Does anovulation induced by oral contraceptives favor pregnancy during the following two menstrual cycles?
OBJECTIVE: To compare IVF and pregnancy outcomes before and after anovulation induced by oral contraceptives. Design: Observational clinical study. SETTING: Infertility clinic. PATIENT(s): Forty women with two intact ovaries (32 of 40 couples with male factor infertility and 8 with unknown causes of infertility) underwent 190 IVF treatment cycles (55 natural cycles and 135 clomiphene citrate-stimulated cycles). INTERVENTION(s): If the women failed to conceive after 2-4 IVF treatment cycles, oral contraceptives were used to induce anovulation for 1 month before IVF was performed in two consecutive cycles. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(s): Rates of oocyte retrieval, fertilization, cleavage, preembryo formation, pregnancy, and implantation were compared before and after a period of anovulation. RESULT(s): The pregnancy rate per cycle of the first and second cycle combined (23%) and that of the second cycle alone (30%) after a period of anovulation were significantly higher than that observed befor
OBJECTIVE: To compare IVF and pregnancy outcomes before and after anovulation induced by oral contraceptives. Design: Observational clinical study. SETTING: Infertility clinic. PATIENT(s): Forty women with two intact ovaries (32 of 40 couples with male factor infertility and 8 with unknown causes of infertility) underwent 190 IVF treatment cycles (55 natural cycles and 135 clomiphene citrate-stimulated cycles). INTERVENTION(s): If the women failed to conceive after 2-4 IVF treatment cycles, oral contraceptives were used to induce anovulation for 1 month before IVF was performed in two consecutive cycles. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(s): Rates of oocyte retrieval, fertilization, cleavage, preembryo formation, pregnancy, and implantation were compared before and after a period of anovulation. RESULT(s): The pregnancy rate per cycle of the first and second cycle combined (23%) and that of the second cycle alone (30%) after a period of anovulation were significantly higher than that observed befor
