Fertility Assistance vs. Natural Conception

Using the drug clomifene citrate or having artificial insemination may not give you any better chances of becoming pregnant according to a recent study done by scientists from both Oxford and Aberdeen University.

In their study they looked at 580 women who were trying to become pregnant and were comparable in age and weight. They broke the women into 3 groups. One group was educated on their cycles and left to conceive naturally, another group was given clomifene citrate for ovulation and the final group was artificially inseminated.

What the scientists found when they looked at the 101 live births at the end of the study was interesting. Basically, there was not much difference when comparing the outcomes of the 3 different pregnancy methods. 17 percent of the births were to women who conceived naturally, 26 percent of the births were to women who used clomifene citrate, and 23 percent of the live births were to women who were artificially inseminated.

Scientists believe that because there was no significant difference between the groups, that doctors should be careful about their recommendations for fertility assistance. It may by that doctors will begin to recommend more aggressive fertility options for women who are struggling to conceive naturally.