Long-term ongoing pregnancy rate and mode of conception after a positive and negative post-coital test.

Objective: Many fertility clinics have decided to abolish the post-coital test. Yet, it is a significant factor in prognostic models that predict the spontaneous pregnancy rate within one year. The aim of this study was to evaluate (1) the long-term outcome of infertile couples with a positive or a negative post-coital test during their fertility work-up and (2) the contribution of the different modes of conception.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Three fertility clinics in the Netherlands, of which two are secondary care training hospitals and is a one tertiary care academic training hospital.

Population: 2476 newly referred infertile couples, where a post-coital test was performed in 1624 couples.

Methods: After basic fertility work-up, couples were treated according to the national treatment protocols.

Main Outcome Measures: Spontaneous and overall ongoing pregnancy rate.

Results: The spontaneous and overall ongoing pregnancy rates after three years were 37.7 and 77.5% after a positive post-coital test compared with 26.9 and 68.8% after a negative test (p < 0.001). Even in couples with severe male factor infertility (total motile sperm count <3) (p = 0.005) and mild male factor infertility (total motile sperm count 3-20) (p < 0.001), there was a significantly higher spontaneous ongoing pregnancy rate, justifying expectant management.

Conclusion: After a follow-up of three years a positive post-coital test is still associated with a higher spontaneous and a higher overall ongoing pregnancy rate, even in couples with severe male factor infertility.