preterm birth. ART children are lighter at birth after correction for duration of gestation and at increased risk of congenital abnormalities compared to naturally conceived children.
BMJ Open
January 2021
Introduction: In vitro fertilisation (IVF) has evolved as an intervention of choice to help couples with infertility to conceive. In the last decade, a strategy change in the day of embryo transfer has been developed. Many IVF centres choose nowadays to transfer at later stages of embryo development, for example, transferring embryos at blastocyst stage instead of cleavage stage.
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